In this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast we have Vern Gambetta, founder of GAIN (the Gambetta Athletic Improvement Network) and Chris Webb, Director of GAINswim. Vern Gambetta is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of functional sports training, a movement that helped shift athletic development away from isolated machine-based strength work and toward training the whole athlete.
For a long time dryland was treated like an accessory: bands, core, circuits, pushups, or whatever a coach pulled together five minutes before practice. Then the pandemic hit. Swimmers were out of the water for months, and a strange thing happened: athletes who trained correctly on land often came back stronger, more athletic, and in some cases, faster. That raised a bigger question for the sport: What if dryland is not just extra work? What if it is one of the missing links in long-term swimmer development?
That is where GAINswim comes in. Their mission is to be a global leader in coaching and athletic development for swimmers. Its model is built around a simple idea: training should be athlete-centered, coach-driven, and administratively supported.
In this podcast, we dig into the history of GAIN, the development of GAINswim, and how the program’s work with clubs like Carmel Swim Club helped shape an integrated swimming-and-dryland model from ages 8 to 18.
We also get into the questions every swim coach eventually faces:
- What does good dryland actually look like?
- What does bad dryland look like?
- Should young swimmers lift weights?
- Are swimmers fit but not always athletic?
- Does soreness mean the workout worked?
- And how does better athletic development show up in starts, turns, underwaters, bodyline, and long-term durability?
This episode is not just about exercises. It is about systems, coach education, and giving clubs a way to build athletes instead of just handing them another workout sheet. I hope you like it.
Follow GAINswim on Instagram here.
Follow GAINswim Director Chris Webb on Linkedin here.
Follow Gold Medal Mel on Instagram here.
Many thanks to Swimoutlet.com for their 14 year partnership and support of this swimming news and media.
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This is a Gold Medal Media production presented by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News website.
Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam advertising partners.
Webb is the man