This is becoming a bit ridiculous. I feel like I’m turning into a mentally deranged athlete stalker! Such is Michael Phelps’ domination of this opening week of Olympics, it’s impossible to shift the focus away from the 23 year old swimming superstar.

This morning he ‘struggled’ to victory in the 200m butterfly, winning gold in a new world record time. I say struggled because his goggles slipped in the dive and he suffered the dreaded ‘filled-goggles’ experience for 1:52.03 seconds. Which by the way was not the world record he was hoping for, in his own words; “I wanted 1:51 or better, but in the circumstances it’s not too bad I guess.”

Not too bad, I guess. He more than made up for it though in the 4X200m relay swimming a stunning opening leg before Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens and Peter Vanderkaay brought the team home in 6:58.56min, 4.68seconds quicker than the previous world record. The incredible performance helped Phelps to his fifth gold of these Olympics and a record eleventh gold in all Olympics. And counting.

Which has left me wondering why Michael Phelps is so good, and how us mere mortals can learn from his example. Well, he’s 6 feet 4 inches and 195lb, spread perfectly from his naturally broad shoulders down through his naturally slim waist. He has a 6 feet 7 inch wingspan, size 14 feet and an unusually long torso with short legs. All this helps to explain why he has such even balance and glides through the water with seemingly no resistance. It goes to explain why his former coach Jon Urbanchek said “When I first saw Michael in 1996, I looked at his stroke, I looked at his body type and said ‘This kid is going to be awesome’.”

Fascinating stuff, but it still doesn’t help us mere mortals. Time to consider other factors. After investigation I was stunned to learn that Phelps’ does next to nothing with weights, and has scored as one of the weakest elite swimmers ever tested by physiologists at U.S. Swimming. So how on earth does he speed away from his opponents? Perhaps the answer lies in his flexibility. Phelps is able to hyperextend his elbows, knees and ankles which allows him to develop his stroke in infinite ways. It is worth considering therefore the relative importance of movement economy vs. power. Yet for the most of us this info isn‘t too encouraging, unless you plan on dropping the weights and dismantling your joints, which isn’t advisable.

What next? His long, strong torso and short, powerful legs allow him to kick off the wall and plane in the water, giving him a distinct advantage. Core strength exercises for your torso can’t be endorsed enough then. Start with planks and side raises before introducing medicine and Swiss balls. This applies to many sports though - what about swimming specifically?

If you’re going to win eight golds in one Olympics, you’re going to need a big ‘engine’. So what is Phelps’ aerobic capacity, I wonder? Physiologists measure lactate levels in the blood to determine how efficiently swimmers produce energy. No tested swimmer has lactate levels as low as Phelps. His lung capacity and overall ‘engine’ is therefore the Rolls Royce of the swimming world.

So if you’re desperate to emulate the swimming sensation, start by working on your aerobic capacity, turning your engine from a 50cc scooter into a 1000cc super bike. Interval training is well worth considering. Technically, it is defined as high-intensity intermittent exercise. In an interval session, high-intensity periods of work are interspersed with rest intervals. In this way athletes can cover more distance at a high intensity than they could if they worked continuously. Because interval training is intense, it is a great method for improving both aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Perfect for events like 200m freestyle which requires both aerobic and anaerobic systems.

It may seem obvious but that engine is obviously worth investing in. Once you have a big engine other factors like technique, core strength, plyometric power and flexibility are likely to progress more swimmingly. We’ll never become Michael Phelps, but we can improve our times and confidence.

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