Parting the waters: Olympic medallist Ed Moses' record-breaking career has led him to a second appearance in the summer games

American Fitness, July-August, 2004 by Bonnie Siegler

His world records, numerous medals and perfect swimming form came as a fluke. Two-time Olympic medallist (gold and silver from the 2000 Sydney Games) Ed Moses discovered his aquatic prowess during his high school senior year and a slump in his golf game. "I planned on going into golf in college," the 5'11" athlete explains, "but Virginia's winters are too cold for golf, so I decided to take up swimming in order to stay in really good shape." Moses swam for five cold months--breaststroke, crawl and free form. "I started to become really good, really fast. My coach wanted me to go to a swim meet with the other competitive swimmers and I ended up breaking all the high school records," he states. "The next day, I basically had a full scholarship to any college in the country. So, swimming kind of fell into my lap."

A recent graduate of the University of Virginia with a bachelor's degree in sports medicine/exercise physiology, Moses loves to listen to hip-hop ("Nelly, Jay-Z") on his world tours. Earlier this year, he broke his own world record in the 200-meter breaststroke event with a time of 2:02.92 in Berlin at the 2003-2004 FINA World Cup. "That was the highest-rated swim on the world cup stop," he boasts. "It was such a good feeling in the sense that it was six months before the Olympics and I've been training hard all winter. I wanted to see if my training was appropriate to make me faster. Now I have a lot of confidence going into this next phase."

Twice daily swims and concentration on leg strength has positioned Moses for an Olympic medal this summer in Athens. "I felt if I exploited my leg strength more than my breaststroke, I would get faster," he explains. "It seems it really paid off." Every day from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., you'll find Moses either in the pool or working with weights on dry land. "On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings, I'll do a weightlifting routine, alternating with a dry-land routine," he recounts. "Then it's one of breaststroke. In the afternoon I have two and a half hours of straight swimming focused mostly on aerobic fitness and endurance." Although Moses has made swimming a big part of his everyday life, he is quick to point out the benefits of recreational swimming as a form of exercise. "Swimming is probably one of the best activities for the body because it is [non-impact] and very low injury," he says. "It's a whole fitness workout from the core to the arms to the legs and is good for people of any age."

Besides a daily exercise routine, the 175-pound athlete with body fat in the 7 to 8 percent range sticks to healthy eating and a 6,000-calorie-a-day plan. "I'm not micromanaging what I eat," he asserts. "What I focus on is what I eat right before, during and immediately following a practice." To ensure he has enough energy and stamina for his workout sessions, "I normally have something light, like a piece of fruit--apple, orange or banana--and juice. Sometimes it's a slice of bread with peanut butter. It has to be something that is easy to digest and will last me throughout the practice." Immediately following exercise, Moses says, "I have the simplest, quickest-absorbing sugar, so anything on the high-glycemic list--bagel, Gatorade, PowerBar. The key is to get it in your body immediately or your muscles will break down and try to run on fuel that isn't there." Eating five meals a day, Moses insists breakfast is his most important.

Turning all his energy toward becoming one of the world's fastest breaststrokers, one aspect of his training is atypical, much like Moses himself. Part of his cardiovascular training includes sleeping in an altitude chamber in order to regulate the oxygen he breathes. "My bedroom is an altitude room," he declares. "I can adjust the air to be comparable to that at 9,000 feet above sea level. The higher the altitude, the less the oxygen and the more the body wants to stimulate red blood cell growth. This allows me to have more red blood cells that help carry oxygen and increase my endurance."

With his extensive traveling, how does he accommodate his altitude chamber? "I'll spend three to four weeks in the room and time my sessions when I know I won't be traveling for another three to four weeks. You don't want to do this permanently or for a long time because long-term exposure will have your body not understanding what sea level [it is in]," he warns.

In just four short years with the constant support of his parents, Moses has two Olympic medals and set numerous world records. He's anxiously looking forward to Greece this summer. "Obviously the anxiety is going to be a little higher a week before the Olympics, but at this moment, I can't think about anything like that," he admits. "I just have to think about what I need to do every day to become the best. I want to go out on a great note and know I gave every possible bit of energy to be my best. So after this summer, I'm going to put swimming aside." Then what? "I hope to make it on the PGA tour--when I was 16, I carried a five handicap," he responds. Ed Moses joining the ranks of Tiger Woods? "Go by the ranks--that's the goal!," he exclaims.