Training Michael Phelps: American flyer

Swimming Technique, Jan-Mar 2003 by Bowman, Bob

One component of Michael Phelps' phenomenal success is his "made-for-swimming" physique. But the main component is the carefully-crafted training program that his coach, Bob Bowman, has created for him. Here, Coach Bowman-the 2001 ASCA Coach of the Year-describes his training protocols and provides sample workouts.

I think it was pretty clear from the beginning that Michael Phelps was a special swimmer. When he joined us at North Baltimore Aquatic Club as a 7-year-old, he was a baseball/ soccer/ lacrosse athlete.

His first year, he just did a 60minute, once-a-week stroke clinic with our aquatics director, Cathy Lears. His training and intensity escalated from there to where, by the time he was 10 and setting NAG records, he was better than many of the older swimmers.

Obviously, we had to do some rapid lane promotions.

To those who knew the Phelps aquatic heritage, his prowess was no surprise. His oldest sister, Hilary, was a national-level swimmer. His second sister, Whitney, was also a 200 flyer. She made the 1994 World Championship team that competed in Rome, and she still holds the 11 - 12 NAG record in the 100 yard fly.

So, in many ways, swimming excellence has been a family trait. And while it is also tempting to think of Michael only in terms of the fly and IM, a review of his record reveals a litany of national rankings in the free and back as well.

Supportive parents have aided his climb immensely. They had been through the drill with the older daughters.

Then there's Michael's physique: at 6-4, he is mostly torso with a large chest and long arms. It's a body great for swimming. He is very flexible throughout the shoulders, upper body and especially in the ankles.

Michael is much more disciplined than he was in his earlier days. He was, and is still, a pretty strong-willed kid. Back then, he didn't understand he might have to do some things he didn't want to do, like train, sit still, pay attention and not talk. He was very energetic as a young boy.

These days, he's modified his behavior-either voluntarily or involuntarily. I think part of that modification started when I pulled him out of the pool and told him, "You've got a stroke that is going to set a world record some day, and you are going to do it in practice."

Keenly Compe Win

Michael has an athletic mentality second to none. He is keenly competitive, and that's what drives him. In competition, he is incredibly focused and able to relax. The higher the level of competition, the better he is. That's something you just don't see very often.

What he needs to work on is the same thing he had to work on as a child: to strengthen the connection in his mind between what happens on a daily basis and how that affects what's going to happen when he gets in the big meet. He's better now and better than 90 percent of the population, but he still has those days-about once every six weeks-when he's tired, and it's a struggle for me to get him to do things and maintain the same intensity in workout that he gives in the big meets.

In 2002, he had an excellent summer, setting a world record in the 400 meter IM, taking four events at the Phillips 66 Summer Nationals, notching American records in the 200 IM and 100 fly and swimming the fastest fly leg ever in a 4 x 100 world record medley relay victory.

In addition to water work, we religiously incorporated a "Mike Barrowman medicine ball routine" into his dryland routine, and we did a threeweek stay at altitude in Colorado Springs. He's followed his long course success with the best fall and winter he's ever had-by far.

Typically, for the last three or four years, Michael has had very good summers. Then there have been down periods in the fall where we've had to work hard to crank him back up to a good mental mode. That has not been the case this year.

This fall and winter, Michael has worked hard on the backstroke. In fact, he's gotten really good. Recently, he finished a 15 x 200 yard back set with a 1:45. Not too bad! And his breaststroke, while still not flashy, is greatly improved.

We continue to develop Michael as a complete swimmer. That means some emphasis on the distance freestyle. On Halloween, he whipped off a 5,000 free for time in a 46:34. That's under a 9:20 per 1,000 average. I was impressed with that. In fact, it is probably the most impressive thing he's done, and it might be one of the most impressive things he ever does. That's the kind of thing I'm not sure you can ever replicate, but it's neat to give him some confidence, particularly since he has to swim against some of the super distance guys.

This is the third year we have approached the training cycle from a yearly perspective. It's not our style at NBAC to talk about the results of success. We are always interested in the process. Michael didn't understand the scope of it until his breakout spring nationals performance in Seattle in 2000 when he went from a 2:04.68 to 1:59-flat and set a 15-16 NAG record in the 200 meter fly. After that, the secret was out.