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Swimming Technique January - February 2003 Feature ArticleTRAINING MICHAEL PHELPS
By Bob Bowman with Michael J. Stott 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 60-minute, 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 Competitive
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 three-week stay at altitude in Colorado Springs. He's followed his long course success with the best fall 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. Setting Goals
To get ready for that, we have concocted a training program that began with a fairly high-mileage fall, a 70-80,000 mixture of yards and meters. There was also 30-45 minutes of dryland six days a week. September through December, we focused on structural adaptation. With that, we are looking to stimulate major physiological growth that will make him go faster. At this stage, we don't emphasize fine tuning. Instead, we have spent a lot of time on endurance work, improving technical issues and gaining strength_putting money in the bank. We'll continue that regimen through spring nationals. From April through May, we'll focus on functional adaptation, working on coordination plus speed- and racing-specific elements for the World Championships. With all his success, it is easy to overlook that Michael is only a 17-year-old, especially given that he is in his second year as a professional and drives a Cadillac Escalade. But, he's earned it, and he's in the process of maturing and securing his financial future. This spring, he'll graduate from Towson High School. In the fall, he'll be attending classes at Loyola College in Baltimore and continue to train with us at North Baltimore. Check the accompanying charts for some typical early-, mid- and late-season workouts Michael has done during the 2001-2002 short and long course seasons. Bob Bowman is the senior coach at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club in Maryland and has trained Michael Phelps for the last six years. Michael J. Stott is a contributing editor to Swimming Technique, SWIM and Swimming World magazines. Microcycle Chart SUMMER MICROCYCLE Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. AM POWER ENDURANCE QUALITY TECHNICAL ENDURANCE MIXED TECHNICAL MD-6000 MD-8000 MD-7000 MD-7000 MD-8000 MD-7000 All-6000 Dist-7000 Dist-9000 Dist-8000 Dist-8000 Dist-9000 Dist-8000 DL-Barrowman PM QUALITY TECHNICAL POWER TECHNICAL MD-7000 MD-7000 MD-6000 MD-7000 Dist-8000 Dist-8000 Dist-7000 Dist-8000 DL-Barrowman DL-Barrowman DL-Barrowman DL-Barrowman SCHOOL YEAR MICROCYCLE Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. AM POWER TECHNICAL POWER MIXED TECHNICAL MD-4500 MD-4000 MD-4000 MD-9000 All-6000 Dist-6000 Dist-6000 Dist-6000 Dist-10000 DL-Circuit PM QUALITY ENDURANCE QUALITY ENDURANCE TECHNICAL MD-7000 MD-8000 MD-7000 MD-8000 All-7000 Dist-8000 Dist-9000 Dist-8000 Dist-9000 DL-Med. Ball DL-Circuit DL-Abs/Flex DL-Med. Ball DL-Abs MD = Middle Distance Dist = Distance DL = Dryland Sample Workouts Friday, Dec. 28, 2001 3:30 p.m. (SCY) (After 9,000 SCY a.m. endurance IM workout) WARM-UP 6 x (50 free, 50 side kick, 50 fly drill, 50 pull buoy [5th], 50 IM) 20 x 100 on 1:15 (25 fly-25 free-25 free-25 fly) 500 stroke (50 kick, 50 drill) MAIN SET 2,000 timed kick (stroke) Michael Phelps (MP) = free on board 23:02 (5:48.9 - 5:47.5 - 5:46.0 - 5:39.6) 4 x 100 IM drill continuous PULLING SET (pull buoy, band) 10 x 200 on 3:00 Odd = free (moderate) Even = fly (fast) MP = 2:01 - 2:00 - 1:59 - 1:57.5 - 1:56.4 SPEED SET 24 x 25 fly on :30 (1-ez [drill], 1-no breath, 1-sprint) TOTAL: 9,000 yards (18,000 daily total) POST-PRACTICE 500 abdominals and stretching * * * Monday, Feb. 25, 2002 3:30 p.m. (SCY) (After 4,500 SCY a.m. practice_moderate) WARM-UP 800 mixer on 10:30 4 x 150 kick on 2:30 (50 stroke-50 free-50 stroke) 400 pull buoy on 5:00 (breathe 3-5-7-9 by 100) 200 stroke drill on 3:00 10 x 50 on :45 (2-25 kick/25 drill, 2-25 free/25 stroke, 1-stroke) MAIN SET (challenge 50s, main stroke) Michael did fly: 4 x 50 on 1:30 (25.4 - 25.6 - 25.0 - 24.8) (alt groups with 1500 mixed drills) 1 x 50 on 1:20 (24.8) 1 x 50 on 1:10 (24.8) 1 x 50 on 1:00 (24.5) 1 x 50 on :50 (24.4) 1 x 50 on :40 (24.1) 1 x 50 on :30 (23.8) LONG SWIM-DOWN 100-200-300 pull buoy (lungbuster by quarters) 400 choice kick 300-200-100 IM drills TOTAL: 6,100 yards (10,600 daily total) POST-PRACTICE DRYLAND Wall sit, 2 minutes 3 x 8 pull-ups (assisted if needed) 2 x 15 dips (no weight) Push-ups 10 elbows in + 5 clap 10 elbows out + 5 clap 10 opposite + 5 clap 10 reverse opp. + 5 clap Ab roller 2 x 15 3 x ball squats 10 3 x squat jumps 10 Stretching!!! * * * Thursday, March 7, 2002 3:30 p.m. (SCY) (8 days from first swim at sectionals) (No a.m. workout) WARM-UP 800 (75 free-25 IM order) on 10:30 6 x 100 stroke kick on 1:40 400 pull buoy on 5:00 (lungbuster by 100) 200 IM drill on 3:00 8 x 50 on :45 (25 free-25 stroke) MAIN SET 15 x 100 on 2:00 (1-kick, 1-drill, 1-swim) MP did backstroke: Kick: avg. 1:10 Drill: avg. 1:10 Swim: 54.0 (26.8 - 27.2) 53.1 (26.6 - 26.4) 51.6 (25.9 - 25.7) 50.7 (25.3 - 25.4) 49.1 (24.4 - 24.5) WARM-DOWN 4 x 200 pull buoy, paddles, band on 2:30 (lungbuster by 50) 200 IM drill START PRACTICE (15 minutes) 300 swim-down TOTAL: 5,300 yards * * * Thursday, Sept. 13, 2002 3:30 p.m. (SCM) WARM-UP 8 x 150 on 2:30 Odd = free (50 breathe opposite side, 50 right arm, 50 left arm) Even = 50 free (breathe 5th), 25 fly 8 x 100 stroke kick 2 on 1:45 4 on 1:40 2 on 1:35 8 x 50 on :50, 2 of each stroke TECHNICAL SET 8 x 200 on 3:30 breast (50 point kick, 50 kick-kick-pull, 50 3 high-3 long, 50 swim) (Focus on positioning) PULLING SET (pull buoy, paddles, band) 400 lungbuster (breathe 3-5-7-9 by 100) 4 x 200 on 2:40 (breathe 25 right side/25 left side) 4 x 200 on 2:30 (hard effort descend) 400 lungbuster (long stroke) KICKING 1500 free kick (100 moderate, 50 FAST!) 100 loosen TOTAL: 8,000 meters POST-PRACTICE 30 minutes of running and 15 minutes of stretching * * * Saturday, Nov. 10, 2002 7:30 a.m. (SCM) WARM-UP 3 x (200 free on 2:50/200 IM kick on 3:30/200 pull buoy on 2:50/200 IM drill on 3:15) MAIN SET MP Results: 1 x 200 free on 2:40 4 x 200 IM on 2:45 2:28 - 2:25 - 2:23 - 2:21 1 x 400 free on 5:20 3 x 200 IM on 2:40 2:19 - 2:15 - 2:13 1 x 600 free on 8:00 2 x 200 IM on 2:35 2:12 - 2:09 1 x 800 free on 10:40 1 x 200 IM on 2:30 2:04.4 (27.5 - 31.6 - 36.6 - 28.7) 100 loosen PULLING SET (pull buoy, paddles, band) 1500 (descend 500s 1-3) SPEED/TECHNICAL SET 32 x 25 on :30 (2 kick, 2 drill, 4 swim), 8 of each stroke 200 swim-down TOTAL: 9,000 meters POST-PRACTICE DRYLAND Medicine ball (repeat 3 times) Chest pass 10 Behind head pass 10 Right to right pass 10 Left to left pass 10 Between front pass 10 Squat pass 10 Dyna disc 3 x 30 seconds balancing (each leg) Foam rolls 3 x 30 seconds Ab roller 3 x 25 Stretching!!! |
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