Swimming Technique January - February 2003 Feature Article

TRAINING MICHAEL PHELPS
American Flyer
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_explains his training philosophy and provides sample workouts.

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
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 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
These days, Michael sets goals for himself. Our eyes are on one medium and one long-range goal: World Championships in July in Barcelona and 2004 Olympic Trials and Games. In Spain, he will swim a full program that mimics the Olympic schedule, except that there the 400 IM will be on the last day rather than the first. That's a full plate: six days of prelims, semis and finals in the 100-200 fly, 200-400 IM, 800 free relay, 400 medley relay and, hopefully, a berth on the 4 x 100 free relay.

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!!!