22-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps stepped into the broadcast booth with announced Rowdy Gaines during the Arena Pro Swim Series last weekend in Orlando. Among the topics of discussion between the two swim celebrities was that of Phelps’ physique, which has been commented on by both swim fans and the Baltimore native’s in-pool rivals alike.
Especially after Phelps’ Curtain of Distraction appearance at the Arizona State University home basketball game, where the 30-year-old’s abs and chiseled lats were on full display, the mainstream took note of how ripped the greatest Olympian of all time has become.
In talking with Rowdy, Phelps commented that he’s “probably the most cut” he’s been in his life. Phelps not only attributes his hard-earned, envious figure to weight-training and what he’s doing in the pool, but he points out his alcohol abstinence has also played a major role.
“Not having a drink for over a year-and-a-half, it’s incredible. It’s not only my body — on a lot of different levels. It’s been amazing. I can really tell the difference with my body, sort of not carrying that weight on my back.”
Back in August right before the U.S. Nationals at which he clocked the world’s fastest times in 3 individual events, Phelps openly stated that he is not going to drink until after Rio – “if I ever drink again.” Phelps said sincerely the decision to not drink was one he made for himself, expressing, “I’m being honest with myself. Going into 2008 and 2012, I didn’t do that. I didn’t say I was going to take a year off from drinking and not have a drink.”
Interesting read on alcohol consumption and sport “Applied Exercise Physiology” 1982 by Richard A. Berger, Ph.D. Professor of Exercise Physiology Biokinetics Research Laboratory Department of Physical Education Temple University
I’m a huge Michael Phelps fan. That said describing him as “the greatest Olympian of all time” is debatable. He has the most medals which is a huge accomplishment. Swimming, though, has many more opportunities for medal accumulation than say track and field because there have so many different strokes, relays and distances that a single swimmer can compete in. Swimming has a limited pool of athletes in competition because of the significant resources required for training. The majority of the world’s youth have no opportunity to become great swimmers. Running fast, however, is much more accessible to the world’s youth. Track records are lowered with much less frequency than are the swimming records which are constantly being lowered. Again… Read more »
Not having resources doesn’t have anything to do with judging whether you can judge if someone is the greatest Olympian of all time. You are comparing those that are in the data pool, not those who COULD have been in the data pool. If you are going to compare track and field and number of events, I would rate Carl Lewis above Bolt as in addition to running he also medaled in the triple jump. The fact that swimming has more events to medal in is irrelevant because of the difficulty of medaling in multiple events, never mind winning gold medals in multiple events. That in itself shows greatness. Swimming records are consistently being lowered? Most of the long course… Read more »
Phelps is on to something. About three years ago I quit drinking. I went from 12 – 15 beers a day down to zero. Within 8 months I had dropped 40 pounds and I was ripped and chiseled just like Phelps. And I did NOT work out. My exercise was doing yard work, working in my wood shop, cutting and splitting firewood which was the exact same exercise that I had been getting for the prior 8 years. So nothing changed but the alcohol and my body completely transformed. Everything Phelps says about alcohol consumption is true.
I’d be interested to see details of his training, but i think he is stronger than before. he isnt trainning for longer races, (400 im) isnt training for 8 races like 08. he is training more sprints, probably more weights, more high intensity less yardage than what we saw say back in 08. I think its just a different type of training. and couple that with alcohol abstinence, he should be ripped, i’d be concerned if he wasnt.
If only I had a nickel for every time I was “never consuming alcohol again”….
That being said, I think our team’s dry-season before championships played just as big a part in our time drops as the taper did
My college swimming was successful, in part because I balanced my overconsumption of alcohol around my training and competition. But that changed as I got older, and even though I continued my amateur swim career the alcohol problem impacted my performance and life. I did not want to admit I was alcoholic, but the conclusion was inevitable and I now am blessed to have more than a decade of sobriety. But despite this similarity to the fabulous Phelps swim trajectory, i’m not qualified to tell him what to do. Only he knows if he is alcoholic. In fact, we alcoholics recognize that trying to tell an alcoholic what THEY should do can sometimes have opposite results. I follow this rule… Read more »
Good advice, give up drinking, since you have ADHD. As one with ADHD I know we have to have something to do.
Michael, if you are reading this, please take it from me. Do not EVER drink again. Nothing good can ever come from drinking. You are not imagining things, the reason your physique is the best it’s ever been and you are swimming times almost at your very best (at the ripe age of 30, mind you) because you are abstaining from alcohol. It is not a coincidence.
When the Olympics are over this summer, I advise you not to go back to drinking. Because once the Olympics are over, you might find yourself with a big let down. Like “So what do I do now?” Alcohol will only harm you. You gotta believe me on this.
I completely agree. He obviously has a drinking problem. Nothing to be ashamed of. Just treat it like an alcoholic and never drink again. It is so much better to always be clear headed, especially when you are a new father.
Why would anyone give this a “thumbs down”?