I've been swimming my entire life yet the fastest my 50m freestyle ever got was 28.7 seconds while using a tech suit. Yet I see many Olympians and others that have almost the same muscle mass and proportions and they swim consistent 23's.
How is this so?
I mean, there's a laundry list of things. A great swimmer doesn't have to have all of these but each certainly helps....
I like this group of physical attributes. Let’s compare two Olympians, first the most awarded, Michael Phelps:
Tall - Yes
long arms - Famously yes
long torso compared to legs - Yes
wide shoulders - Yes
ectomorph-to-mesomorph build - Yes
big hands and feet - Yes
big lung capacity - Yes
flexible ankles, knees, and shoulders - Yes
strong core - Yes
high lactate threshold - Presumably
high proportion of fast-twitch muscle - Yes
And now Cody Miller:
Tall - No
long arms - No
long torso compared to legs- No
wide shoulders - Yes
ectomorph-to-mesomorph build - Yes
big hands and feet - No
big lung capacity - No
flexible ankles, knees, and shoulders - Yes
strong core - Yes
high lactate threshold - Presumably
high proportion of fast-twitch muscle - Yes
I mean, there's a laundry list of things. A great swimmer doesn't have to have all of these but each certainly helps....
I like this group of physical attributes. Let’s compare two Olympians, first the most awarded, Michael Phelps:
Tall - Yes
long arms - Famously yes
long torso compared to legs - Yes
wide shoulders - Yes
ectomorph-to-mesomorph build - Yes
big hands and feet - Yes
big lung capacity - Yes
flexible ankles, knees, and shoulders - Yes
strong core - Yes
high lactate threshold - Presumably
high proportion of fast-twitch muscle - Yes
And now Cody Miller:
Tall - No
long arms - No
long torso compared to legs- No
wide shoulders - Yes
ectomorph-to-mesomorph build - Yes
big hands and feet - No
big lung capacity - No
flexible ankles, knees, and shoulders - Yes
strong core - Yes
high lactate threshold - Presumably
high proportion of fast-twitch muscle - Yes
