Worthwhile Article That Was Lost in "The Fastest Age" Thread/Saga

Glad everyone like the article thus far. It IS pretty fascinating and should give us some real insight that perhaps could help us all. I hope more folks out there will enjoy it!

Mark - great article- thanks for posting it!

Originally posted by knelson Even if he did start lifting I think it would only help much in 100 meter events. I doubt weights would make him much faster in 200s and the 400 IM or free. Just my opinion, of course. well that was my opinion as well, but the 200, 400 free and 400IM are my events as well. I have only dropped a bit of time in the shorter events, but have dropped a ton on the middle distance events.

Another thanks for a great article. I couldn't help but think of my husband. He too is 6'4" (used to be 195!) with a huge lung volume capacity (I believe it's 1 liter bigger than the average), and he too swims 400 IM and makes it look easy. He has long legs though. He usually wins Nationals in his age group for the 400 IM... no Olympics though! ;) Anyway, it seemed to me that Phelps is a blessed combination of: hard work/ethic, talent, great physiology, and a positive mental attitude. If that's supernatural, OK then. I think it's neat to see the evolution of swimmers and swimming and I wonder how much faster "we" can get? PS. Don't tell, ;) but a friend of ours worked at the US OTC in Colorado, and he and my husband snuck our black Labrador Retriever, MacGuire, into the flume! Mac did great. And his best time for 100m Dog Paddle was 1:37. Sadly he passed last November at 14 :( I don't know what his lung capacity was but I could tell you stories about his stomach capacity!!!

Aswesome article! Thank you for bringing it into focus. I agree wholeheartedly about the 'feel for the water'... Since I started swimming, I noticed that a lot of accomplished swimmers, and a lot of masters swimmers who are really dedicated to it tend to have some intuitive artistic and creative ability. From Bil Volckening article about how swimming reelates to art, to knowing that that Cahd Carvin likes to make pottery, and few other instances, (I can't recall the details clearly enough to quote them). I find this 'artistic edge' an interesting angle (in addiotion to training, technique and conditioning). I really thing there is something to it. Even in my insignificant little case... I already know I have aristic ability (even sculpture). Once I was asked if I feel 'talented' in swimming, and I answered, yes, I think so. This was not because of my athletic ability, biut because I'm very aware of the feel of the water. Most often I still can't get my body to do what I'd like it to do, but I can always tell what's going on. Sometimes I wonder wehen people say that laps can get boring... I wonder, how can they??? Your whole body is on sensory overload going through the water, I'm usually to busy feeling my way through it to think of much anything else. Much like when I draw or paint or make sculptures, I get so engrossed in it, that I don't notice a whole lot of anything else around me. Now, if I could only get my body to do what I would like it to do....

Originally posted by Conniekat8 Now, if I could only get my body to do what I would like it to do.... Gosh, I wish I could get my mind to do what I would like it to do... What mind?...Good question!...never mind...ok....See ya...yea, you to.... All demented kidding aside....Connie, you make some great points regarding the feel of the water....My take on the feel of the water is this...Being able to feel what is taking place and going on while your body moves though the water is essential to hooking up a good stroke. If you can't feel it...you can't tell your body to do it... Just my two cents worth....mine to...hush up, who's writing this anyway....

Originally posted by Tom Ellison Originally posted by Conniekat8 Now, if I could only get my body to do what I would like it to do.... Gosh, I wish I could get my mind to do what I would like it to do... What mind?...Good question!...never mind...ok....See ya...yea, you to.... All demented kidding aside....Connie, you make some great points regarding the feel of the water....My take on the feel of the water is this...Being able to feel what is taking place and going on while your body moves though the water is essential to hooking up a good stroke. If you can't feel it...you can't tell your body to do it... Just my two cents worth....mine to...hush up, who's writing this anyway.... You're too funny :) I', I was watching Mens NCAA swimming just a little bit ago... 100 Fly SCM, Ian Crocker sets a world record, and then a Croatian and Yugoslavian close second and third. Someone wondered not too long ago where my countrymen were in swimming accomplishments.... We just have that body style that slinks through water. ;) That's one of the big reasons I like swimming, and being in water in general... feels good. Okay, enough of this touchy feeliy stuff before I start thinking skinnydipping... :cool:

Originally posted by laineybug 'knowing where your body is in space and what it is doing" is call propreoceptive functioning. I've always thought of this as "in the air" but I bet it applys to "in the water too" And maybe swimmers have to have a better sense of it than pilots, gymnists, etc, because swimmers have to deal with the resistance and bouyance effects of the water. I was wondering if it's not a certain personality type and abilities too that tends to get interested and do well in swimming. Actually, i'm pretty sure there is something to it.

Originally posted by Conniekat8 ... Okay, enough of this touchy feeliy stuff before I start thinking skinnydipping... :cool: Whoooooaaaaa. These forums just got a lot more interesting! Did no, did to, did not.....

Originally posted by Mark in MD I 'spose Michael's coach, Bob Bowman, doesn't want to tamper with success and/or believes in "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Goes to prove that each person is unique in what works best for him or her. Nice to hear from someone in Maryland, too. Hope to see a few folks from Maryland at the Colonies Zone Champs next week, too, at George Mason University. I believe that NBAC does not recommend weight training for swimmers that are teenagers and as you all know by now Phelps is still a teenager. Re the earlier reference to incorporating the dolphin kick it was Phelps dolphin kick off the wall from *** to free that captivated the spectators in the 400 IM race against Vendt. Vendt by the way is at least 8 inches shorter than Phelps but is a living demonstration of the "other" body type that works so well, namely the "not big" guy with tremendous flexiblity (read great kick) and a "big" heart. Vendt nearly caught Phelps on that last free leg using a kick that looked like an outboard motor wake. Of course, Phelps is now much harder to catch. Interesting that they mention Barrowman, another local boy. He was not tall (listed at 6 foot but much closer to 5'10") and same goes for Berkoff (5'9") and finally one of my swimming heros Murry Rose..not tall and reportedly couldn't do more than 2-3 pull-ups and one dip when "measured" by the experts but what a great feel for the water.