Michael Phelps…a Swimming Machine!

I recently wrote an article about exercise and the effects it has on the metabolism.  Like many people in the world I have watched in awe as Michael Phelps has done the inhuman.  Watching him, it confirms what I have known for over 20 years…Swimming is the perfect exercise!

Last night they showed a breakdown of his day and the night before they talked about his diet.  I am going to attempt to summarize.

Michael Phelps eats a whole days worth of calories at one sitting.  He averages 3000 calories per meal and continues to eat throughout the day.  That means that he eats over 10,000 calories per day yet he complains that he can’t break over 200 pounds.  Why he would want to do that, I personally don’t understand.  As far as swimming goes, his Tuesday at the Olympics started with a warm-up swim of 2400 meters followed by 200 meter gold medal swim.  He then swam a 2400 meter warm-down, accepted his gold medal attended press conferences and attempted to rest a little before he had to do it all again for the 800 meter relay.  With all of his swimming measured out throughout his day, he swam over 5 1/2 miles in one day.

When you look at him you will quickly notice that he is tall, 6′4″ to be exact and weighs only 195 pounds.  He isn’t big from the standpoint of muscle mass compared to body builders, however, the fact that he is he has long muscles and a lot of them creates a huge metabolism.  2% body fat is the reason that you can see his muscles when he flexes them. His metabolism is like nothing I have ever seen.  He burns calories at an accelerated rate even while he sleeps.  He is truly a metabolism machine.

We can learn a lot from him if we stop and consider how his body works.

Swimming as an exercise is very dynamic.  It creates NO IMPACT on the body and allows you to move your body through large ranges of motion while the water creates muscular resistance.  This is key to burning calories in any exercise regimen. As for swimming there isn’t another exercise that compares to it.

So in conclusion, I say way to go Michael Phelps.  You are an inspiration to all of us who like to eat.  Maybe if I start swimming, I can eat like Mike.