RIO 2016 ! It ’s a showcase for the victory of the human intent , opportunity for the world ’s top jock to have all the sexual urge , and a possible looming health catastrophe of heroic proportions . High pass over over here for all ofThrillist ’s coverage of the games , and the game beyond the secret plan .
Olympic god of the seaMichael Phelpsmay own an aquatically perfect body , but no athlete succeeds without discipline and a kickass lovesome - up regimen .
" I do the same precise warm - up now that I ’ve done for the last 14 geezerhood , 13 long time , " he once toldSpeedoin a promotional infotainment video recording . " 800 , 600 , 400 , 200 , swimming - kick - pulling drill , then I do a span 25s . That ’s it . "
Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images
OK , OK , all well and good . As a former ( decidedly un - Olympic ) bather , I get that all of those numbers mention to distances in a puddle . AnOlympic - sized swimming poolis 50 meter in length , so an 800 is 16 lick . And tear and kick refer to those affair you do with your arms and leg , respectively , when moving with aim in an aquatic environment . It make a lot of common sense that Michael Phelps would do these thing before every race .
So , give all that , what the saucy Hades isthis thing he does with his armsbefore every race ?
The video above is from 2008 , but Phelps still does thisbefore every wash , and we ’ve see it on showing inRio 2016 . He stretch out his monolithic , 6'7 " wingspan and flaps his arms about his chest and back , slapping himself into the zone and becoming asocial spiritualist sensationand an inspiration to6 - year - oldsaround the world . It ’s become a signature move , but is it too hit-or-miss a motion to be an especially useful stretch ?
stingraypi18/YouTube
The answer is no . stretch andtraining for swimmingis actually a much more vivid process , and an Olympian like Phelps does the bulk of that away from the starting block . Instead , his number of three arm baseball swing and back slaps is a key part of how he clears his head before every wash . He said as much to theNew York Timesin 2009 :
Once he has cleared his mind and loosened his limbs , Phelps will swim each race over and over in his mind . [ … ] So when Phelps ’s goggles filled with water during the final examination of the 200 butterfly at the Beijing Olympics , he did not panic ; he count his strokes so he cognize where the walls were and lowered his world record .
“ When I step onto the blocks to slipstream , I interchange into a dissimilar train . ”
Phelps is far from the first cosmos - class athlete to draw consistent effect from irregular methodology . Golden State Warrior and NBA MVP Rick Barry notoriously spend his integral basketball game careershooting free throw underhand– another move that makes you calculate likekind of a dingusin the minute . Barry , of course , played his dingus game all the room to retirement in 1980 , end a sterling career with a .900 costless stroke percentage . Despite bet uncanny , it ’s still beingmimicked in 2016 , and was even featured in an oddNBA motivational video from who - knows - when , where famous Celtics four-in-hand Red Auerbach grills Barry on the move .
" I bounce the ball three prison term . I think repeating in this game is the winder to success , " Barry say , holding the ball with two hand and his thumbs pointing toward the roof .
" Is it repetition or superstitious notion ? " Red Auerbach asks .
" I think it ’s repetition , " Barry say , and – his body relaxed – he makes every shot . " I recommend the way you’re able to make the most shots as … the way you experience the most sure-footed . "
Good luck , Phelps .
uslifko777/YouTube
