He can't be as weak as you.

NOBODY can be as weak as me, you know that Brian! :-)

Now the original question, can you help? Or are you just trolling as usual? ;-)

---

-
"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

Baltimore Sun article 3/9/04 ("Measure of a Swimmer")

Excerpt:

"The harder you work, the more lactate you produce," said Genadijus Sokolovas, the director of physiology for USA Swimming. "Michael is the only one who can set a world record with very small lactate in the blood. He's unique in several ways. On land, he's one of the weakest swimmers we've ever measured."

Compared to what?

"How strong would an Olympic weightlifter be if we tested him in the water?" said Bowman, illustrating the sport's search for meaningful physiological data. "I'm not saying some of this research isn't valuable, but I don't know how an isokinetic contraction on a bench relates to how strong you are in the water. Michael could train for strength on land, but how relevant is that?"

Many elite swimmers incorporate weight training and running into their regimen. Phelps has never done the first, and the second was cut from his program last summer because of knee pain.

http://www.jockbio.com/...elps/Phelps_bio.html

"The first place to start with Michael is his body. He stands 6-4 with a wingspan of nearly 80 inches. By all accounts, his frame is perfect for a swimmer.

Michael understands how to use his body to its full advantage. His hands and feet are like paddles in the water, and he has an incredibly powerful kick. The butterfly is his signature stroke, but he’s shown the ability to dominate in any event.

Michael’s technique is excellent, and no one works harder at it. His training regimen is grueling—two to five hours a day in the pool. He does minimal weightlifting; at this point flexibility and a feel for the water are more important to him.

His physique notwithstanding, endurance may be Michael’s single greatest asset. He’s able to hold his stroke under pressure and when fatigue begins to creep in. From a mind over matter standpoint, Michael is also off the charts. His ability to relax, focus and block out the pain all at once is unique in his sport. He never seems nervous before a race, yet his intensity on the starting block is unmatched."

funny you bring this up...during the olympics some friends of mine who are golfers argued that Tiger Woods has more strength than Michael Phelps. I said hell no and was pretty much willing to be close to my life on it...I was wrong, completely wrong...Tiger can bench well over 300 pounds (read in Golf Magazine) and Micael apparently can't lift jack...so surprising considering so many swimmers have excellent strength...

Hmm, I thought this was going to be about his inability to refuse a drink

Never bet on a swimmer to win an outright strength contest. While most swimmers are stronger than your average person off the street, very few can even come close to being able to lift the type of weight that athletes in sports requiring explosive power can lift.

"Tiger can bench well over 300 pounds"

Maybe that's why he's been in a slump. For a golfer, benching 300 is totally useless. If anything, a golfer should focus on building a nice beer belly - the best golfers in the world have traditionally been a little thick around the middle. Remember David Duval? He was the #1 golfer in the world before he started training and lost his "power belly". Phil Mickelson? Never refused seconds in his life.

I'll take Tiger's "slump" over my golf game anyday! But seriously, since golf isn't a terribly aerobic sport, some gifted golfers can get away with being fat-asses. No one ever accused Jack Nicklaus of being skinny. And don't forget John Daly. But there are golfers whose fitness level definitely helps their game - Tiger, Nick Faldo, Gary Player, & Jesper Parnevik, to name a few. I would agree that benching 300 lbs is likely useless for a golfer, but strength-training does have it's place. Squating 300 lbs would be a definite help.

Tiger's bench max (and his pretty hefty squat max too) likely came during his Stanford days when he started working with the athletic department strength and conditioning coaches to put some muscle on his 150-55 lb. frame. His current workout regimen remains a closely guarded secret so it is unclear as to whether he still throws around that kind of weight on the bench.

This goes along nicely with strength training and cycling argument. As Ric Stern has pointed out on numerous occasions, most everyone is a strong as Lance Armstrong, we're just not as powerful. Strength and power are not the same thing. Our aerobic engines are not as powerful as Lance or Phelps.

Tiger can bench well over 300 pounds (read in Golf Magazine)

I'd be willing to bet that is on a "press machine". An equipment and drug-free BP of 300 pounds for Tiger's bodyweight is a pretty impressive feat. I doubt he does 300 pound bench presses, since (as someone else pointed out) it's useless for his sport and his trainer would have to be nuts jeopardizing all those millions just to be "weight room strong". maximum singles are high risk for those not accustomed to them ... that takes quite a while.

I'm not sure of Tiger's weight, but at 150pounds, the lift is double BW (very impressive), @ 175 pounds it's 1.7 times BW, and @ 200 pounds it's 1.5 times BW ... all rather impressive lifts.

Again, I am guessing it is a "bench press machine" that skews press poundage in a similar fashion as leg press does squat poundage. In other words, the machine adds to the leverage.

If, on the other hand, he can actually bench press 300 pounds ... I'm impressed. I'd bet there's a significant amount of NFL CB's that have a tough time with 300 pounds ... some of which only get 225 for 3 or 4 at the combine.

---

=======================
-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

Guys, guys, this is a Michael Phelps thread NOT Tiger Woods...

---

-
"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

Maybe Phelps is indeed one of the weakest swimmers ever to be teste but..

no hope for you, though.. ;)

---

---

http://twitter.com/krepster || http://www.pedro-gomes.com || follow all the action on facebook

Hey, if you want a Phleps thread, start your own! oh.. wait...

:)

Yes and no yawg...

Because in swimming technique is a big factor, while in cycling no.

But yes, I wanted to stir that kind of discussion, let's see if the golf fans let us :-)

---

-
"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

That was kind of my point. There are other factors than raw strength in endurance sports. Technique and a huge aerobic engine are probably more important than being able to bench 300 or squat 400. Keeping it stirred :-)

Tiger Woods' wife is hot. Maybe we can expand the hottie thread to include significant others of athletes?

I bet I could bench press her... WHO SAID THAT?!??!!?!?!?!?!?!

---

-
"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

Nobody mentioned that Phelps is a middle distance swimmer. Most middle distance swimmers have more slow twitch muscles, thus they are "weak" in the weight room. The guys on my college team who swam Phelps' best events were the same way. Not necessarily skinny, but they they didn't impress anyone in the weight room. Some of the distance guys never benched more than 115 lbs. The guys who could throw down in the 50 free, well they were putting up 250, 275 lb bench maxes. I'm a good example- I maxed at 255 lbs bench press at 165 lb bodyweight, and couldn't swim anything longer than the 100 free.

Know what is sweet about Elin? Swedish, nanny, model, twin. Is her sister dating anyone?

It wasn't until a couple of years ago he claimed to brench press 300lbs. Not 10years ago at Stanford. The strength does actually help him too, he can hit balls out of thick thick rough that no one else could dream of hitting out of. Of course if he would just hit it in the fareway, he wouldn't have to worry about it. Also being buff helped him snag a hot wife. I don't see Elin falling for John Daly.

No one can argue with Michael success. But... Be careful in copying a great athlete's training program, you don't know if he is a champion because of his program or in spite of it. I would look more at Eddie Reese's guys. He has them lift hard quite often. He has had a lot more champions than Bowman's once in a lifetime pupil.

Also bench press doesn't correlate much to muscles you primarily use when you swim. Something like a tricep pulldown would be a different story.