Why You Can't Swim Like a New Fish - Blame the Old Fish

So you want to swim like Michael Phelps?  Do you have his genetic gifts?  Then you probably won't ever be able to swim like he does.  But lets not blame Michael.  Perhaps he's just underdeveloped.  Hows that?  Read on.

An article in Wired Magazine cites a study conducted by University of Ottowa researchers that finds that the loss of a gene known as actinodin found in fish may have been the cause of the transition of fish fins to limbs.

So does this mean when they figure out how to safely conduct gene transfers that we can get back to the way God first made us?  Just kidding, Texas!

Old Guy Tying New Stroke? Beware!

OK, so I'm not Michael Phelps.  But I do have a bit of his ego and I thought maybe I could try his freestyle stroke.  No, not the one on the TV commercial where he plows through pavement.  That's for the younger crowd.  I'm talking plain old throw yourself up with each stroke like the a butterfly to get more reach and more body whip with each kick.  Where did I land?  On the couch for two days - unable to move.  I learned my lesson, or so I thought.  That was a year or more ago.  But yesterday, I recalled a recent reply to that post where I first pointed out MP's freestyle leap.  That reply suggested opening one's fingers to make the water slide through faster.  Sounds logical (after you get past the part about giving up on cupping the water to get more pull).  Well I tried it.  Naturally, my arms came through the water faster - so did my elbow and almost instant tennis elbow pain that throbbed until I was about 3/4ths through my workout.  So as for radical new stroke technique?  It doesn't look good for moi.  I guess I'm stuck in the slow lane with the guy in the waterproof leg cast.

Why the Phelps Phenomenon is Not for Me

If you were a kid watching the Olympics late last summer, I'm guessing you probably got at least a small itch to try swimming as your chosen sport. And it may have even stuck with you through the spring-time. How do I know this? Well the number of kids who have joined the premier swim team (the ones who build the Olympic athletes out of the XBox generation) in my city has grown by 25 percent this summer.

Good for them you say? OK, I'll agree, good for them ... but not for me.

I happen to work out at the same time the team practices - dawn - and the coach, flush with cash from his new arrivals, has bought the rights to an additional lap lane in the pool. Until this year, they had always used half the pool. Cool, right? We get half, they get half. Not any more.

Thanks to the Michael phenomenon, they're taking over our space. This forces us early risers (of which there always have been quite a few), we of all varieties of skill and speed, to move over, smile and pretend we loyal members still count for anything.

Thanks for your time and chance to rant.

What Hasen't Been Said about Michael Phelps and the Pot Thing

You've heard about it all week ad nauseum. Michael Phelps "allegedly" smoked pot. There's a picture of someone that looks like the Eight Gold Wonderkid doing a bong hit, splashed all over the internets. My opinion - Probably is. He's caught crap from the conservative media and some of his sponsors. He's also lost three month's of eligibility in US swim competitions. And as if that isn't enough, now the friends of marijuana legalization are making him their poster boy, saying "If MP can do it, everyone does it. So make pot legal! Now!" Today, the Diggs, Reddits and all the other online opinion aggregators are pushing the envelope in that direction, calling on their minions to boycott sponsor(s) who are pulling their support of MP (think big cereal company).

Here's what's not been said ... Michael, you were stupid. Pot is, if nothing else, smoke. Put it in your body and it goes into your lungs, where some of it stays there. Your lungs are what got you to the finish line first, more times than I'll ever count. Your lungs are as important (if not more important) as your big feet, long arms, and long torso.

Keep up the partying and you can wave goodbye to all that glory, for the sport will pass you, fast. You can count on it.

My final words ... Grow up buddy, and start thinking. By the way, I hope your coach kicks your butt.

The Phelpian Eight

Nothing to say here but, WOW! and thanks Michael, for bringing swimming to the forefront of the public's attention for a few thrilling nights.

Michael Phelps Freestyle - What exactly is going on?

If you've watched Michael Phelps with any sort of discerning eye this week as he cracks one world record after another, you'll notice that his freestyle is a bit unorthodox from the rest of his fellow competitors. Even the most untrained eye will notice that he comes up higher out of the water than everyone else (link has an embedded picture of what I mean).

What is it about this that gives him an edge over his competitors? Is this giving him an edge?

This has gotten me thinking a little bit outside of the box, so forgive this post if I am way off base, but I tried out the stroke and noticed something peculiar. If you pull yourself out of the water high enough, you can actually throw your hips into the stroke, much like one does in butterfly. If you add the hip action, you get the benefit of more body and leg power in the stroke.

Now I'm not saying Michael is doing what I describe above. I'm not sure it would even be legal, and there are countless judges and people more versed in stroke technique watching all over the earth this week and I haven't heard any complaints or protests.

All I'm suggesting is, that this extra lift up and out of the water before going into the reach may add to one's power in the stroke. Try it for yourself. It takes a little bit of coordination to pull it off, but I think you may be pleasantly surprised. Let me know what you find.

Michael Phelps Sets New World Record

Michael Phelps has a new world record! These times always make me wonder if there is some untapped force out there. I just can't imagine swimming 50 meters in just under 27 seconds (my average is closer to a multiple of that)!