Michael Phelps: I’m Not Going To Get Fat Again
After the 2008 Olympics, Michael Phelps decided to take a few months off from training. The result? The most decorated athlete in Olympic history gained 25 pounds in just a few months. Phelps, who raced his final competitive swimming event last night at the 2012 London Olympics, said that he wasn’t going to let that happen again.
“One of the things I want to do is I’m not going to let myself get out of shape like I did in 2009… I gained like 25 pounds in six months. We’re going to try not to go down that road this time around.”
Phelps said that his weight gain after the 2008 Olympics was due to a lack of motivation. The swimmer had just completed one of the most impressive Olympic hauls in history and with the 2012 games four years away he decided to give himself a rest from training.
“I wasn’t motivated. I did nothing, literally nothing, for a long time… I gained 25 pounds…. I started going through the motions again. I would go back for a week or two and then stop. I’d show up for dry-land practice and then just sneak out the back door so nobody saw me. I was watching Rocky II the other day—the one where he’s fighting Apollo for the second time and he’s just going through the motions. It reminded me of how I was.”
The American Swimmer said that after winning 22 Olympic Medals (18 gold) he has decided to hang up his suit.
It’s understandable that Phelps doesn’t want to gain a bunch of weight but I don’t think anyone would criticize him if he cut back on his workout routine just a little.
