Comment by goda90
3 years ago
Don't forget Phelps also spends most of his exercise time in water. The body expends energy to maintain thermal equilibrium, and water absorbs heat much more quickly than the air. With several hours of swimming each day, that energy will add up.
Very relevant point. They sure as hell don't make the "Olympic tier" pools at my gym anywhere near body temperature; I probably spent the first few minutes psyching myself up for the shock then another few minutes getting used to the temperature and recovering from that shock. I don't know for sure but based on my understanding, based on the size of the pool my body would expend energy at a tremendous rate even if I just grabbed the ladder rail and stayed still.