I'm obsessed with performance science.
So I broke down Michael Phelps' entire physical & mental routine for Olympic swim training.
(he's won more Olympic medals than any other athlete in history...)
Every high performer should read + steal what I found 👇
Most people know Phelps won 28 Olympic medals.
What they don't know is why.
Sure, he had a 6'7" wingspan and size-14 feet.
But those weren't his biggest advantages.
What separated him from every other swimmer was his internal operating system...
Every night, Phelps would run mental simulations of his races.
Not just the perfect swim. He'd visualize chaos:
• Goggles filling with water
• Suit tearing at the start
• Equipment malfunctioning
His coach called this "watching videotapes" in his mind.
This mental rehearsal saved him when disaster struck.
Beijing 2008, 200m butterfly final. His goggles filled with water at 150 meters.
Couldn't see a thing for the final 50.
Most athletes would've panicked, but Phelps had already been there before... in his mind.
Swimming blind, he counted his strokes.
19 strokes to the wall—muscle memory from thousands of mental rehearsals.
Gold medal + world record.
Talent is, of course, important, but it's more than that.
This is installing systems that work when everything goes wrong.
His goal-setting approach was equally systematic.
Every day, he'd write down specific race times.
Kept them private.
Reviewed them obsessively.
It wasn't hopes or dreams he was jotting down in his journal. They were targets that shaped every training decision.
The physical training was relentless.
25-30 hours weekly in the pool. 13 kilometers daily. No days off for 5 straight years. Then there's the food... 10,000 calories daily:
• Entire pizzas
• Pound of pasta per meal
Elite output demands elite input haha.
Sleep was for recovery and performance data.
His team tracked REM and deep sleep phases with scientific precision. They had targets for each sleep stage.
Most people sleep to feel rested. Elite performers sleep to optimize cellular repair and memory consolidation.
Phelps' mental resilience came down to one principle:
Process over outcome.
He obsessed over technique, effort, and preparation. Never wins or losses.
This freed him from the pressure that destroys most elite performers. You can't control results. You can control preparation.
Your blueprint for peak performance:
1. Visualize failure scenarios, not just success
2. Set specific, private targets—review daily
3. Track recovery metrics like you track output
4. Focus on process; outcomes take care of themselves
5. Build systems that work when chaos hits
The most decorated Olympian in history wasn't just gifted.
He built an internal operating system that turned his mind and body into precision instruments.
Every founder can install these same systems.
Excellence isn't magic—it's methodology applied with obsessive consistency.
By the way, I've been creating a methodology for every high performer to design their own personal operating system.
Now I'm forming a small group to explore, iterate, and refine this approach together.
If that resonates, shoot me a DM.
— @brandonhance_
