People wait for the right conditions to do their best work. They...
Bob Bowman@coach_bowman
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Nov 09, 2026
~1 min read
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People wait for the right conditions to do their best work. They want everything lined up.
I train my swimmers to need none of that. Because on the biggest day, some of it always disappears. 🧵
I train my swimmers to need none of that. Because on the biggest day, some of it always disappears. 🧵
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Everyone assumes better conditions make you better. And they do help, right up until you start to depend on them.
Because anything you rely on to perform can be taken away, usually at the worst possible time.
Because anything you rely on to perform can be taken away, usually at the worst possible time.
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And on the biggest day, something always is. The pool is freezing, or your sleep got wrecked the night before.
If your best needs everything to be comfortable, that's the day it falls apart.
If your best needs everything to be comfortable, that's the day it falls apart.
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So I take the comforts away on purpose. My swimmers carry their own gear and solve their own problems.
And I make the ordinary day a little harder than it needs to be, so the big day feels like nothing new.
And I make the ordinary day a little harder than it needs to be, so the big day feels like nothing new.
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Michael Phelps trained in plenty of unremarkable pools and won everything anyway.
His speed came from him, not the conditions.
His speed came from him, not the conditions.