Adam Peaty: 10 things you didn’t know about pro swimmers

Adam Peaty is making waves at the World Championships in Hungary, where he's sliced more than three-tenths of a second off his 50m breaststroke world record. After his success at least year's Olympics, he spoke to Mark Bailey about all the training and hard work that goes into a swimmer's body

1. A world record only hits home when your barber starts talking about it

“I was pretty nervous about Olympic qualification until I was chatting to my barber one day and he said: ‘You’re a world record holder. What are you worrying about?’ I think that was the moment it dawned on me that I had made history. It’s the sort of thing you think about more when you retire because at the time you can’t believe it. When I set my first world record I had to look at the clock five times to make sure it was right.”

2. We eat three times more than the average man

“During a tough winter training block I can eat 6,000-8,000 calories a day to fuel all my training and recovery. I have to get through a heck of a lot of food but I try to keep things interesting by eating my protein on a cycle – for example, steak on Monday, chicken on Tuesday, and fish on Wednesday. I get through a lot of scrambled egg and piles of veg and rice too. I live with my parents so that is helpful but after spending seven weeks training in Australia I got pretty handy with the Cajun spices in the kitchen.”

3. We can never press the snooze button

“Getting up early for training doesn’t become any easier. If anything, it probably gets harder. But the key is to get up as soon as you wake up or that snooze button becomes addictive. If you press it once there is no going back. Just get out of bed and get some breakfast down as quickly as possible.”

4. My body cannot train any harder

“My most painful training session is when I am training at my heart-rate max. That means my body cannot physically work any harder to get the blood pumping around my body. It normally involves lots of 50m or 100m sprints with really short recoveries. Sometimes after a session like that you cannot physically move but you have to go and do a gym session too. By the end of the week you are practically in your coffin.”

5. A swimmer’s physique is built in the gym, not the pool

“To build lean muscle I do a lot of squats, deadlifts and pull-ups. Earlier in the year I do big weights and fewer reps but before the Olympics it was more about lifting lighter weights more quickly for explosive power. It is very, very tough to get to this kind of level. On some days you are so tired you can’t even move your eyelids in the morning.”

6. The breaststroke is all about the legs

“People get confused about swimming technique but the secret to a good breaststroke is to use your legs as much as possible. About 70% of your power comes through your legs so they are your main tools in the breast stroke. The other thing is to try to reach out with your arms as much as possible because over time that will help to improve your technique and efficiency.”

7. A good coach should be able to make you angry

“My coach (Melanie Marshall) tends to leave me to my own devices in training but on days when I am struggling it is important to have somebody there to tell me what is happening to my body or just to make me angry enough to get the session done. A good coach makes sure you hit your peak in every session you do and knows exactly what buttons to press.”

8. We need to get our abs in shape

“Once you are in the water it becomes quite easy to hold your position so you have to do most of your core strength training in the gym. I like to do Swiss ball exercises like crunches because they get all the little supporting muscles around your core working hard as well as your main abdominal muscles so they are much more effective.”

9. Resting well is half the battle

“When I am out of the pool I try not to think about swimming or even talk about it much with my parents. I love hanging about with my dog or going for long walks or just playing computer games. You can’t just think about swimming 24/7 because the lifestyle is intense enough.”

10. You feel like soldiers going into battle

“After a competition we are all good mates and have a laugh but in competition it is war. I get on well with the British guys but we’re not always so friendly with the guys from the other countries. You want to have the best competition for you and your country and that’s all you think about.”

DFS, the official homeware partner for Team GB, has created a limited edition Britannia sofa range especially for British House – the Team GB headquarters at the Rio 2016 Olympics - to help the athletes unwind. They are available to buy now, in store and online.