“I may sound like a weirdo” – When Caeleb Dressel explained why he watches videos of dolphins and cheetahs
US swimmer Caeleb Dressel is currently one of the biggest names in the global swimming landscape. Caleb bagged a whopping five gold medals in his Olympic campaign in Tokyo, making him a household name.
It is often said that you have to be odd to be number one. This phrase remains true in the case of Caeleb Dressel at least as he revealed a peculiar training habit of studying videos of dolphins and cheetahs.
In April this year, Caeleb was interviewed by Graham Bensinger where he was asked to shed light on this. He said:
"I was like a wierdo but I mean I just think the most basic form of like any type of movement is if you watch an animal because there's no thought process behind it. It's just all instinct. So, even watching fish swim or cheetah, cheetah's running is one of my favourites actually,"
Dressel may not be as much of a weirdo as he believes because studying animal movement has been found to be helpful in understanding exercise and sports movements. In fact, the animal flow workouts designed by Mike Fitch gained immense popularity during the pandemic lockdowns.
Caeleb Dressel further explained what he finds fascinating in the videos of cheetahs. He said:
"If you watch a video of the cheetah running full speed and they slow it down and you can see his paw. His toes are actually wiggling. He's so relaxed through the air."
Dressel went on to explain his thought process and how he applies his learnings, as watching videos and applying them during training are two very different things. For the application of some movements, there needs to be an understanding of what to take away from the videos.
He added:
"So, (I) just try to work that through like the back into the stroke of my arm swinging around or even the front end catch. You want it to stay loose. It really is a dance when you dive in. You have to work with the water. You can't power your way. You can't muscle through. You have to stay as relaxed as you can while inserting strength. So, it is a balance and it is a balance that I am still trying to figure out,"
Dressel's dolphin kick is stronger than most swimmers' because he uses the up-kick as much as the down-kick. Definitely his training methods have been more than fruitful.
"This is actually the fastest part of swimming that has nothing to do with swimming," - Caeleb Dressel
Caeleb Dressel is widely regarded as the next great swimmer of his generation, and his dedication to perfecting each movement and technique is undeniable.
During his interview with Graham Bensinger, he went into great detail about how he turns off the swim blocks. He said:
"This is actually the fastest part of swimming that has nothing to do with swimming. So, for me it's one of the things I am kind of known for. One of my sweet spots,"
He added:
"The best thing to think about is you are not just jumping off, you are pulling with the arms and you are pushing with the legs. It's a 50/50. If you just jump you will probably just go high in the air. If you just pull you are going to go straight down. So you have to have both so you can get out,"
He went on to say what he hopes to have when considering a good start. He noted:
"It's about getting them clean. It's not about getting as far as you can,"
Well, nothing beats a few anecdotes from an Olympic champion.