In 2012, the men’s health magazine named swimming legend Michael Phelps the fittest man of all time. Amongst the list were some of the top athletes, actors, and bodybuilders the world has ever seen. However, he surpassed them to claim this distinguished title. Hence, it’s almost impossible to imagine the 23-time Olympic gold medalist was ever out of shape, let alone fat. 

It’s been six years since Michael Phelps bid farewell to professional swimming. But it never deviated him from his intense workout regimes. At 37, the Baltimore Bullet has a physique to admire, and he still takes care of his health with the same intensity as before. 

When a friend called Michael Phelps fat

Of course, the word fat looks ridiculous when used for someone like Phelps, but the incident is indeed true. After the 2012 London Olympics, he announced his retirement from swimming. Hence, Phelps’ remember, “I wasn’t motivated. I did nothing, literally nothing, for a long time.”

He further added, “I gained 25 pounds. A friend of mine and I were playing football on the beach in Miami, and somebody got a picture of us and put it all over the place. And he’s like, ‘Bro, you gotta start working out, man. You are fat.” 

Well, a friend calling out on him is all the motivation Phelps needed to get back on track and be in his usual shape again. 

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Swimming legend Phelps never wanted to get out of shape

Besides other goals he had in mind post-retirement, Phelps always wished to be in the best physical shape possible. In one of his previous interviews, he said, “One of the things I want to do is I’m not going to let myself get out of shape like I did in 2009.” However, coming back from the 2012 London Olympics, he went through the toughest phase of his life. 

For the first time, he had no targets to achieve, no goals to strive for, and no idea what came next. Gaining 25 pounds and being in bad shape can be said to be a consequence of his unfocused mind. As the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. After hitting his probably lowest point in life and struggling through mental health turmoil, Michael Phelps once again emerged as a champion the world acknowledge him as.

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