“Get the Videotape Ready”: The Mental Routine That Made Michael Phelps Unbeatable

Hey, Arjun here.

For any elite performer, the key to victory is creating the right routines. Michael Phelps has a secret ritual that helped him become the mentally toughest swimmer in the world and win 23 gold medals. It’s called “Get the videotape ready.”

Four years before the Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps won 8 golds at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he followed the same routine every race.

He arrived two hours early. He stretched. And he loosened up, according to a precise pattern:

• Eight hundred mixer

• Fifty freestyle

• Six hundred kicking with a kickboard

• Four hundred pulling a buoy

• And more…

After the warm-up he would dry off, put in his earphones, and sit – never lie down – on the massage table. From that moment he and his coach, Bob Bowman, wouldn’t speak a word to each other until after the race was over. Not one. single. word.

At forty-five minutes before the race:

• He would put on his race suit.

At thirty minutes before the race:

• He would get into the warm-up pool and do six hundred to eight hundred meters.

At ten minutes before the race:

• He would walk to the ready room.

• He would find a seat alone, never next to anyone.

• He liked to keep the seats on both sides of him clear for his things: goggles on one side and his towel on the other.

When his race was called: He would walk to the blocks. There he would do what he always did…

• Two stretches, first a straight-leg stretch and then with a bent knee.

• Left leg first every time.

• Then the right earbud would come out.

When his name was called:

• He would take out the left earbud.

• He would step onto the block-every time.

• Then he would stand and flap his arms in such a way that his hands hit his back.

Phelps explains:

It’s just a routine. My routine. It’s the routine I’ve gone through my whole life. I’m not going to change it. And that is that.

His coach, Bob Bowman, designed this physical routine with Phelps. But that’s not all. He also gave Phelps a routine for what to think about as he went to sleep and the first thing when he awoke. He called it “Watching the videotape.” But here’s the catch…

There was no actual tape, of course. The “tape” was a visualization of the perfect race.

In exquisite detail and slow motion Phelps would visualize every moment from his starting position on top of the blocks, through each stroke, until he emerged from the pool, victorious, with water dripping off his face.

Phelps didn’t do this mental routine occasionally. He did it every day before he went to bed and every day when he woke up… for years. When Bob wanted to challenge him in practices he would shout: “Put in the videotape!” And Phelps would push beyond his limits.

Eventually, the mental routine was so deeply ingrained that Bob barely had to whisper the phrase, “Get the videotape ready,” before a race. Phelps was always ready to “hit play.”

When asked about the routine, Bowman said:

If you were to ask Michael what’s going on in his head before competition, he would say he’s not really thinking about anything. He’s just following the program.

But that’s not right. It’s more like his habits have taken over.

When the race arrives, he’s more than halfway through his plan and he’s been victorious at every step. All the stretches went like he planned. The warm-up laps were just like he visualized.

His headphones are playing exactly what he expected. The actual race is just another step in a pattern that started earlier that day and has been nothing but victories.

Winning is a natural extension. And as we all know, Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

We often can’t help but think about how Phelps and the other Olympians make all these feats of amazing athleticism seem so effortless.

Of course, Olympic athletes arguably practice longer and train harder than any other athletes in the world- but when they get in that pool, or on that track, or onto that rink, they make it look positively easy.

It’s more than just a natural extension of their training. It’s a testament to the genius of the right routine.

The 2-Minute Hack: Mental Videotape Visualization

Learning Lesson: Whether you’re an athlete or are starting your own business, we can learn from Phelps. Having the right routines can make “success” a natural extension of our training or work. You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

And visualization isn’t wishy-washy-woosa magic, it can work for anyone.

So what are you waiting for? Close your eyes and picture what you want to achieve in exquisite detail; every detail down to the last atom. Is that:

• Acing a test?

• Closing a sale?

• Nailing a presentation?

• Starting your dream business with doola?

Whatever it is…

Channel your inner Michael Phelps, visualize what success looks like, and: “Get the videotape ready.” Every. Single. Day.

How will you implement this visualization technique in your business this week? Hit reply and let me know.

See you next week.

Lets doola it ⚡

Arjun

P.S. Full credit for this story goes to Gregory McKeown in his incredible book Essentialism.