Is Michael Phelps Really The Fittest Man Of All Time?
Michael Phelps is in the spotlight once again, but this time it’s not for winning gold!
Instead he’s being heralded as “The Fittest Man Of All Time” by Men’s Health Magazine. Hmm, really?
I’ll be honest when I first read that Phelps was being honored with such a prestigious title I was perplexed. Let me explain why…
As you know I’ve just come back from a weekend of Crossfit training and my definition of ‘fitness’ has changed quite a bit over the last few months. Earlier in the year I visited Reebok 5th Ave and attended a workout with Rich Fronning – winner of the 2012 Crossfit Games. Now here’s someone I would regard as the fittest man in the world!
Rich demonstrates remarkable ability in all of the areas that comprise true fitness – cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy. Yet for some reason he’s not even included in the Men’s Health list! Do you know who is? LL Cool J is. Arnold Schwarzenegger is. So are Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman and even Gerard Butler along with many other famous celebrities. But Rich Froning who is literally the fittest man on the planet – nope!
Now if you read the Men’s Health definition of ‘Fitness’ they say that it’s not just about how fast you run, jump or how many medals you have. They also take into consideration how your fitness has inspired others. Okay let’s go with that shall we? What has LL Cool J done to inspire people? How about Hugh Jackman or Brad Pitt? Jason Statham? Yep he’s on the list too. I love the guy but is he inspirational? Sure they may have great bodies but are any of these guys fitness gurus? I may buy into Arnold making the list…well because he’s Arnold and without a doubt he’s inspired millions to hit the gym. But Hugh Jackman… really?
As for Phelps, I’m sure his workout is tough. In fact I’ve seen it and it’s of course…Olympic. He’s obviously the best swimmer in the world as well as the most decorated Olympian of all time – no one can dispute that. BUT, I don’t think those accomplishments earn him the title of ‘Fittest Man Of All Time’ and truthfully, what has he done to inspire people to become fitter and healthier? Or is simply competing and winning enough to be considered inspirational?
Look I know I’m being picky here. But who exactly put this list together at Men’s Health? Michael Phelps may be more famous, have more endorsements and gold medals, but Froning is the fittest man in the world. When I think of inspiration, I’m not thinking of Phelps. Google Rich Froning and watch him at the Crossfit Games – that’s fitness!
But what about you? Do you think Phelps deserves the title of the Fittest Man Of All Time? If not – who does?
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Testing The Trainers: CrossFit
about 2 years ago - 14 comments
How’s everything going out there in the Angry Trainer Nation? I hope you’re all doing amazingly well on the fitness front. I’m working really hard at providing you with real world information to help you reach your health and fitness goals. And for this week’s Testing The Trainers posting, I’m reviewing another very popular training…
about 7 months ago
What I notice about this list is that everybody is a celebrity. What happened to diversity? How about including people that have overcome terrible injuries or disabilities. Lets face it this is about selling magazines and we all know who each one of these people are and are probably nursing a crush or a man crush for one of them. That sells! Also it is easy journalism.
about 7 months ago
Totally agree!
about 7 months ago
All I know about Phelps is that he singlehandedly proves WRONG everyone who bashes pot smokers as fat gamers sacked out on the couch with a bag of chips. And that’s why I like him. All I know about Lance Armstrong is that he is an unapologetic Atheist in a sea of poser Christian athletes, and, doper or not, I like him for not crediting a supreme being for his achievements. It’s impossible, Alfonso, to determine the “fittest” person in the world. As Cindy said above, celebrities who look good aren’t necessarily the best examples and I can’t say I’ve ever been inspired by a celebrity to do anything positive. You got to witness Froning do his thing and it is, without a doubt, an amazing thing that’s become very popular, but unless we can scientifically evaluate every man in some fair we, no one can be given the title of “fittest.” Maybe the fittest person you know, or the most dedicated, or the one who’s gained the most followers.
about 7 months ago
Society is still narrow-minded. We equate fitness with a buff body. Just because you have a buff looking body does not mean you are fit. You have to be able to do things with your body, not just look like you can. Taylor Lautner is also a celebrity…but he also knows how to work his body, he does his own stunts. People that do parkour know how to work their bodies, I would say they are fit.
about 7 months ago
I Agree!!! Rich Fronning is the fittest man of the earth!!!!
about 7 months ago
I agree that inspiration should be one of the primary factors on that list. But what should be an even greater factor of how that inspiration is being carried through. Yes, we can look at celebrities and their movies and get motivated or pumped up for short amount of time, but the inspiration is not ongoing and not being carried through by the celebrities personally. These type of fitness lists are fine if they are listed where they are to be expected like People Magazine. But when you have a magazine focused on men’s health specifically, real-world role-models in which other men can truly relate to are the ones that should be on that list.
about 7 months ago
My only beef with this… he’s the fittest man on the planet… according to CrossFit.
And while I really like Crossfit- it is not the be all end all of all workouts. It’s just not. So I don’t think it’s right to judge everyone by the Crossfit Standard. I am betting you Rich couldn’t swim like Phelps can… so compared to him- no he isn’t. It’s just way to subjective to put a flat out title on it.
But I agree- if we are going to be doing lists… he should have been on “the list”- and it’s annoying when they do something like that and it’s ONLY celebrities.
about 7 months ago
Jo I have to disagree. The idea isn’t to swim like Phelps but to demonstrate fitness across ALL categories. If you haven’t read what Crossfit defines as “fitness” you can’t understand my point. The entire premise of Crossfit is to me fit in all areas, not just swimming in a pool.
about 7 months ago
I didn’t look through the entire list, but it seems to be mostly contemporary figures. What about some of the old-time guys who were certainly fit, and in their time, pretty influential. Just today the BBC published a cool article about Eugen Sandow. Fit. Influential. Yep. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19977415
about 6 months ago
Fittest man of all time? I’d give that title to Jack LaLanne. His entire life was dedicated to inspiring other people to become fitter with his gyms, his inventions, his TV shows, his books and whatever else. And he started fifty years before it was fashionable and some people thought he was crazy. His methods look a little dated, but he did manage to perform almost superhuman feats on his late decade birthdays, and he was pumping iron two hours a day in his 90′s. So, if you say Fittest Man of All TIme and include inspiring others in the definition, I’d go with Jack LaLanne.
about 6 months ago
The reason I’ve come to really like Angry Trainer is because up until this point you’ve done a good job of remaining unbiased and neutral, telling it as it is. Now you’ve been brainwashed by Glassman and the Crossfit cult. Sad day indeed.
about 6 months ago
Claire, I’ve hardly been brainwashed. Trying something new and believing in it’s value is not a sad day. Did I ever say to NOT try other modes of training? Did I ever say Crossfit is the one and ONLY way to exercise? Did I ever say to avoid Yoga, Pilates, weights or any other traditional modes of exercise? The answer to all is NO. It really irks me when people make comments like this and don’t actually read what I’ve written. Is Michael Phelps the fittest man of all time – NO. There’s no sadness at all Claire. If anything you should be happy that I’ve learned some new skills that I can share.
about 6 months ago
Here’s the thing, Alfonso, it’s not “new”. Crossfit is cross-training dressed up and branded ‘cool’, patented and sold for a mere $150 or so a month. I have no qualms with cross-training either, what I take issue with is using it as the standard against which ‘fitness’ is measured. If fitness to you means being agile, having endurance, etc. but not being good at any one thing and having vague ‘goals’ than just calrify that. Crossfit brands itself as the “sport of fitness,” meaning what you’ll get good at is a whole lot of “stuff” that does just that: look good. Case in point, how do they measure progress? Is it by competing in the crossfit games? Is that what success looks like? Or doing more half-a$$ kipping pull ups than everyone else? Where is the periodization and the progression?
about 6 months ago
Here’s the thing Claire, no it’s not. This is what I said in my original post. Crossfit is NOT simply cross training in disguise or branded cool. It’s far more structured and a actual plan that simply looking in at from afar would allow you to realize. I know because I used to think the same as you. And truthfully your tone is off-putting. Half assed kipping pullups? Really? Have you ever tried one Claire? Do you understand the difference between a kipping pullup and traditional types? If you think the kipping variety is easier or cheating you are truly mistaken. I’ll be the first to tell you I traditioanl pullups are FAR easier and way LESS demanding of an exerise. No question.
Again, if you took a moment to cool off and maybe read the ideology behind Crossfit you’ll see IT IS PERIODIZATION all the way! Why not download teh trainer handbook? It’s free on the Crossfit website. Take a moment or two and read a bit aboyt what the program actually is. It’s a planned progression of workouts to not make you better then the person next to you, but better than your previous self. That’s why ALL workouts are timed or rounds are counted. This way you keep track of what you’ve done and try to beat your best time. It has nothing to do with doing more than anyone else than yourself.
I don’t get the hatred and nastiness. I really don’t. At the end of the day you cannot argue with resuts.
about 3 months ago
I’m going to go with whoever ran the Welsh 3000s in 4 hours and 20 minutes. This race is barely known to anyone outside of the UK (and Wales in particular), but it is a challenge whereby you run 30 miles 3000ft peaks (15 of them equally 15,000ft of elevation) in one day. Someone did it in 4 hours and 20 minutes, which if you have ever hiked any of these peaks, particularly Crib Goch is just insane. This would require stamina, balance, flexibility, incredible endurance. No, it won’t require dead lifts, but I’m pretty willing to bet that it will annihilate anyone who does any sort of cross training exercise. Forget Tough Mudders, Spartan Races etc., this is the real deal. The one peak, Crib Goch, is basically a knife edge with a 3000ft drop on either side. I am in awe of whatever person ran over that and then went on to finish the other 14 peaks in that amount of time.