55 Utterly Weird Photos of What an Athlete’s Body May Look Like

This is Michael Phelps. No, those dark spots all over his body are the effects of being sucked dry by leeches. They’re actually the result of something known as cupping therapy, where basically, the patient has cups placed all over their body before all of the air is sucked out, creating a vacuum that tugs on their skin.

Now, the dark-red spots might look a bit freaky, but seeing as how he holds 28 Olympic medals and the world’s most decorated Olympian in all of history, maybe he’s onto something. So, if you really want to out-swim your opponents, you should give cupping therapy a try. And also try to become Michael Phelps.