“Oceans Seven” Adam Walker on ocean swimming technique

Those of you who’ve known me (or the blog) for long enough will know about my other life.

Back in the day, I used to be a swimmer. Specifically, a Channel swimmer. I’ve swum the Channel twice and done other long open-water solo swims. (You can read more about all that here).

But Adam Walker‘s sea swimming accomplishments are something else. Adam was the first British person to complete “Oceans Seven”, thought to be the toughest seven sea swims in the world:

– English Channel 2008 (finished 11 hours 35 mins)
– Two-way Gibraltar Straits 2010 (finished 9 hours 39 mins – he broke the British Record one way and was the first Brit to swim back)
– Molokai Straits in Hawaii 2012 (17 hours 2 mins)
– Catalina Channel in USA 2012 (12 hours 15 mins)
– Tsugaru Channel in Japan 2013 (15 hours 31 mins) (the first British person to complete this swim)
– Cook Straits in New Zealand 2014 (8 hours 36 mins)
– North Channel Ireland to Scotland 2014 (10 hours 45 mins)

So when Adam asked if he could grab a guest-blog spot on TFW, I had no hesitation. If I still have any open-water swimming readers, Adam’s story and stroke technique advice will be golden for you. And for the rest of you? Be inspired by his story, and consider reading his book “Man Vs Ocean” by Adam Walker (published by John Blake Publishing and available at Amazon here – Man Vs Ocean, Adam Walker, Amazon).

Over to Adam for some serious technique talk.

On 6 Aug 2014 I became the first British person to swim the hardest seven ocean swims in the world, known as the Oceans Seven.

My swim stroke was the conventional style of a high head and winding my arms, entering long and flat.

I trained with this style for 18 months, resulting in a ruptured bicep tendon whilst swimming the English Channel. Having completed the swim I had to have two operations. The surgeon told me that the bicep tendon had attached itself to the supraspinatus, and they were unable to separate them. He advised me to give up swimming as the arm rotations would irritate it and cause more injury. He said “If you do another long swim you will have serious long term problems!”

Giving up was not an option for me. I love the sport so much. So I began studying the front crawl stroke and how to take pressure off the shoulder, limiting irritation, and becoming more efficient.

At this stage I wasn’t concerned with speed, I just wanted to find a way to prolong my swimming career. Here’s what I learned.

Head position

After many months of practice and video analysis I established that having a still head looking downwards is critical in the stroke: if it’s not still, you could zigzag.

If you immerse your head then your legs will come up if you are on your side. It’s better to work with the water than lift your head up (which takes energy), not beneficial when the head is the heaviest part of the body.

Core movement

I thought about other sports such as golf, cricket, bowling, tennis and cross country skiing – they all use core stomach muscles to instigate the initial phase. Therefore it didn’t make sense for me not to use rotation as part of the swim stroke.

Rotating using the core only, allowing the hips to push the arms forward instead of throwing them overhead had a number of big benefits:

– Using fewer muscles
– Less impact when entering the water
– Reduced pressure on the shoulders
– Stronger propulsion in the stroke
– More length out of the stroke

If I drive the arm/hand into the water, I am using my chest as well to do this, using more muscles than necessary. Using the core helped keep my hand and arms as wide as my hips. If your chest dominates, more often than not they will drive into the centre line, particularly when you breathe.

You will then have to push them out again in order to pull back which takes time and is an added unnecessary movement. By driving them into the centre you have the potential to pinch tendons and cause friction which will eventually tether and cause significant damage (something unfortunately I know a lot about!)

Early arm entry

I was taught to enter my hand into the water as far out in front as possible to gain a good pull. However, if your hand enters the water early with a bent elbow and then extends under water this creates less resistance and will take pressure off your shoulders.

If you think about diving off a block in a race, they only allow you to go 15 metres under water. Why? Because you are faster under water than you are on top of the water. Therefore the sooner you get your hand and arm into the water the better.

Recovery arm

I discovered that by holding the front recovery arm in place until the stroking arm is just about to enter the water, I gained constant momentum. This aids with stability, which is necessary if you get knocked by a competitor or if a wave is about to hit you. This happened to me in the English Channel with my old stroke and I was flipped onto my back.

Pulling

Pulling to your hip only is your ‘power section’ – beyond that it turns into a tricep movement with your power significantly reduced and delaying the time needed to get your hand back in for the catch.

Leg kick

My leg kick is just enough to keep me afloat, nothing too vigorous. 70% of energy is used up in your legs and you don’t get that benefit back. The kick is a sideways kick as you are swimming hip to hip (never flat).

By carrying out a simple two-beat kick I’m not wasting excess energy and am limiting the calories burnt. This is also important in colder temperatures.

My suggestion is to swim the majority of a triathlon with a two-beat kick, then kick a little more in the final 50m or so to get blood flow into the legs in readiness for transition. The limited leg kick will serve you in good stead when you get onto the bike as they have had limited use. On my 17 hour Hawaii swim, when I climbed out of the water, my legs were so fresh they didn’t feel as if they had be used.

How my new stroke technique has saved my career

This stroke, which my clients are calling ‘The Ocean Walker’ technique, has not only saved my swimming career but meant I was the fastest man on a 21-mile two-way swim in Windermere, and completed all seven channels including fastest British crossing of Gibraltar Straits one-way, and became the first British person to do a two-way crossing.

I’ve had three operations in total on my left shoulder, I can’t sleep on that side and I can’t hold over 10 kilos of weight with a straight arm, yet with the ‘Ocean Walker’ stroke I can swim 17 hours and am 1:15 mins faster over 1,500 metres and 5secs faster per 100 metres.

And my stroke rate has gone down from an average of 72 SPM to 52 SPM, showing that holding form in the stroke is generating more speed. I am saving 1200 strokes per hour! I am not pulling any harder than I did previously, actually if anything I am pulling with less power, showing the importance of body position and efficiency.

What I have realised is the key to swimming efficiently is to make the water work with you. By being relaxed, getting body position right and reducing resistance you will go faster.

The best athletes in the world are normally the ones who make it look effortless, use timing to their advantage and are efficient in what they do. Just look at Roger Federer or Usain Bolt!.

(It’s me, Nic, back again…. 😉 )

Thank you Adam, what an incredible amount of information. For more information on the ‘Ocean Walker’ stroke and Adam’s swim camps and 1-1 coaching, go to Ocean Walker.

Want to read more about Adam’s amazing swims? He’s on a “blog tour” and here’s where you’ll find him:

“Oceans Seven” Adam Walker on ocean swimming technique is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

My Olympics: day six, 100m freestyle (swimming)

In this blog series, I take inspiration from one of the day’s Olympic events. Today: the 100m freestyle (swimming).

Sorry about yesterday by the way. I did actually do football, but only with my dog, and he’s not much good with the camera.

As I said in this morning’s Conditioning Chronicles post, I do have a swimming background. Most certainly not a sprinting one, though, and not even really a competitive one. Yes, I have swum in swimming clubs but mainly for the structured training. I was always in either the bottom (slowest) lane apart from one year where I reached the heady heights of second lane in. Open-water solo swims were my thing, slow and steady winning that particular race (if the tide and weather were kind).

Today I tackled the 100m freestyle. This evening, eight of the world’s fastest female freestyle swimmers took to the pool at the Aquatics Centre to blast out two lengths – 100m – to see who would take home the Gold. Our lady Fran Halsall, who qualified in 53.77, came 6th. The winner, Ranomi Kromowidjojo took Gold (the first non-American nation to take a Gold in the pool this Olympics!) in a time of 53:00 – a new Olympic record.

Somewhere in Berkshire, the 9th member of this illustrious crew was limbering up for her own 100m final. It was qualifier, quarter final, semi final and final all rolled into one, cos I wasn’t going to do it again! I wondered if the short course (25m) pool would seriously hamper my blistering pace. I wondered whether I’d be able to manage one tumble turn. I decided against diving in.

The World Record is 52.07
The Olympic Record is 53:00
My time? 1:32:00 🙂

Kromowidjojo, love, your Gold medal is safe. Enjoy it.

How have the London 2012 Olympic Games inspired you today?

My Olympics: day six, 100m freestyle (swimming) is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

The Conditioning Chronicles: Barnes Fitness

With 6 weeks to go until my first bodybuilding competition of the year, it’s time to step up the conditioning and get shredded! I’ve called in various favours and asked some people in the biz to blast me, beast me and generally put me through my paces.

Today’s installment of the Conditioning Chronicles needs a bit of background.

I used to be a swimmer. I wasn’t much of a speed-demon in the pool but I could grit it out through hell and high water – and did, swimming the English Channel twice (and the length of Windermere once, and round the Channel island of Jersey) with all the long, long training such swims demand.

So, when I approached my good friend Ellie Barnes of Barnes Fitness with the familiar plea of “get me lean!” (the battle-cry of every Conditioning Chronicle), I did so with a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach (nothing to do with my fibre supplements). Because I knew that Ellie would either put me on a turbo trainer, make me sprint round a track or – worst of all – pop me in a pool.

Ellie is a Personal Trainer at Reading-based Barnes Fitness, and a very accomplished athlete in her own right. In fact, she has been selected to represent Great Britain as an age-grouper at this year’s World triathlon championships in New Zealand. You can support her here, and I urge you to do so if you can.

I met Ellie at a local pool (outdoors – lovely!) and I’m not joking when I say I was really apprehensive. It was a fear and dread which ran much deeper than “this is going to hurt” or “I’m not sure I can even do this sport”. In fact quite the opposite – I know I can do it, and I know because I’ve done so, so much of it. Hours and hours of training in the cold sea (I’m talking 7 hours on Saturdays and then 6 hours on Sundays) does build up a kind of trepidation on a cellular level. It wasn’t just my brain which was nervous. It was my body. Don’t get me wrong, I love swimming and will always adore it. We just have a tempestuous history and needed a bit of time apart. We haven’t spoken for a while and it was going to be… awkward.

I also had no idea if I could even swim any more. I haven’t done it in ages. I sometimes have anxiety dreams where I’m swimming through glue, or can’t lift my hands out of the water for the recovery phase of the stroke.

Hopefully by now you have some idea of the frame of mind I was in before today’s conditioning session! 😉

Ellie is a great coach and a good friend and put me at ease in no time. We did some mobility work before I lowered myself into the water and set off on a 200m freestyle warm up. My arms worked! My hands didn’t get stuck in the water! I was actually moving. This was OK. I could even tumbleturn still (well, sometimes).

After that I did:
– 100m for time (more on that later)
– 1x200m (this was meant to be 4x200m but I wasn’t feeling the love and asked if we could do shorter intervals instead) – 3:38. We did this using paddles and fins (flippers) to work on power.
– 4x50m – 44s, 47s, 50s (oops), 47s
– a kick set (100m with fins/flippers, 50m without)
– 100m backstroke cool down (ahhhh)

For the amazing, earth-shattering, flabbergasting total of… 1150m. Haha!

Here’s me during the 200m with fins and paddles

And me barely moving during the bit of kickset where I wasn’t wearing fins! This was truly agony (I did a very heavy squat session yesterday).

Ellie said:

“When you asked me to help you with a conditioning session, I wondered whether you’d feel more comfortable with longer intervals of 3-4 minutes (aerobic) or shorter bursts which would call on your anaerobic energy system. I think we can see from today’s set that you find anaerobic efforts easier, hence cutting the planned 4×200 short and turning it into 50m repeats instead. This isn’t really surprising since your weights work is probably quite explosive and, even though you might do a lot of volume and several sets, you’ll be taking a recovery after every set. So you don’t often ask your body to work at a relatively high level for 4+ minutes.”

This is definitely true – even my longest weights set might only be 20 reps (even when I sometimes do a very high rep squat set of 40 reps, it certainly doesn’t take me 3 or 4 minutes to complete the set) so most of my “intervals” or work periods are short, with a recovery. Even when I head out for long cardio, on my road bike for instance, there are still long periods of recovery between efforts like hill climbs.

I was interested in the effects of a short swim session on “pump” so did a bit of posing (I have no shame, bodybuilding has seen to that!), here we go:

Verdict: tough during the intervals but I recovered quickly. Will be interested to see effect on metabolism (hunger?) later today…

Thank you, Ellie at Barnes Fitness! 🙂

The Conditioning Chronicles: Barnes Fitness is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

How do others see you? 8 year olds on sport and fitness.

We all influence other people. Perhaps your job puts you in a position of power, or maybe you’re in the public eye. It could simply be that one person sees you as an inspiration. Whatever the reason, each one of us influences those around us. Hopefully in a positive way!

Have you ever wondered how other people see you?

When my friend Katherine – who’s a school teacher – approached me recently to ask if I’d help out with a school project, I said sure! I didn’t know what she had in mind but I’m always keen to help out with anything which informs or inspires kids about sport, healthier eating and activity.

So, “year 3” (for the clueless – like me – this means boys and girls of eight and nine years old) sent me a load of questions about the sports I’ve done.

Hi Nicola,

We have learnt a bit about you today and some of the sports that you have done. We have some questions to ask you about the things that you have done, and Miss Palmer says you have very kindly agreed to answer them! We loved your photographs on your blog, you must work really hard when you are doing all your sports. Here are our questions:

Some of the questions were hilarious, some were cute and some really made me think. Here are just some of them:

Do you enjoy being an athlete?
Do you have to work hard to do your sports?
Have you ever coached anybody else in any sports?
What did you see when you swam in the sea? Did you see any animals?
Were you cold in the ocean?
Were you exhausted afterwards?
Why did you enter the triathlon?
Is bodybuilding easy?
How did you grow such big muscles?
What exercises do you have to do to be a bodybuilder?
Do you have to eat healthy food to make your muscles bigger?
Do you go on the treadmill? Do you go on the exercise bike?
Do you have to eat different sorts of food when you are bodybuilding to when you are channel swimming?

I love their curiosity and imagination! I also think it’s really interesting that the “top three” questions for Channel swimming (goosefat, sharks and water temperature) didn’t crop up at all, and nor did anything about tan for bodybuilding. I wonder why adults tend have such a limited range of questions to ask (at least at first) whereas these kids presumably either understood why we wear tan, or just thought it was too boring a thing to ask – a waste of a perfectly good question 😉

So, I answered all their questions, unsure of what the project was or what would be done with my replies. I felt quite a lot of pressure suddenly! For all I knew, this could be the first time some of these children had ever learned about or thought about nutrition, being active, body image. I didn’t want to patronise, but nor did I want to pitch it too high and risk them switching off or feeling overwhelmed. I really wanted to encourage them, to spark some interest, perhaps even to encourage a dream of their own. (As I told them, I was exactly their age when I first thought about swimming the Channel.) Here was a great opportunity to get these children to realise that they have the power to achieve anything they want to, and that dreams should be dreamed big! I didn’t want to mess it up!

A few days later, my inbox was full of the most wonderful pictures and stories. They are just about the best thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve printed them all out and will keep them in my kit bag. I can only hope that I inspired and motivated at least some of Year 3. They have certainly inspired me.

Thank you, Year 3!

Read on for some of the pictures they sent me, as well as a few choice quotes from the stories they wrote.

This one is quite simply immense. The power! That triangle-me is owning that stage! I can only hope to be this large and in charge when I next compete 🙂

Crazy separation I’ve got going on there! As well as the most muscley shins I’ve ever seen. I think I need to work on my quads a bit more, though 😉

I’m so happy in this one! With good reason – I appear to be shoulder pressing two 80kg dumbbells overhead. I’m not sure what I’m wearing. I love that I am training outside on a beautiful sunny day, and also love that one of the podiums (?) says “well done” on it.

Just me and some crazy-cute seals hanging out together. Check out the whiskers on those seals! Adorable!

Hi! I’m swimming the Channel and there’s a really big tanker and I’m really happy about it all! 😀

Now for the words of wisdom. I should point out that these are not my words, they’re written by Year 3. They presumably read my replies to their initial questions and then let their imaginations go… Quite right, too. That’s the best way to write sometimes: just get going and start writing, then see what came out.

If you want sporting success, Musfirah tells us to “look insid, start being healthy!”

Imaan tells us that, to build muscle, you must “lift really heavy weights or small, digit number weights. Then you can enter the competition, but you will have to show off your muscals to the jujes.” He also reminds us of the importance of safety when cycling. “..she had to were a helmet for safety just in case she falls off.” What are you saying, Imaan? 😉

Jasmine has a few words to say about diet. “…lots of eggs, meat, fish and even kangoo – but it is meat, it keeps you fit. When you are a body builder you can’t eat cakes or choclett!”

Adeed has the impression that I am a “musly millionair”, love him. Perhaps he has had some sort of premonition? Fingers crossed. He chronicles my 2011 season by saying that “on her first day she won a trophy and she was proud of her self.” Well, yes, I suppose I was, and should be more often! “Eat meat, fresh eggs, kangaroos, healthy food and sports drink,” advises Adeed (as opposed to rotten eggs, I assume!)

Elliot keeps it real. “If you want to be a body builder, get to that gym!”

I’ll leave you with these simple truths from Haiden and Joshua W:

“Give it a go!”
“Always remmember, don’t give up.”

They said it!

What did you dream of doing when you were eight or nine years old? Have you done it yet?

How do others see you? 8 year olds on sport and fitness. is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Surprising similarities: Channel swimming and bodybuilding

Those of you reading who’ve known me for a few years *hi Mum!* already know that my sporting background isn’t in bodybuilding (my current challenge). New readers might be surprised to hear that I’m probably best-known for a very different type of sport: I’m a Channel swimmer. I’ve swum the English Channel twice (as a solo swim), once (as a relay swim, both there and back) and I’ve done similar swims like around the Channel Island of Jersey (USA readers: the Channel Islands are between us and France. They’re nice. Go and visit some time!)

So, when I decided to give bodybuilding/figure/physique* competition a go, I felt as if I’d taken a sudden and rather odd turn off my normal sporty track. Channel swimming had always been the big one for me, and I was also passionate about triathlon (and its component sports, swimming, road biking and running). (*back when I made the decision, I didn’t know which category I’d end up in).

Bodybuilding felt completely alien, brand-new and so far outside my comfort zone that I could just about see my comfort zone on the horizon if I looked behind me through binoculars.

However, here I am several months later and it’s dawned on me that Channel swimming and bodybuilding aren’t so different after all. Externally, yes, they’re worlds apart. But what goes on inside isn’t so different.

I’m not sure how many people out there have both swum the Channel and competed in bodybuilding but, if there are any reading, I’d love to hear your take on this in the comments.

Common themes in Channel swimming and bodybuilding

Get used to wearing swimwear
This is the theme which got me thinking about all the others. When I was training for my swims, it wasn’t unusual to spend 8… 10… 12 hours a day in a swimsuit. I thought nothing of it, it was just my kit, my uniform. OK, so the “swimsuit” I wear for bodybuilding is a little different (I’m not sure the velvet would cope for long in salt water!), but it definitely helps that I have no problem wandering around in swimwear. As a nice aside, I always used to choose to wear a two-piece swimsuit for Channel swim training (quicker to get off and therefore quicker to get warm clothes on). But they were a little bit bigger than my competition bikini!

Tweak your body fat

To swim the Channel, I had to get fat(ter). I consciously had to pack on bodyfat – and keep it there throughout all the training, in order to keep me a bit warmer. We don’t use wetsuits, so I had to grow my own under my skin.

To compete in bodybuilding, I’m having to lose bodyfat. There’s no point building all these muscles if I step on stage with them all covered up. That would be a bit like building a kit car, taking it to a show but forgetting to take the dust-sheet off.

Body temperature
This goes hand-in-hand with purposefully changing your bodyfat levels, but get used to changes in body temperature. In Channel swimming, I got so hot so easily. I gave up wearing shoes unless I had to, lived my life in shorts and t-shirts, and slept without a sheet. Partly because of the extra body fat and partly because I spent so long swimming in cold water that my body adapted and acclimatised.

During bodybuilding prep, I’m often chilly and it doesn’t take much for me to be sitting on the sofa dressed in hoodie, jeans and slippers with a rug around my shoulders. LOL!

Accept that external influences are bigger than you

In Channel swimming, you can be the fastest, strongest swimmer who’s trained better than anyone else. But if the weather’s against you, or you get sea sick and can’t hold your feeds down, you’re out. You have to accept that this thing is bigger than you. Bring your best and try your hardest, but there is always a chance you won’t make it, no matter how hard you try. That’s not defeatest. It’s realistic.

In bodybuilding, people are telling me to take the same kind of mental approach. Train hard, be as good as you can be and bring your best on the day. That’s all you can do. Then accept that external factors over which you have no control – the other competitors, the judges’ opinions, the subjectivity of judging – will play a large part in how you place on the day.

Consistency is key
Both Channel swimming and bodybuilding demand and reward consistency and compliance. In Channel swimming, you must swim regularly in cold water, or your mind and body won’t build up the physical and mental stamina they need to get you across. In bodybuilding, you must be compliant 24/7, particularly in the latter stages of prep: training, nutrition, sleep (ha!), rest, stretching, posing… there’s a lot to do and you have to be consistent. Every little decision counts. Each one can take you towards or away from your goal.

No cheating: it’s all up to you
Neither Channel swimming nor bodybuilding give you anywhere to hide. You can’t style it out. If you’re not ready, you’re not ready, and no-one can help. It is all down to you. That can be a pro or a con, depending on who you are how you take it. It totally works for me: I like relying on myself. I know what I can do (I also know what I can’t do!) and I like to get on with it. When you’re out there in the middle of the English Channel in the dark, you’re the only one who can keep your arms turning and your mind focused on how the sand will feel beneath your feet when you get to the other side. In bodybuilding, you’re the only one who can decide whether or not it’s worth eating that bit of cake, or whether it will matter if you put your weights down a kg because you’re tired.

Of course, you have people who care about you and support you in both sports: in swimming, your boat crew, the boat skipper, your personal crew, and the people back on land who are thinking of you. In bodybuilding, you probably have a coach and if you’re lucky a partner, family and friends who support you. But when it comes to the crunch, you’re the only one who can decide whether to push on or give up.

Public interest
My husband told me to put this one in: he says both sports mean you need to get used to the fact that members of the public will stare at you, come up to you and ask about training, or ask random questions, either during training or just generally. I suppose this is true but I hadn’t really thought of it!

Misconceptions
I guess both Channel swimming and bodybuilding are unusual sports, odd even. Certainly niche. That’s probably why I come across a lot of misconceptions with both past-times. Misconceptions which naturally lead to…

The top three questions…
Channel swimming:
“Do you cover yourself in goose fat?”
“How far is it?”
“Do you swim it all in one go?”

Bodybuilding:
“Will you dehydrate yourself/not drink any water in the week before your show?”
“Aren’t you worried that you’ll get all bulky/look like a man/muscle will turn to fat after you stop?”
“So you have to cut all the fat out of your diet, right, because you need to lose bodyfat?”

(And, as a bonus, my least favourite “Why do you want to do that to yourself?!” <— this from a close friend…!)

Your grocery budget will skyrocket

True story: I found a receipt the other day from a supermarket shop I did one Saturday with two Channel swimming buddies. This was just for the 48hours we were spending down in Kent. It included a big packet of dried pasta, doughnuts, bread rolls, cheese, deli meat, chocolate, milkshakes, bananas… etc. It really made me laugh, because it so instantly transported me back to that Summer, when we’d swim from 9am-4pm and then have 4:05pm-8am in which to refuel, get ready for the next day’s swim and try to pack on a little more body fat. Of course, we could have made better choices and probably should have done, but it’s damn hard to meet a Channel swimmer’s calories needs in vegetables. So we indulged at weekends. And that amount of food costs!

Now of course my diet is markedly different, but I’m still eating a lot, and the amount I spend on vegetables, egg whites and other protein sources is noticeable! (Not to mention the supplements!)

You need a mentor
I know I just said that, in both sports, it’s all down to you, but of course you can’t go it alone. You need a support system, a team, a system of accountability, expert guidance. In both sports I’ve been fortunate enough to find the perfect coach and mentor. The legend that is Freda Streeter for Channel swimming, and my coach Kat for bodybuilding. There are many, many others who have helped along the way of course (in both sports). Too many to list!

You have to like your own company
Self-explanatory!

The exhaustion

Both Channel swim training and bodybuilding training leave me exhausted right down to the marrow of my bones. I guess it’s tiredness on a metabolic level. I only realised that a lot of people don’t know what I mean, when I tried to explain it to a non-sporty friend and she genuinely could not understand what I meant.

Running and road biking never made me feel this way, even training for marathons and long sportive rides. They made me very tired, but in an achy, sleepy way. Swimming in cold water, and lifting very heavy weights, both shatter me. I might not even be sore or achy, but I am drained of energy, to the extent that even the idea of leaning down and picking something up off the floor seems too much of a challenge. I can often be found standing in one spot, staring down at a bit of mud the dog’s brought into the house. I am OK. I’m just wondering whether I can be bothered leaning down, focusing on it, picking it up and straightening back up again. Then of course I’d have to walk out of my way to the bin. It’s all a bit much, you understand? 😉

Have you done sports which seemed totally different but, actually, had similarities? What were they? Aaaand which would you rather do, swim the English Channel or enter a bodybuilding competition?

Surprising similarities: Channel swimming and bodybuilding is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Fancy swimming a mile every hour…for 24 hours?

Like swimming? Free between 9.30am on 30th April and 9.30am on 1st May? Well then here’s a challenge for you: swimming a mile, on the hour, every hour, for 24 hours all in the beautiful setting of Guildford Lido.

This unusual challenge is the 2swim4life event and it’s all happening in aid of the charity Help for Heroes. I was contacted recently about 2swim4life but can’t take part myself this year. But I thought some of my lovely readers might be able to. So, do you fancy it?

Entrants include channel swimmers, open water swimmers, distance and sprinters all seeing who has the mental and physical staying power to go the distance. I would imagine the psychological and emotional challenges will be just as great – if not greater – than the physical ones. I remember that one of the worst bits about the two-way Channel relay I did in 2005 was the “getting in and out and in again” aspect. I wonder how the 2swim4life event swimmers will cope with having to get back in to swim a mile…23 times. Finishing that 24th mile will feel fantastic!

The organisers told me:

So far there are individuals from Spain and the Isle of Man as well as all across England. There are teams of three and individuals wanting to push themselves. There are a variety of reasons behind people wanting to do the challenge: some want to see how much they can raise for the worthwhile charity, whilst some have lost loved ones in conflict and want to give something back to help others.

The event is for swimmers over 25 years of age on 31/12/11. Swimmers aged 18-25 don’t have to feel left out – they are welcome to take part in the half event. It’s the same format, swimming a mile on the hour, but starting at 9.30pm and swimming overnight until the finish at 9:30am.

The event start date and time coincides with the first day of opening of Guildford Lido’s Summer opening so it’s a great chance for people to come and see the fantastic facilities at the Lido. Swimmers will be welcome to use the hot tub and marquee, get hot drinks and of course enjoy the wonderful company of…like-minded folk 😉

We do ask that each swimmer assigns a non-swimming buddy to help look after their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing, as well as ensuring their fitness for such a task.

Is this tough but exciting challenge for you? Go on, give it a go. Just be sure to let me know how you get on. There’s a guest blog post waiting for you here 🙂

The UK’s favourite swimming spots revealed

Swimathon (the popular annual fundraising swim) recently surveyed 36,000 UK swimmers to find out where we love to swim – indoors and outdoors! 62% of those surveyed said they prefer swimming indoors to outside and I think that’s incredible. It means that 38% of respondents would choose to swim outdoors where possible. Hooray for open-water swimming!

Ponds Forge, Sheffield’s 50m pool, came out top as the favourite place to swim, and lovely London Fields Lido (pictured) was named as the most popular outdoor pool. The favourite open-water venue was none other than Dorney Lake, in Windsor where I’ve coached and raced in triathlons on many an occasion!

Other swimming spots in the top ten:
– Crystal Palace pool (I trained there on occasion when I swam with Otter SC)
– Manchester Aquatics Centre
– Cardiff International Pool (I went there over New Year with my husband and our friend Richard)
– Tooting Bec Lido (I once won a triathlon there, rather hilariously. Only because the people in front of me either DNFed or cut out a section of the course!)
– Jesus Green Lido
– Hampstead Heath Ponds (I’ve never been but would love to)
– Coniston Water
– Lake Windermere (I swam this in 2007, pictured below)

Do you swim at any of those pools, lidos and lakes? Where’s your favourite place to swim, and what do you love about it?

When training for open-water swims or triathlons, I swim at this lake in Datchet. My favourite memory (of many!) is from one early-morning weekday swim. There were few other swimmers in the lake and it was very quiet, with mist on the water’s surface. A kingfisher flew past my head and landed on a tree which overhangs the lake. I was able to swim right up to him and watch him for a while without disturbing him… wonderful!

Perhaps the most beautiful place I’ve swum though would be Loch Ness (bl**dy cold though!)

Or maybe the Scillies.

Oh, I don’t know, it’s hard to choose. We are spoiled for choice with so many lovely places to swim here in the UK. I’m definitely with the 38% who prefer open-water to pools. 🙂

More about the Swimathon survey
The swimmers surveyed were of a range of ages and swimming abilities, but all have completed at least 1.5k in recent Swimathons.

As well as their favourite places to swim, they also talked about their secret swim venues, stunning once-in-a-lifetime swims (such as from Ysdradfellte Waterfalls in Powys, to the sea around Torness Nuclear Power Station in East Lothian) and what runs through their minds whilst submerged (everything from solving tricky problems, to a spot of singing). I can definitely identify with that!

The 2011 Swimathon

This year’s Swimathon (the 24th annual event) will be available at 580 pools across the UK from 8th-10th April and will raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Swimathon Foundation. Over £2million is the target. Over 500,00 swimmers have taken part in a Swimathon event, swimming the equivalent of 24 times around the world and raising more than £34 million for charity. I once did the 10,000m event (which is available any more – oh well 😉 ). Will you be taking part? Sessions for the 1.5k, 2.5k or 5k challenges do sell out, so reserve a place! Happy swimming.

The UK’s favourite swimming spots revealed is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Guest post: Dr Karen Throsby on open-water swimming

Today’s guest post is from Dr Karen Throsby, Channel swimmer and academic who is currently immersed in a sociological study of channel swimmers’ bodies. You can read about the time she interviewed me here (and here on her own blog). I asked Karen to write a post about what open-water (sea) swimming means to her. Her response, below, is beautiful. I think it will resonate with any of you out there who have ever swum in open water (and enjoyed it!) and will perhaps intrigue and delight those of you who have never known the joy of slipping into cold water and entering that quiet world…

Without further ado I give you Karen Throsby.

What I miss about open water swimming…

(Karen calls this her “happy swimming” photo and says she has it on her phone to remind her what open-water swimming feels like at its very best. The photo is from her round-Jersey swim).

How lovely to have been invited to write a guest post on Nicola’s fab blog. Unlike Nicola, who is an accomplished mistress of many fitness activities, I am rather more one-dimensional, sticking mainly to swimming, with the occasional gym visit (although more out of duty than love). In the absence of another sport that really grabs my enthusiasm, and even though I quite enjoy pool swimming, I’ve now reached that point in the year when I really start to long for the open water swimming season to start….

I miss the calm of it. I like nothing more than swimming along for hours at a time, not thinking about work and the burgeoning to-do list on my laptop, or about the political or current affairs that have me ranting at the radio over breakfast. Sometimes, I fill an entire hour between feeds just thinking about a single green jelly baby, or by counting repeatedly from one to four. There is a special pleasure in knowing that for those few hours, I have to do nothing but swim, away from the distractions and demands of the everyday (and without having change direction every 25 seconds).

I miss feeling strong and physically competent. I am, in my everyday life, quite clumsy and physically awkward. I have terrible hand-eye co-ordination, a bafflingly inadequate spatial sense, and very slow reactions. Imagine what an unappealing prospect I was at school when the time came to pick teams in PE and how those years taught me to dread sport. But in the water, I am strong, capable, co-ordinated…even graceful (or at least, that’s how I feel). If you had told me this while I was at school, as I lined up, full of shame, waiting to be picked last for another hour of ordeal-by-netball, I would never have believed you. It is a liberation that I can’t even find the words for; it’s how I imagine flying would be.

I miss the tingle and burn of the cold water on my back, even though I hate it at the time; I miss having a swimming suntan, even if it is absurdly uneven and probably quite unhealthy. I miss the sounds of swimming – the breathing, bubbling, and splashing; the wind, and the slap of the water. I miss the delicious tiredness at the end of a long open water swim, and the voracious post-swim hunger. I just miss the sheer pleasure of it.

Roll on May.

Thank you Karen for these lovely words. They’re enough to make me miss open-water swimming, too! All the very best with your training this year (Karen is due to swim the Catalina Channel this summer).

Guest post: Dr Karen Throsby on open-water swimming is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Channel swimming: extraordinary bodies

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Dr Karen Throsby, a sociology lecturer at Warwick University. Karen is in the middle of a 2.5 year research project into the sociology and politics behind creating (and walking around inside) the kind of physical body capable of swimming the English Channel. Both Karen and I are Channel swimmers and I found it fascinating and a complete pleasure to talk (for hours!) to her: someone experienced in Channel swimming and so interested in what I’d call the politics of the body. My Masters studies touched on gender politics and the sociology of the body and chatting to Karen made me realise quite how much I’d forgotten. Now my brain aches to match my muscles! 😉

Karen during training for her Channel swim

Here is the website for Karen’s project. If you’ve swum the Channel and want to offer your thoughts, memories and feelings up for research, get in touch with her. Karen’s blog The Long Swim is here (she’s swimming Catalina next and I’m jealous….so I guess that answers your questions Karen when you asked “so is that it for you now?” 😉 )

I’ve asked Karen to do a guest post and a Q&A on this blog some time, so please do look out for that, I promise it will be interesting to you whether you’re interested in Channel swimming, sport in general or in why we view our bodies (and those of others) in the way we do. For now, here’s a little about Karen’s research and things she asked me.

Karen’s research is called “Becoming a Channel Swimmer: Identity and Embodiment in a Sporting Subculture” which is a fancy way of saying she’s looking at what happens (socially) when we have to create a certain kind of body to do a certain sporting event (in the Channel swimming example, typically to add or retain body fat -certainly not lose it – and to build significant upper body muscle, usually without trying). What does it mean to us to have that kind of body? And how do other people react Is there a “perfect sporting body” and, if so, what is it, and how can that be when so many different kinds of bodies perform very well against different types of athletic demands? Karen’s looking at how our society views and values muscle, strength and body fat and the social politics behind sport and our bodies in sport.

Huge apologies to Karen if I’ve dumbed her work down to such a level that she no longer recognises it 😉

Me after my first Channel swim

So she interviewed me as someone who’s swum the English Channel twice and around the Channel Island of Jersey once (and a half, but we don’t talk about that!) She asked me how I felt about my body as it changed, and whether I made a conscious effort to control the changes one way or another. She asked me about nutrition. She asked how I felt about my swims: the training swims, the preparation stages, the swims themselves once I got in and set off for France.

She asked questions about what swimming means to me, how it feels, and what my favourite swimming memory is. If you’re interested, I said it was hard to choose between the moment I stood up on Wissant sand at the end of my second Channel swim, and that crazy 4-hour training swim in Dover harbour in 2004 when – out of nowhere – the skies blackened and we had a storm of ice-chips so large and hard they cut us. Of course, we were so cold our cuts didn’t bleed until we were getting dressed after the swim.

Happy days.

Thanks, Karen, for a very interesting chat and for asking me to dig back into my bank of memories and feelings about swimming and Channel swimming in particular. I hope we’ll keep in touch.

Channel swimming: extraordinary bodies is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

The Fit Writer’s pick of 2010

Me and Richard of Richard’s Transrockies 2011 blogging amidst the New Year beer…and wine….and Bailey’s…and whatever else you can spot there in the background 😉

How was your 2010? I’m not hugely into resolutions (I prefer to make them as I go along, regardless of the date) but, as it’s the final day of the year, I wanted to look back at 2010 and pick out some highlights for you. A kind of a New Year’s Honours list, if you will. Without the royalty.

So here are The Fit Writer’s picks of the year gone by:

Favourite commission
Ooh, well. Most of my commissions are favourites (how’s that for diplomacy?), because I just love writing. But some stand out for being a little more unusual. How about a week in Croyde in August, training with the RNLI Beach Lifeguards to get a taste of what their qualifications consist of? (Hint: really hard work) That was for an article which appeared in Coast magazine. I also thoroughly enjoyed meeting, swimming with and getting some swimming advice from Liam Tancock later in the year. Judging by the search terms which lead to this blog, it would seem that many of you would like to do the same! You can find Liam on Twitter and he’s a jolly good sort of chap. Did I tell you that I tweeted I was on the way to meet him, and someone who follows me on Twitter said how much of a fan his daughter was. I told Liam, who was happy to pose for a photo for the guy’s daughter, and then said hello to her on Twitter. Nice guy 🙂

Favourite race
Another tough one. I really enjoyed getting into road cycling this year, completing several sportives having never done one before. But I think the Favourite Race gong has to go to the Folkestone Half Marathon: it’s in my home town, I was cheered on by my new nephew and I got a PB. What’s not to like?

Favourite event
Speaking of new nephews, event of 2010 has to go to the birth of my nephew Henry. Nothing to do with sport, I realise (although, a few weeks later when I was struggling through the Little Woody half Ironman triathlon, I did draw on the strength I’d seen my sister demonstrate during labour!) Nephews rock, particularly mine.

Favourite bit of fitness kit
Although I’ve been asked to review lots of lovely bits of kit and gadgetry this year, the award for favourite bit of fitness kit has to go to my kettlebells. You saw me using them during my 10,000 swing kettlebell challenge, and I use them regularly for both strength and CV work. So handy!

Favourite training session
I’m a bit of a hermit. So it takes someone fun to persuade me to give up training solo for once. And when I end up crying with laughter, I know I’ve found a good training partner. So props to Kat Millar, PT and now a good friend, with whom I trained a month or so ago. Second place goes to one of the many beautiful road bike rides I did back when it was burning hot and sunny: just lovely.

Favourite sporting moment
I watched as much of the Commonwealths as I could, and cheered as loud as any of you when Rebecca Adlington won both the 400m and 800m freestyle. Whadda woman!

Well, that’s it. I can’t bear this super-slow internet connection any longer! I will bid you a very happy New Year’s Eve, a great evening and a fantastic start to 2011 – and I’ll see you on the other side. Thanks for reading!

The Fit Writer’s Pick of 2010 is a post from The Fit Writer blog.