I have to confess, I never thought I would be writing a blog about swimming an ice mile but then again 10 years ago I never would have believed that I would have swam 7 channel swims! Why did I do it? I have the ocean swimming to thank for giving me the confidence to […]
Read more "Ice Swimming – A New Challenge!"One of the biggest life changing moments I found when changing my stroke technique was to stop over-head arm rotation in front crawl. Now I do a semi-circle ‘elbow push’, allowing a relaxed forearm and hand. I know this is completely different to what we were all taught. This one element of the stroke instantly took […]
Read more "High Elbows BEWARE! (Avoiding shoulder injury)"Relaxing my arms and cutting out unnecessary rotation through the shoulder was a key element in prolonging my swimming and becoming the first Brit to swim the toughest 7 ocean swims in the world. I’m now 1200 strokes less per hour, 5 minutes faster, averaging over 4k an hour using less energy and becoming more efficient than I ever thought possible.
Read more "Why I don’t “DRIVE” with my arms anymore"For years I never thought about the importance of my head position whilst swimming. I realised the head acts like a boat rudder and depending on what direction or angle your head is, your body will follow.
Read more "The Importance of a Still Head"I was very excited to host the second ever Aquamasters Masters 4 day event (3 pool and 1 open water) in Marmaris, Turkey from 27th to 30th Oct 2015. I dusted off the arms and took part in my favourite event as a kid, 50 metres backstroke which I have to confess I have only […]
Read more "Aquamasters 4 days of pool and 1 open water in Marmaris"Thinking about swimming a channel relay or already signed up? I have had the privilege of being involved in three English channel relays with people of varying abilities. I love them!! It is a great way of introducing you to the channel and you may then decide to go on to do a solo! They are also a great team […]
Read more "English Channel Relays – What are they all about?"As a strong believer in the use of your core muscles in swimming as with many other sports, Stand Up Paddle Boarding (or SUP), is another I can add to my list! On a recent trip to Portugal I had the opportunity to try Stand Up Paddle Boarding. I know from my good friend Jeremy Laming […]
Read more "Paddling your way to fitness!"If you ask any open water swimmer what is their biggest fear about swimming the English Channel at the top of the list would most probably be ‘The Cold!’ The fear of hypothermia and the dangers associated with it are real and should be fully respected. Many swimmers worry about how long they can endure the […]
Read more "How to mentally cope with the cold in open water swimming"When I initially decided to swim the English Channel I didn’t have any open water experience and didn’t know what was needed to achieve it. Whilst training in Dover harbour with other fellow channel challengers as well as dear Freda on the beach, I started to learn more about it. I never googled people’s past […]
Read more "Psychology of open water swimming – How to control your thoughts"I’ve been asked for channel swimming tips quite a bit so thought I would blog some out for you guys which I have learnt over the last 7 channel swims. 1. Decide how much you want to do the swim. Do you think of it every day, are you prepared to spend the time training […]
Read more "My Pre Channel Swimming Tips the Ocean Walker way :)"