How much can you really achieve in the gym if you only have 40 minutes a week?

Strength and conditioning coach Nathan Oxford works with some of the best Masters swimmers in the world, helping them make their time in the gym count.

In this episode, Nathan shares practical advice for fitting effective strength and conditioning around a busy schedule - from fundamental movement patterns and supersets to making training more specific to your events.

We look at how a small, consistent investment in the gym can complement your swimming, helping you build strength and power, reduce injury risk and become a more resilient athlete - and human - as you get older.

If you think you don’t have time for strength training, this episode might change your mind. If you’re already doing strength work, there’s still plenty to learn by listening to Nathan’s advice.

Contact Nathan at hello@oxolt.com or visit https://www.oxolt.com.

Visit our Instagram channel for additional content via @freestyle_media_swimming and please leave us a rating or review on your podcast player.

Nick Parkes shares the remarkable story of his return to swimming after suffering a cardiac arrest at the National Open Water Championships in 2023. Clinically dead for around 20 minutes, Nick has since dedicated a series of fundraising challenges to the air ambulance service that helped save his life.

Now he has taken on his biggest challenge yet: swimming the full 22.5 miles of Loch Ness.

Nick completed the epic swim in the dark, cold waters of the loch with fellow Masters swimmer and doctor Rebecca Lennon providing medical support… Rebecca having recently set a world record for swimming across the Bristol Channel.

Nick and Rebecca talk about the physical and mental demands of a swim of this scale, the medical considerations of spending hours in cold water, the importance of teamwork and support, and what it takes to keep going when things get tough.

We hear about Rebecca’s own attempt to swim Loch Ness, which was abandoned because of poor weather and her world record-breaking swim, and, of course, the question everyone wants answered…

Did they see the Loch Ness Monster?

If you’d like to support Nick’s fundraising, visit nickparkes.co.uk.

Visit our Instagram channel for additional content via @freestyle_media_swimming and please leave us a rating or review on your podcast player.

After an eight-year break from competitive swimming, Tom Cohoon has made a remarkable return to sprint swimming.

Inspired by watching his younger brother Alex compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Tom took on board lessons from the world’s best sprinters - and he has since broken a British Masters record in the 50m freestyle and found himself lining up alongside Olympic swimmer Alex at National Championship finals.

And the most intriguing part? Tom is doing it while working full-time - chasing down his full-time-swimmer brother, with the gap getting smaller.

Tom talks about maximising his sprint speed after years away from swimming, overcoming the lack of mobility that came from playing rugby, and trying to train and race at the highest level without the facilities many elite swimmers take for granted - including limited access to starting blocks and sharing busy public lanes.

It’s a story about talent, curiosity, family rivalry and discovering just how fast you can go when you decide to give swimming another shot.

Visit our Instagram channel for additional content via @freestyle_media_swimming and please leave us a rating or review on your podcast player.