In At The Deep End

This month, Salim tackles a problem that holds back swimmers at every level: shoulder pain, stiffness and fatigue in the water.If you’ve ever felt a nagging ache on one side, struggled with your range of movement, or found your arms tiring long before the end of a longer swim, this one is for you. It affects nervous beginners, triathletes who swim a lot of front crawl, and experienced pool swimmers returning from old injuries. The good news is that there’s plenty you can do to make your shoulders work with you rather than against you.In this Coach’s Corner, Salim covers:The five main causes of shoulder trouble in swimmersWhy hand entry matters:How to set up the perfect catchWhy rolling from the hips protects your shouldersHow keeping the back of your hand facing forward minimises rotator cuff strainHow these technique changes engage your latsWhy sleeping on your side and hugging a cushion) help protect your shoulders for the long termCoaching tip of the episodeIf your shoulders feel stiff and you struggle with a high elbow recovery, the answer is usually not tighter shoulders but more roll. Roll from your hips, keep your spine straight, and your shoulders will follow, making the high elbow easier and taking the strain off the joint.Coming up in future episodesYour topic suggestions: Salim wants to hear what you’re finding difficult, which techniques you’d like to master, or any swimming ambitions you’d like help working towardsBe a part of Coach's Corner. Here's how to get in touch:Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE — https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE — https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEndProduced by The Good Studio — thegoodstudio.co.uk

This episode of In At The Deep End is sponsored by Brulo Beer.Mermaid. Adventurer. Swim coach.Lindsey Cole has cycled across continents, walked a thousand miles along the rabbit-proof fence in Australia and swum the length of the Thames in a mermaid tail to campaign against plastic pollution. Somewhere on the way she rescued a drowning cow and ended up on page three of The Sun. It sounds made up. It isn’t.That Thames swim led Lindsey somewhere she never planned. Strangers began messaging with offers of a warm bed and a favourite swim spot, and Lindsey followed the invitations on a six-month journey around Britain and Ireland. Her new book, Swimming with Strangers, tells that story. In this episode she talks to Salim about the people she met, what the water strips away and why the wild swimming community may be one of the best things going.Together, Salim and Lindsey explore:How a Saturday coaching job at 14 grew into a lifelong love of teaching swimmingWhy swimming as a mermaid is far harder than it looks, and what it takes to swim a whole river in a monofinThe unlikely chain of events that took Lindsey from the rabbit-proof fence to a plastic-filled sea in Bali and then to the ThamesHow a cold-water swim community can turn strangers into friends, and how the invitations she received shaped her open water journey around Britain and IrelandWhat the swimming world strips away, and why shared water can bring together people who might never otherwise talkWhy sewage in our rivers may be one issue everyone can agree onLindsey’s coaching approach, from pushing off the wall like a rocket to bringing play into your strokeTaking the unscripted route through life, from Ironman triathlons to the Edinburgh FringeUseful LinksLindsey’s website: lindseycole.co.ukFollow Lindsey on Instagram: @stompycolePre-order Swimming with Strangers: Bookshop.orgSwimming venues and communities mentioned: Tooting Bec Lido, Clevedon Lake, the Outdoor Swimming SocietyBook launch talk and signing with Lindsey and Salim: Oakash Lake, Sunday 8 November, around 1pmThanks to this episode's sponsor, Brulo BeerFind out more about Brulo Beer at brulobeer.com.Listeners can get an exclusive 30% off their first order + free delivery with the code: DEEP30A word from Brulo Beer: Alcohol free beer has a reputation. We’re here to ruin it.BRULO is from Scotland, started by Beer52 founder James Brown because he couldn’t find an alcohol free beer he actually wanted to drink.Four Great Taste gold stars in 2026, more than any other alcohol free brand. Champion at The Grocer New Product Awards. 5/5 in The Telegraph Taste Test. The Guardian calls it the Rolls-Royce of alcohol free beer.Over 5 million beers enjoyed, 4.8/5 on Trustpilot, poured at Andy Murray’s Cromlix, KOL and The Pelican, and backed by the founders of Beavertown and Funkin.Most alcohol free beer gets drunk once to be polite. BRULO is the one people come back for.All Good IPA: The world’s first high fibre beer. 5g of fibre a can, a juicy IPA you’d drink anyway, and just named Champion at The Grocer New Product Awards 2026.Lust For Life IPA: The one that started it all, 248 brews in the making. Two Great Taste gold stars, and the one people reach for a second of.Highway To Helles Lager: Crisp, clean, no nonsense. The lager for when you just want a cold beer, and it goes down far too easily.Mixed cases: Not sure where to start? Our best selling mixed cases give you a bit of everything. Find your new favourite, then stock up.Swim with SalimSwimLab — Learn to swim with SalimFollow Salim on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salimswimlab/Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE - https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEndProduced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk

This month, Salim tackles the one thing the majority adult swimmers worry about before they've even started a stroke: breathing.It's the first topic most adults raise in a swimming lesson, and it can quietly hold back your progress for years. If you're a confident runner, cyclist or triathlete who runs out of puff after two lengths, or a nervous beginner who holds their breath and hopes for the best, this episode is for you. Salim busts the myths and explains how to swim front crawl with calm, efficient breathing.In this Coach's Corner, Salim covers:Why super-fit runners, triathletes and Ironmen so often struggle in the pool, and the two questions Salim asks them firstThe "hoarding air" problem: why holding your breath leads to a build-up of carbon dioxide, a racing heart and early exhaustionWhy breathing every two strokes is the default for top swimmersWhy bilateral breathing is a great training skill but a poor default settingHow to breathe like you do in any other activityHow to get startedA simple three-length breathing drill to build confidence on both sidesCoaching tip of the episodeDon't hoard air. Breathe out slowly and steadily while your face is in the water, and take in only a partial breath when you turn to breathe. Make the controlled exhale your secret weapon, and when you feel tired, glide a little longer and extend your out-breath rather than rushing your stroke.Be a part of Coach's Corner. Here's how to get in touch:Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE — https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE — https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEndProduced by The Good Studio — thegoodstudio.co.uk

Ten years ago, Lise Thorne turned up to her first swimming lesson able to do exactly one stroke, and desperate to avoid the other. Since then she's built Walking This Way into a community of 100,000 followers by talking honestly about midlife, reinvention and everything the brochures leave out, but front crawl was the one thing she'd quietly dodged for her entire adult life. In this episode of In At The Deep End, host and swim coach Salim Ahmed sits down with Lise to work out what changed: how she went from panicking halfway round a 750m lake loop to swimming Coniston's five and a half miles, and why she's now training for a 70km relay across Lake Geneva.Together, Salim and Lise explore:The first lesson that nearly ended in a panicked swim back to shoreWhy breaststroke feels safe but front crawl is actually the more efficient, lower-impact strokeHow learning to breathe properly unlocked a stroke she'd avoided her whole adult lifeThe mental leap from one triathlon in a borrowed wetsuit to a 5.5-mile lake swimWhy speed and sprint training matter more, not less, as we get olderHow swimming became a physical route through issues that had nothing to do with the waterLetting go of the fear of "holding the group back", in the pool and in lifeThis is a conversation about learning to swim as an adult, yes, but it's really about what happens when you finally stop avoiding the thing that scares you.Swim with SalimSwimLab — Learn to swim with SalimFollow Salim on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salimswimlab/Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE - https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEndProduced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk

This is the first ever Coach's Corner, a brand new monthly series from In at the Deep End. Between main episodes, Salim will take a deep dive into one coaching topic at a time, answering the questions you send in and sharing tips, techniques and advice picked up across 20 years of swim coaching. And you can help choose the topics, just email in or leave a voice message about what you struggle with, what you want to improve, or what's holding you back, and Salim could cover it in a future episode.To kick things off, this episode is all about connection, the thing most swim coaches skip straight past. Fear of open water doesn't care how fit or experienced you are. It's hit Olympic swimmers, seasoned triathletes mid-race, and pool swimmers who feel completely at home in a lane but freeze the moment they're in a lake or the sea. Salim breaks down why building a genuine connection with the water, before you even think about technique, is the real foundation of confident, efficient swimming.In this Coach's Corner, Salim covers:His five-step process for building water confidenceWhy coaching often has nothing to do with swimming at allWhat Vicki Anstey had to overcome before she could even begin training for her record-breaking Pacific rowWhy "the push and glide" is the fastest part of any length, and how top Olympians already use itThe moment Joe Wicks, one of the fittest men in the country, panicked fifty metres into an open water swim, and how connection work turned that aroundThe three pieces of kit Salim recommends once you're ready to start working on propulsionWhy Salim describes swimming as a performance art rather than a sport, built on doing less to get moreCoaching tip of the episode: Before you touch technique, get connected. Stand on the poolside or the water's edge and treat the water as your friend, not an obstacle. Calm heart rate and comfort in the water aren't a nice-to-have, they're the foundation everything else is built on.Coming up in future episodes:The perfect plod: finding your natural swimming rhythmSwimming like Katie LedeckiBreathing and building an adaptable repertoireThe kick: two-beat, four-beat, six-beat, and fixing "sinky legs"The need for speed, and staying fast as you get olderBe a part of Coach's Corner. Here's how to get in touch:Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE — https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE — https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEndProduced by The Good Studio — thegoodstudio.co.uk