In At The Deep End

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

Ocean rower. World record-breaker.  Deep water phobic.At six years old, a jetty gave way beneath Vicki Anstey and her sister, plunging them into deep water. Both survived, but the fear followed her for the next three decades: no diving into the deep end, no jumping off boats, a quiet, lifelong avoidance of anything past her depth. Then, in her forties, she said yes to rowing the Pacific, unsupported and with two crew-mates whose safety depended on her fear staying in check. In this fascinating episode, Vicki talks to Salim about the panic that surfaced when she agreed to take part in SAS: Who Dares Wins, the cognitive behavioural therapy that finally named what she was really afraid of, and the open water coaching - with Salim - that got her calm enough to cross one of the deepest stretches of ocean on the planet, and set a world record doing it.Together, Salim and Vicki explore:The near-drowning at six years old that shaped her relationship with water for 30 yearsWhat actually happened when a childhood fear resurfaced on SAS: Who Dares WinsHow CBT uncovered the real fear underneath the fear, and why it wasn't about the water at allThe open water coaching process used to prepare her, physically and mentally, for an unsupported ocean crossingWhy 60 days at sea taught her more about people than about swimmingThe toxic team dynamics on board, and the coping mechanisms she built to survive themWhat the title of her book - Other people are like the weather - means, and how it changed the way she handles conflictWhy she's about to do it all again, rowing the Atlantic this DecemberUseful LinksVicki's website: vickianstey.co.ukVicki on Instagram: @vickiansteyVicki's book, Other People Are Like the Weather: Buy hereSwim 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

Olympian. Record-breaker. Flag bearer.Mark Foster was the fastest swimmer in Britain by 15, and one of the most enduring sprinters this country has ever produced. Across five Olympic Games and 23 years at the top, he won six world titles, eight world records and eleven European titles, carried the flag for Team GB in Beijing, and somehow kept finding another gear when sprinters are supposed to burn out. In this episode, Salim sits down with Mark to talk about the training revolution he helped pioneer, the double life he led for years before coming out, and what real longevity in sport actually looks like.Together, Salim and Mark explore:Knowing you're something special at 11, and becoming the fastest swimmer in the UK by 15Why Mark helped reinvent British sprint training after the 1996 Olympics, borrowing from athletics and powerliftingThe underwater pullout and starts that became his trademark, and the marginal gains behind themChasing five Olympics without ever winning an individual medal, and what kept him coming backLiving two separate lives for years, and the moment falling in love changed everythingAgeing well, staying active in his fifties, and why he's finally ready to try open waterUseful linksMark's book: My Double Life, published by Bloomsbury, out now.Mark's official website: markfoster.co.uk/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 week Salim is joined by actress Sabrina Bartlett, known for Bridgerton, Poldark, Knightfall, Victoria and that unforgettable Game of Thrones finale, and currently on screens in BBC One's I, Jack Wright. But this isn't a conversation about her impressive CV. Salim and Sabrina have history: he coached her back in 2013 for her breakout film role as a Channel swimmer, and this episode goes right back to where it all began, for both of them.Together, Salim and Sabrina explore:How a 2013 film shoot in Italy, playing a Channel swimmer, changed the course of both their livesThe moment of pure overwhelm on a first open water swim, and the mental trick that got her through itWhy performance artists, dancers and ballerinas often pick up swimming technique faster than anyone elseThe idea of swimming as a performance art rather than a sport, and what that shift in mindset actually does to techniqueCold water swimming as a ritual before a working day and the anxiety that never quite goes away, even for experienced swimmersSetting boundaries on set and what it means to have someone advocating for your physical wellbeing when the job demands otherwiseSabrina's favourite open water spots, from Positano and Sorrento to Cornwall's lesser known covesWhy October, not summer, is secretly the best month to swim in the Cornish seaUseful LinksThe Crossing, the 2013 short film that first brought Salim and Sabrina togetherThe Last Sunrise, Sabrina's upcoming film, out on Amazon Prime from 26 AugustI, Jack Wright, currently airing on BBC One and iPlayerOutdoor Swimmer Magazine: outdoorswimmer.comShepperton Open Water Swim: sheppertonopenwaterswim.co.ukWatergate Bay Hotel - where Salim holds his swimming retreats: watergatebay.co.uk/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