🌊 Good afternoon and a belated Happy New Year to all swimmers around the world who are preparing to complete their chosen swims this year. The very best of luck to all of you.
I am pleased to have finally completed a 3 minute video of my 2007 English Channel Swim, set to the single version of my #1 International bestselling song - "Just Keep Swimming Until You Get To France!" which is released today as a single on all music channels including:-
In March 2020, the world entered into a crisis which can only be described as un-precedented in most living people’s experience. COVID-19 sent the world into a panic, and hundreds of thousands of people around the world lost their lives. As we went into lockdown here in the United Kingdom, I made the conscious decision to use my time productively to help as many people as I could but first I realised that I needed more skills to deal with the problems put in front of me. It wasn’t going to be an easy task, I just needed some coaching, assistance and help to hone my skills developed over 35 years in business and community service to become better than I was. My mentor Jim Rohn said it best.
“Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills”
— Jim Rohn
Another thing that Jim taught me was that my attitude is greatly influenced by association and that I should never mistake the power of influence. Influence can be both powerful and subtle. Anyone can be gently nudged off-track by someone who may be constantly pushing their elbow into your back. A little nudge with the elbow every day can push you off track until you really don’t know how you ended up where you are. All of a sudden you can say “Wow! How did I end up way over here?”.
Having been an Independent (not in a political party) councillor/politician for 17 years, I found myself way off track mentally and emotionally, and so made the conscious decision to remove myself from the negative, divisive, adversarial, confrontational energy of the local town council, and get myself back on track. I got into it to help people, not be constantly attacked due to not being a member of a political party. Wow! What a correct and amazing decision that turned out to be! I resigned as a Town Councillor, and in so doing relinquished my position as Deputy Mayor of my town. It was the best thing I ever did and was so amazing to have those nudging elbows removed from my back!
Kyle Wilson’s Inner Circle
Talking to Brian Tracy - International Speaker, Author & Success Expert at Kyle Wilson’s Inner Circle Meeting - December 04, 2020.
Having met Jim Rohn’s 18 year business partner, Kyle Wilson, at a Success Symposium in Dallas in January 2008, I became a member of his inner circle. The inner circle was a way to associate with like minded Entrepreneurs, Speakers, Business People, Iconic Thought Leaders, Authors, Professionals, Musicians, etc. It was simply amazing! The difference between association with these people and local party political councillors is just simply indescribable. It gave me inspiration when the rest of the world appeared to be in desperation.
John Maxwell Team
At the 2008 Dallas Success Symposium, one of the speakers was John Maxwell. John is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, coach, and speaker who has sold more than 26 million books, and was identified as the #1 leader in business by the American Management Association. In 2020, during lockdown, I finished my training which I began in 2016 to become an independentCertified Coach, Teacher, Trainer and Speaker with The John Maxwell Team.
So I had now changed my associations which affected the way I thought about everything, and had a qualification to officially be able to help people. I was very excited!
On a training call with John Maxwell - December 03, 2020
Being on Podcasts
So having joined Kyle’s Inner Circle, and become certified with John Maxwell, I began telling my story to people around the world via Zoom. In particular, I had adapted my story of swimming The English Channel, into applying the principles I learned into all areas of your life; Business, Personal, Sporting etc.
People started inviting me onto their podcasts and loved my story. It has been a truly incredible year talking and giving my presentation to so many people around the world! One of the highlights was being invited onto my first ever mentor, Larry Thompson’s ‘Millionaire Training Book Club’. Larry has recently release his original Millionaire Training Tapes which got me started in this business in 1987, in the form of a book. If you haven’t got it yet - I thoroughly recommend it! I actually could not believe it! Larry is probably the world number 1 living legend in the network marketing industry having been in the business for over 50 years. He is known as the ‘Billion Dollar Man’ because he has generated billions of dollars of sales in the companies he has been involved in - Herbalife was where I first met him. I was truly humbled and blessed to be invited onto this show live from Texas in the USA.
Co-Authoring a #1 Amazon Best Selling Book with Kyle Wilson
Throughout all of this time, in the background, I was working with the incredible Kyle Wilson in Dallas and Takara Sights in Los Angeles to co-author a book called “Bringing Value, Solving Problems and Leaving a Legacy”. My co-authors include Tom Ziglar - son of legendary speaker Zig Ziglar, speaker, trainer and CEO of Ziglar.com, Dr Denis Waitley - Iconic Speaker and Author, Rachele Brooke-Smith - Actress, Filmmaker, Speaker & Entrepreneur and Mitzi Purdue - Family Business Expert, Speaker and Humanitarian to name just 3 of the 41 incredible authors. It has truly been the most incredible experience and on the day of it’s launch, Tuesday April 13, 2020, the book reached #1 Best Seller Status on Amazon in 28 CATEGORIES and INTERNATIONALLY including just some of the following countries: The United States, Canada, Australia, France, Mexico and the United Kingdom! To cap it all, all profits from this book went to an amazing charity ‘Win This Fight’ - a charity setup by one of my co-authors, Mitzi Purdue.
So Why and I Telling You All of This?
The global pandemic has and is still causing major health problems around the world, both physical and mental. Many, many millions of people are suffering the effects of the lockdown isolation and it has had serious effects on people’s mental health. I have made it my challenge, my purpose to help as many people as I can to overcome the challenges we all face over the coming years.
What I have tried to show you above, is that who you disassociate yourself from and then who you associate with, can have a seriously positive effect on your physical health, your mental health and your financial future. If I can do it - you can do it. I’m no different to you - but we all need a little help. I’m here for you. As Jim Rohn said:
“It takes all of us to help each of us, and each of us to help all of us, and we can’t do it alone. Have you ever seen a rich hermit?”
— Jim Rohm
Summary
I will finish this post by quoting Mitzi Perdue from her section in the book, because it sums up everything I am saying here. This is what she said:-
“I think most of us would like to look back on our lives and feel that we’ve made a contribution. The formula for getting there that I like is a) Don’t be afraid of failure, b) Do everything you can to grow your talent stack, and c) Act on what Aristotle said 2300 years ago: ’The only way to achieve true success in life is to express yourself in service to society.’ ”
— Mitzi Purdue
So I am here to help YOU in whatever way I can. Sign up for my e-mail list at www.PaulHopfensperger.com and buy the book. My chapter: "Just Keep Swimming Until You Get To France!™" may just inspire you and help YOU walk forward into the next few years with optimism!
The Butlin Challenge Trophy - International Swim Across The Wash
Kevin was the first man, and second person ever to swim across The Wash on 26/05/1973 (full list of successful swims here) and following telephone discussions with him over the past few weeks, this is what we have decided.
Kevin is going to hand the trophy over to the British Long Distance Swimming Association (BLDSA) who he informed me, originally ratified all open water swims in the 1970's, and any swims which may have happened in recent years and in the years to come, will have to be ratified by the BLDSA to have the swimmers name engraved on the trophy.
For the historical record, it was a very interesting project using my own time, effort and resources to track this trophy down in 2009, and to read up about The Wash and ratify all known successful swims on behalf of IOWSA. I hope this historical trophy has many more names engraved on it in the future.
Above: Jacqueline Thomas of East Lindsey District Council hands over the trophy to Paul Hopfensperger, the then Chairman of the International Open Water Swimming Association (IOWSA) in Manby, Licolnshire on Wednesday December 16, 2009.
Over the past couple of years, I have been receiving e-mails, texts, phone calls and Facebook messages from various people who are saying they have "Swum The Wash" and can I "Hand over the trophy" to them. Firstly, so that people understand how I came to locate this trophy after being lost for so many years, please see the story here. Due to losing my mother, then my father then having an extremely painful Frozen Shoulder for the past 3 years, I have not now been involved in swimming for 9 years, so I'm sorry, but swimming is just not part of my life at the moment so I just do not have the capacity to deal with all this at the moment.
Secondly, so that everyone understands what is happening, two years ago I asked the then Mayor of Skegness, Cllr. Sid Dennis, if I could hand the trophy over to Skegness Town Council for safe keeping, as I believe that this should be the natural home for this historic trophy. It's where Billy Butlins opened his first Holiday Camp in 1936, and it was him who originally presented this historic trophy to swimmers of The Wash. I left it with Cllr. Dennis, and we provisionally arranged that we would have a "hand over" ceremony in October 2017, and that Skegness Town Council could then keep possession of this trophy for me, and keep track of persons entitled to have their name engraved on the trophy (in line with the IOWSA rules below). For reasons I am unaware of, this didn't happen.
I have this week, contacted Skegness Town Council again, and they are now looking into it again for me. Cllr. Dennis has contacted me again, and he is the councillor who is looking into it. Knowing how Town Councils work, I would imagine this could be a 1-2 month process at the very least.
While writing, I would like to say that ALL swimmers names who appear on the trophy, have swum The Wash under normal 'Channel Swimming' rules, i.e. in particular, no wetsuits. I have this morning spoken to the CS&PF Honorary Secretary, Kevin Murphy who has swum The Wash, who has confirmed this, as he did in 2009 when we set IOWSA up. The swimming rules to be eligible to receive the trophy are similar to item 10 of the IOWSA Rules and Regulations document below.
Once I have confirmation of what is happening, I will post back here. In the meantime, please be patient and you have my assurances that I am trying to get this trophy back to Skegness where it belongs, but I can't just hand it over to anyone who asks me for it. That would be totally irresponsible.
Useful Information for People Interested in Swimming The Wash
I have received an e-mail from Skegness Town Council stating that the first time that this could be discussed by them would be at their meeting on 04/09/2019.
On March 8th, 2013 my dear mum Vera passed away following a massive stroke a year earlier. She was the reason for me starting swimming at a very early age and I will always be eternally grateful to her for giving me a lifelong interest which has given me so much enjoyment, enabled me to meet so many wonderful people, travel to so many places and now, to allow me to tell people about my journey as part of a new direction in my life.
Due to work, family and political commitments over the past few years, I haven't been able to commit any decent time to swimming, so I thought I would concentrate on helping inspire others to start on their journey to successful accomplishment of their goals. I have therefore launched a new website as a joint venture for my work as an Independent local councillor, and as a motivational speaker. It is in the early stages of development, so please check on it regularly for updates.
If you are starting out on your journey to swim The English Channel, or starting out on the journey to achieving any other goal, this ancient Korean quote helped me succeed. I hope it does the same for you:-
"No matter how high the mountain is, it can be compared to a small tomb under the heaven. So if a man attempted to climb it, there would be no reason why he can't succeed. But very often one claims the mountain is too high without even attempting to climb it."
Well, preparations for the 2014 Chilly Dip are well under way, but I have hit a slight snag. I am on a course in London on the day off the actual swim, so I will be doing it on my own on the previous Friday, February 21st, 2014. Just gives me two less days to prepare!
I would like to thank everyone who has sponsored me so far, having already reached £190 of my £250 target! Thank you again, and if you would like to sponsor me, please do so by clicking on the link below:-
Well, it's been a long time since my last cold water swim, but when the lovely Lucy Alfred, Design and Events Officer at St. Nicholas Hospice Care (SNHC) in Bury St Edmunds, e-mailed me and asked if I would be interested in a 10 length swim at 6 degrees Centigrade, how could I possibly refuse? So, here we are, with just over a month until the big day, on a positively beautiful sunny but cold January day, launching the event.
This morning at 11:00am 5 barmy people, myself included, wearing nothing but speedos, bikinis, swimming costumes, snorkles, goggles, ear muffs, hats and scarves, assembled in an inflatable paddling pool at St Nicholas Hospice before the town's media, well a photographer from the Bury Free Press at least, to encourage people to raise money for this fantastic charity - my favourite!
Left to right: Simon Bridle & Lucy Alfred (SNHC), Yours Truly, Camille Ives and Aaron Bridgeforth (SNHC) dipping our toes into the pool earlier today to launch the swim.
St Nicholas Hospice Care in my hometown of Bury St Edmunds, works compassionately in the fields of life-threatening illness, death and bereavement and needs to raise a staggering £11,000 per day to cover their costs. The hospice provides practical, medical and spiritual support to local people and their families living with an illness that is life threatening; such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, heart or lung disease. I am hoping to raise a minimum of £250 toward this cost, and would appreciate your help with sponsorship.
It really is not a challenge for the faint hearted, as the water will be very cold, but it will certainly be invigorating and satisfying one we have completed the challenge. Please feel free to sponsor me on my just giving website which can be found here:-
Above: 2013 English Channel Swimmer, Louise Stratford withBody and Mind Studio'sSports and Advanced Clinical Massage Therapist, Paul Hopfensperger, less than 36 hours after her epic 17 Hour 9 minute swim across The English Channel on September 03, 2013. I first met Louise when she telephoned to book a massage with us on February 20, 2012. We had been recommended to her by multiple channel swimmer andChannel Swimming and Piloting Federation President Nick Adams. Louise told me that she had been training for about 1.5 years and had completed many open water events. Over the past 1.75 years, I have had the pleasure and the honour of treating Louise with bothAdvanced Clinical MassageandSports Massageas well as giving her tips, motivation and some advice frommy own personal experiences as an open water swimmer.
At 06: 41 Hrs on the morning of September 03, 2013, Louise set off from Shakespeare Beach in Dover (pictured above) on her epic journey to France. During our last pre-swim Swedish Massage treatment I had given her one of my most important pieces of mental advice for any Channel Swimmer to succeed. Advice which had been give to me in 2007 and most certainly got me across both of my two English Channel solo swims (want to know what it was - then come and see me!). I followed her all day via the Internet and it was a very emotional and exciting experience to watch her progress throughout the day!
Above: Louise Stratford swimming strongly in the dark of night just off the coast of France near Cap-Gris-Nez.
Eventually, at just before midnight, a comment on her Facebook page read "Has landed! and running up the beach!". I was totally ecstatic for her! An awesome swim by an awesome swimmer in 17 hours and 9 minutes to become a member of The English Channel Swimming Club!
If you would like to sponsor her, please do so on her JustGiving webpage:-
I was delighted to receive a "Thank You" card from Louise. No thanks needed Louise, you are an amazingly strong person both mentally and physically, and I am proud to have been able to help you in a small way. The hard part you did all by yourself. Well done and welcome to the club!
Above: Just completing my 'two-way crossing' of the stunningly beautiful St Paul's Bay, Lindos Rhodes, June 2012.
Not wanting to harp on too much about things, but you will note that I haven't posted since February 6th. There are numerous reasons, but from a pure swimming perspective there was one big reason. As stated in my previous post, it was my intention to compete in the 2012 BLDSA Grand Prix. To do this, I had a set plan and goal in mind and was very excited about it. It is what I tell my clients on a daily basis, have a plan and stick to it. Jim Rohn says, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". With that in mind, my plan was simple. Book and pay for the events I wanted to compete in, book and pay for the necessary accommodation around the country, put it all in my diary and train for the events. Big problem. The BLDSA website wouldn't allow me to do that, and despite contacting senior members of the BLDSA by e-mail and Facebook, no response! In the end, out of pure frustration I said, "So be it!" (or something similar) and booked a family holiday to Lindos, Rhodes, somewhere Beccy and I went on our first holiday together back in 1996.
It was a much needed holiday, in fact, due to starting the new business in Novemer 2008, it was the first time we had been away anywhere since the FINA World Cup race in Mexico in October 2008. Apart from our first full family holiday, I had the intention of completing a couple of open water swims - a 'Two-way St Paul's Bay' and a 'Two-way Lindos Bay'. Nothing major in terms of distance at all, but something I wanted to do to add to my mileage for 2012.
Above: St Paul's Bay, taken from The Acropolis. Seeing this from such a height, was simply amazing and I couldn't wait to swim it.
Above: Completing my 'two-way' crossing of the stunningly beautiful St. Paul's Bay, Lindos, Rhodes, June 2012. The world famous Acropolis on the mountain in the background.
Above: 'Blast from the past" shot. This was taken by Beccy when I finished my first 'two-way crossing of St Paul's Bay between July 15 and 30, 1996. I can't believe it was 16 years ago!
Above: Lindos Bay taken from the other side of The Acropolis. I completed this two way crossing for the first time on the last day of our holiday, June 23, 2012.
As well as my sea swims I spent every day in the pool and clocked up about 5,000 Metres total during the week. Still a fair way to go to reach my goal, but it all adds up.
My mum is still hanging in there, but has been confined to bed since her debilitating stroke in January. She is in a fantastic home, looked after by some fantastic nursing staff. She will however, never get out of bed again, never walk, never eat or drink, just lay in bed, fed by a peg and tube in the stomach. A terrible way to end a life so full of love, happiness, laughter and enjoyment.
If you would like to sponsor me for my swimming this year, just please click on the link below and donate. Thank you in advance.
Above (left to right): Me, Patrick Thomas from Cape Town, South Africa and Dave Granger (Channel Swimmer 2011) on board Anastasia in Dover Marina on Saturday September 08, 2012 - about 2:30am.
On Thursday July 26th, an e-mail came into the Channel Swimmers 'chat group' asking for crew members to hep a guy from South Africa called Patrick Thomas to swim The English Channel on the September 07-14 tide. I contacted Patrick and following some e-mail conversations, on Sunday August 12th he e-mailed me and Dave Granger to say that he would like like us to crew for him. He also said that a close family friend called Janeen De Klerk would be coming with him from South Africa. He said that she had "no swimming experience ... but is an ultra marathon runner and a very calm and settled all round person". Ideal to compliment a couple of mad Channel Swimmers then!
Patrick and I liaised over the next few weeks until he finally arrived in England. I had been tentatively telling my massage and nutrition clients about crewing in The English Channel the following week, and explained that I may have to change their appointments at the last minute due to the nature of Channel Swimming. This is why it can be difficult to get crew. You literally have to be prepared to go, food, clothes etc., drop everything, head to Dover and crew at very short notice! Not an easy task for ayone when you have work and family comitments.
Here's how the conversation went by text:-
Mon 3 Sep 2012 - 11:46 - Patrick in London: "Hi there Paul. This is my UK number. Awesome day here today :) Cheers, Patrick Thomas".
Paul:"Excellent! Spoken to Eddie [the pilot] yet? If so what's the forecast for the weekend?"
Patrick: "Hi there. Just sms-ed briefly. No discussions as yet. Thursday and Friday look great wind picks up Saturday ... Not sure there is space for two pre weather turn. Heading to Varne Ridge tomorrow and will try have a chat to him tomorrow."
Paul:"Cool. Stand at Varne Ridge and gaze across The Channel. It's an awesome view. Sends shivers of excitement down my spine just picturing it in my mind!".
Patrick: "Cool. Can't wait. Will be in touch tomorrow evening :)".
Tue 4 Sep 2012 - 21:27 - Patrick at Varne Ridge:"Hi there. Spoke to Eddie today. He is confident 1st slot will do real early morning departure Friday. Makes me Saturday morning (EARLY) start ... Too early to read much into weather - aiming for then and updates on weather tomorrow evening. Cheers, Fatty Patty :)".
Paul:"Ok. Let's check again tomorrow. Cheers. Paul."
Wed 5 Sep 2012 - 19:23 - Patrick at Varne Ridge:"Hi there again. Just spoke to Eddie again. Still looking OK for Saturday real early (Around 02h30) ... No definite time as yet ... But that is our goal for now :D".
Paul:"Ok cool. Will plan for that at present. Exciting!".
Thu 6 Sep 2012 - 19:26 - Patrick at Varne Ridge:"Hi there ... again. Just spoke to Eddie. We are still on for Saturday very early. To meet at Harbour at 2h3. To be confirmed again at 19h00 tomorrow. He is 90% confident of that decision :)".
I then realised that we were very likely to be on for the swim early Saturday morning, but not certain. I had a bit of a difficult decision. I had purposely not booked any appointments in for Friday (pm) and would have to chance getting to Dover for about 7pm not actually knowing if we were going to swim or not. A 145 mile drive - maybe for nothing. I packed and ensured I had my swim kit because at least I could swim in the harbour on Saturday morning if we didn't go.
On Saturday I renewed my British Long Distance Swimming Association membership with the intention of competing in the 2012 Grand Prix as part of my efforts to complete 212 miles to raise £2,012 for The Stroke Association. The final events for 2012 haven't yet been finalised, but Vince Classen, the BLDSA membership secretary e-mailed me last year's championship races which were as follows:-
Wykeham - 5KM
Champion of Champions (Dover Harbour) - 9 Miles
Torbay - 8 Miles
Llyn Tegid - 6 Miles
Coniston - 5.25 Miles
Ullswater - 7 Miles
Derwentwater - 5 Miles
Lake Winermere - 10.5 Miles
Lynn Regis - 3 Miles
So at present, that is my preliminary plan. To complete all of these races in the championship. I will post when I know the 2012 final plan.
So today I had planned to get back in the pool at Culford Sports and Tennis Centre at 7am. It didn't go exactly to plan, but I managed to get 70 lengths (1,750 Metres) in - eventually. Due to the heavy snow yesterday, I hadn't been out in the car, so I hadn't allowed enough time to dig it out of the snow! Having eventually completed the dig, I then had to clear the driveway to get the gate open! I finally arrived at the pool at 7.00am only to find the car slipping backwards down a very snowy slope near the pool. I therefore parked it in front of the main school building and ran up to the pool, finally getting in at just before 7:15am.
I was focused on building up my training to raise the money for The Stroke Association and of course for my dear mum, who after one week in hospital is not any better at all. Below is a picture of her with her feed which is going through a tube in her nose. To date she has had no food or drink properly due to not being able to swallow. I am doing these swims for her.
Above: My dad caring for my mum in hospital. He is still in shock at the entire experience, especially how sudden and out of the blue it all was.
In the time available I completed my swim, and for the last 15 minutes, I had the entire pool to myself. Just the lifeguard watching from her platform.
Above: My training ground this morning. 8 lanes wide, 25 Metres long and no one in it but me!
I returned to the changing rooms looking forward to a nice warm shower, only it wasn't warm. It was absolutely freezing! I may as well have gone outside and rolled naked in the snow, only I may have been arrested for doing so. So I had a cold shower. Great cold water acclimatisation session.
So I now have a provisional plan, and have completed a total of 10,650 Metres (6.6 Miles). Only 205.4 Miles to go!
Thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far. Please continue to do so so that I can raise as much money as possible for The Stroke Association:-
Above: Mum and Dad at the Bury St Edmunds Constitutional Club on Saturday January 21, 2012.
Above: Dad with Mum in the stroke ward of West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds on Monday January 30, 2012.
In the early hours of Monday January 31, 2012, my 88 year old dad telephoned me to say that my 90 year old mum had fallen over and he couldn't pick her up. I got out of bed, quickly dressed and drove round to find a doctor and ambulance crew putting her on a stretcher. They informed me that she had probably had a stroke. I was dumbstruck. Not my mum I thought. She's invincible. Never had a day's illness or complained. As the night progressed, our worse fears were confirmed, the whole of her left side had been affected. She is currently in the stroke ward in hospital. It is awful to see. It has totally changed our entire lives in one instant.
Mum is a carer for my dad who has also suffered two strokes. She also regularly looks after our two young boys when we attend meetings and work etc. It was a life changing moment, not just for her, but for my dad and for us also. I have to do something to help her.
As an Open Water Swimmer, I have therefore decided to swim at least 212 miles both in the pool and Open Water Races/Training in 2012, to raise a minimum of £2,012 for The Stroke Association. I really don't know what else to do as I feel so hopeless. She has always been there for me, and this is the only way I know how to help her.
This week I took the plunge (sorry about the pun!) and decided to get back in the pool and see how I felt after 18 months out of the pool. So at 06:50am on Wednesday, I arrived back at my old school where it all started back in 2006, Culford School swimming pool. In the men's changing rooms, the same old face were all there. It was like I hadn't been away. Glynn who was one of the members of my 2007 Virtual Channel Swim team was the first person I saw and it was great to be back.
As always when I haven't swum for a while, I swim to see how far I can go in the one hour session from 7am to 8am. Whatever that may be is my starting point. My starting point turned out to be 50 lengths, or 1,250 Metres. Not bad, not good, but it was my starting point.
This morning I was really eager to get in again. Arriving early I was the second in the pool and my goal was to achieve 54 lengths, 4 more than Wednesday. I was therefore surprised when after 30 lengths I looked at the clock and only 22 minutes had passed. At 30 minutes I was already on 50, and so I carried on. At 07:55 I was delighted to have clocked up 100 lengths or 2,500 Metres. I was chuffed to bits to double my distance on only my second session back. Just goes to show how with good nutrition, massage and the right mental philosophy you can achieve anything, and that's how I feel right now. Focused.
As soon as I arrived home, I ensured that I practice what I preached and consumed a good quantity of protein about 1 hour and 10 minutes after my swim.
Building and protecting your muscles with protein
Swimming and indeed any exercise causes changes in the muscles, including breakdown as well as depletion of energy stores and some tissue damage. The proteins in muscle tissue are broken down into amino acids, and these are used by the body for energy during exercise. Any good sports regime will include a variety of nutrients to offset these effects and will not only rebuild muscle but build up the body's reserves of energy again as soon as possible. I have recently started using Nature's Sunshine Products (NSP) as my daily source of essential nutrients.
A complete protein source taken soon after finishing exercise is needed - ideally within 2 hours (20 minutes being optimal). If the body doesn't have this immediately available, it can take anything up to 2 weeks for the muscles to fully recover. Also, some tissue damage can occur during exercise, and protein is required to repair this efficiently.
In addition, every muscle movement involves both contraction and relaxation and a depletion of vital nutrients can lead to cramps and lactic acid build up.
I use SynerProTein on a daily basis after exercise and after my work as a sports massage therapist and diet and nutrition consultant. SynerProTein is a powerful protein supplement designed by Dr James Scala, nutritionist to NASA and the US Olympic team so I know it is good for me!
Having had two good sessions in the pool, I feel great and now can't wait for Monday when I will now have to better 100 lengths!
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