Fitness Training
10 lessons from the man who's swimming 3220km around the UK
From killer whales to tiny sharks; the science of caffeine to the power of jokes – here’s what we've learned from Ross Edgley's epic Great British Swim so far.
After being at sea for 135 days, Ross Edgley has just earned himself a(nother) record: the World Record for the world's longest staged sea swim.
Currently on course to swim 3220 kilometers (he's clocked 2,539 so far) around the UK coast as part of his absolutely maniacal Great British Swim, we check in with Ross to find out what he's learned from his experience so far.
As you can imagine, swimming in the ocean for up to 12 hours a day for a third of the year teaches you a fair few things about life and adventures. (And killer whales).
1. Tell jokes, no matter how bad they are
Say cheese: Ross retains his sense of humour, even when things get tough
© Harvey Gibson/Red Bull Content Pool
Ross is living, front-crawling proof that a bad gag can go a long way. When asked what he thinks about during his long, six-hour swims, he says: “I talk about it as ‘creative collateral’. Because you’re just left alone with your own thoughts, and you have to entertain yourself. Imagine you have this library in your head of films, books, jokes, quotes, comedy shows, and you just flick through them in your head.
During six hours, you might change the channel so many times – it might be a joke that somebody told you three months ago – and you’re there laughing to yourself. It takes that slightly abnormal way of thinking to occupy yourself."
Encouraging times, then, for any would-be ‘Knock knockers’. The next joke you tell won’t only be absolutely hilarious; it might also come to the rescue of whoever’s lucky enough to hear it when, months later, they’re attempting to swim around mainland Great Britain.
2. Land sickness is a thing
Ross Edgley swimming along the south coast of the UK
© Ross Edgley
Ross has spent so long at sea that he's missing gravity: “Swimming for 12 hours a day is non-weight bearing, so my achilles and my calves miss having to resist downward pressure. Does that sound weird? I miss gravity!”
And there is a genuine chance that, when he does set foot on solid ground, it will take some time for his body to adjust to the altogether more static environment, as members of his support crew have discovered: “A few of the crew members rotate, so they’ll be on the boat for two or three weeks, then they’ll return to land, and they say they feel a little bit wobbly for the first day or so."
3. Bananas are a tongue’s best friend
The gruelling effects of 'salt mouth'
© Harvey Gibson/Red Bull Content Pool
One of Ross’ earliest injuries on the Great British Swim was his ‘salt tongue’: over-exposure to salt water caused his tongue to flake and quite literally fall apart. Although the problem has largely been rectified with a daily application of coconut oil, tough and gristly foods are off the menu. Bananas, on the other hand, are uniquely appealing.
“My diet’s changed quite a lot,” he says, “but only because my tongue won’t allow me to eat a lot of things. I’m not allowed to say how many bananas I’ve had just yet, but we keep a banana tally and it’s a lot! That’s because bananas are perfect: they’re soft and they’ve got loads of flavour. My diet’s changed just based on what my tongue will tolerate."
4. You are capable of extraordinary things
World record holder: Ross breaks the record for the longest staged sea swim
© Jeff Holmes/Red Bull Content Pool
Perhaps not swim-around-an-entire-nation extraordinary (unless the Vatican City builds a moat), but definitely more than you might think currently possible. “It all comes down to work capacity,” according to Ross, “which is one of the most underrated components of strength and conditioning.
People look at the components of fitness as strength, speed, stamina, cardiorespiratory endurance and so on, but 'work capacity' is just as important – your body’s ability to perform and positively tolerate training of a given intensity and duration. Identifying your work capacity means you're able to manipulate your training to do great things.
"The point I’m trying to make is that I don’t think I’m anything special – it’s just been a systematic application of strength and conditioning over many years.”
5. It’s a good time to swim around Great Britain
Ross Edgley swam for six hours, twice a day, on the Great British Swim
© Harvey Gibson/Red Bull Content Pool
According to Ross, the stars have aligned: “Matt [the captain] and I will sit on deck at 2am, sipping tea and having long chats, and one of the topics of conversation has been that we have had one of the hottest summers in living memory, so the seas have been so calm. We also had an amazing start around the south coast, and the Irish Sea, which is known to be brutal, was uncharacteristically calm – we covered over 160 kilometres in four days. The conditions we’ve had have been amazing and I’ve been so lucky. Mother Nature has handed me this gift, and I’ll never get a better chance to do this."
6. There are killer whales in Scotland
Killer whales can be found in the northern waters around Scotland
© Getty Images
“Ben’s just brought this to my attention,” says Ross, towards the end of the Q&A, before reading the following headline: “‘Britain’s most famous killer whale, John Coe, has been spotted off the coast of Scotland'.” Given Ross is swimming round the coast of Scotland, the news is cause for considerable concern (aside from the fact a killer whale is named John). “Does it say if he’s friendly?” Ross asks. “Can we tweet them and ask if he’s friendly?!"
The orca in question has been spotted, with another male, close by, and there have been sightings of another pod in Scottish waters. Although there are no known cases of killer whales attacking humans in the wild, sharing the water with an apex predator is, understandably, not top of Ross’ wish list. “If Matt gives the signal that I need to leave the water,” Ross says, “I’ll be breaking more records to get out!"
7. Jellyfish smell
Bluefire jellyfish off the east coast of Scotland
© Getty Images
Asked whether he’s noticed varying levels of pollution in the seas around the UK, Ross says he can literally taste the difference: “In terms of pollution, I can tell you that the Irish Sea tastes amazing! I wasn’t trying to taste it, obviously, but when you’re swimming you notice it on your tongue. The Scottish waters taste fresh, but are very cold."
And, while on the subject of his underwater senses, Ross reveals that he could “smell the box jellyfish" in the Bristol Channel. “They’re kind of musky,” he says – “very ‘organic’.” Already under fire for stinging Ross “at least three times a night”, the jellyfish community could really do without this fresh allegation. Although Ross does add: “I don’t think the jellyfish mean to harm me when they sting – they’re just going about their business and, if they sting me, I’m the one at fault, because I’m in their territory.”
8. Caffeine can aid performance
Ross dubs his swim a game of chess with Mother Nature
© Harvey Gibson/Red Bull Content Pool
That caffeine provides energy is nothing new, but Ross, a sport scientist by profession, goes into more detail when asked how many cans of Red Bull he drinks each day. “During the day swims, my body’s biological clock knows it needs to be awake, so I can get away with less caffeine,” he says. “At night, when my body’s naturally more tired, I’ll have one or maybe one and a half cans. I’ll have that before the swim, usually with some porridge oats.
“One reason is that caffeine has been shown to improve the ionic environment within working muscles. What I mean by that is that it spares muscle glycogen, so I’ve been having Red Bull with porridge oats because the porridge provides glycogen, which is stored for later in the day, and the Red Bull mobilises your body to use its own body fat for fuel.
“The second reason is that caffeine has been shown to work favourably with neurotransmitters – the chemical signals in your brain – which can limit your perceived fatigue. Up to this point, I can probably work out how many cans of Red Bull I’ve had, so 74 times 1.5...about 111!"
9. Pizza is an acceptable breakfast option
In episode 12 of his vlog, Ross gives some much-needed authority to an idea hungover people have been trying to justify since time began: that pizza can be eaten for breakfast. In fact, he went one step further, because why have one pizza when you can have two? “Morning, guys,” Ross begins. “It was a big swim yesterday: we covered 20 kilometres on a single tide. I’m having to fend for myself at breakfast this morning, which means two pizzas. While one is cooking, I’m going to eat some peanut butter cookies.”
10. Avoid tiny sharks at all costs
Ross, thankfully not fighting 100 tiny sharks
© Harvey Gibson/Red Bull Content Pool
The Q&A wasn’t all fun and games for Ross – he also fielded some hard-hitting questions. Chief among them: "Would you rather fight one jellyfish the size of a great white shark or 100 great white sharks the size of jellyfish?"
After giving it considerable thought, Ross decides he'd take on one enormous jellyfish: “I’d fight one. Definitely one big one.”
But doubt creeps in: “Wait, do I have a weapon? If I have a weapon, definitely one, but if I don’t have a weapon…”
Such hesitation is understandable, given the gravity of either hypothetical situation, but eventually Ross makes his decision: “No I’d still fight the one jellyfish. Because 100 great white sharks would be like piranhas, and I wouldn’t want to fight them!”
