Swimming star shares her tips with City PM
FITNESS & DIET EXPERT
With just over two months to go until the Olympics, team GB hopeful Keri-Anne Payne still found time to be an official ambassador for this year’s Swimathon (swimathon.org), an event that a whopping 26,078 swimmers across the UK took part in. I caught up with her to get her take on swimming for busy people – and, of course, London 2012.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED WITH SWIMATHON?
I got involved a couple of years ago. I love the fact that you can participate on a small scale if you like – you can swim anything from one mile to 5K. And there’s the charity aspect; not only are you getting involved in something that’s physically beneficial, you’re also doing it for a charitable cause. I don’t think you can underestimate the combination of these two.
MANY PEOPLE OFTEN SAY TO ME THAT THEIR BREASTSTROKE’S A BIT LAME. DO YOU NEED TO TAKE LESSONS?
If you’ve got the time and the resources, you should get some lessons and go for it. Otherwise, just get started on your own and see what you can do by persevering: set yourself little targets, that’s what I do – 10 lengths, 12 lengths and so on. Even with breaststroke, don’t forget you’re still working your heart and other muscles, as well as your blood vessels.
WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST TIME-POOR CITY A.M. READERS DO TO INCLUDE A BIT OF SWIMMING IN THEIR BUSY LIVES?
I’d try and squeeze it in first thing. It’s not always easy to set the alarm that much earlier but you’ll gain a lot of energy from an early morning swim. But do make sure you eat before and after – people don’t realise just what hard work swimming is. Or, if you can, grab a colleague and head to the pool at lunch; you’ll be amazed at how this breaks up your day. Failing that, leave it until the weekend and make it a family affair.
ARE YOU HUGELY APPREHENSIVE ABOUT THE OLYMPICS OR DO YOU JUST SEE IT AS A JOB?
Both really. I swim every day. That’s what I do and that’s what I’ll be doing in the summer. But I’m also aware that this is something that people are going to ask me about for the rest of my life, so obviously it’s a very big deal at the same time.
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