This week, I have the great pleasure of sitting down with arguably the fittest (but definitely one of the loveliest) men on the planet – swimmer and all-round adventurer, Ross Edgley. He believes that the next frontier of human performance is the mind and his superhuman feats are testament to that fact. He is the first ever swimmer to circumnavigate the whole of Great Britain without ever setting foot on land. And this is just one in a long list of mind-blowing accomplishments for Ross.

But how is all that relevant to the rest of us? As well as talking about how he got through his epic journey, Ross explains the science behind why our minds limit us. He explains how we can all push ourselves beyond our comfort zones and reap the amazing knock-on benefits that come from doing that. We delve into the importance of intrinsic motivation and self-discovery through self-discipline. Ross speaks with wisdom and humility and is truly inspirational – he challenges you to go on your own journey of self-discovery. The overriding message from both of us is – it doesn’t matter where you start, just start somewhere. I hope this episode inspires you to push yourself outside your circle of comfort.

Watch the video version of this interview in full below:

Watch the full video interview here

Further learning:

• Tim Noakes: Central Governor Theory
• Hans Seyles: General Adaptation Syndrome
• US military study
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
• Robert Hickson: Concurrent Training
• David Epstein: Range
• Periodisation: Matveyev

Articles:

• BBC – How a drunken bet became a worldwide sport
• Grantham Journal – Grantham strongman Ross Edgley coaches celebrities to swim English Channel for new television series
• BBC – English Channel: Sink or Swim – The history of swimming the Channel
• Telegraph – 11 ways to improve your swimming
• BBC – Record-breaking adventurer gets honorary degree
• The Guardian – ‘It was brutal’: Ross Edgley completes 157-day swim around Britain
• BBC – Ross Edgley sets record for round Great Britain swim
• BBC – Ross Edgley first to swim around Britain
• Telegraph – Jellyfish, whales and a disintegrating tongue: Ross Edgley on swimming around Britain
• The Times – How Ross Edgley survived his record-breaking swim round Britain
• Ironman – Ross Edgley’s Totally Mind-Blowing Swim Feat
• ITV – Adventurer Ross Edgley finishes round-Britain swim
• Mens Health – Is Ross Edgley the fittest man alive?
• Outsideonline – What happens to your body on a long distance swim?