South West Swim

07/10/2026

HORRIBLE. BRUTAL. EVIL. 😈🏊‍♂️

I worked out that around 35% of Tuesday Squad described yesterday’s session to me using one of those three words.

But 100% of that 35% followed it up with something along the lines of…

“But I loved it.”

As a coach, it’s my job to design great, interesting sessions, and in some of those (Tuesdays for sure!) to push swimmers through tough sets.

But it’s also about making sure everyone gets out of the pool feeling like they’ve accomplished something and enjoyed their time with us. That comes from great coaching, planned sessions and, importantly, great lane mates to boost the team work.

And…sometimes swimmers will fail during a session.

But is that actually failure? Absolutely not!

Our Threshold Tuesdays are designed to push you. Sometimes you’ll feel on fire 🔥 and everything will click. Other times it’ll feel like you’re swimming through treacle.

You might miss a target pace. You might not meet the rest period. You start to slow the pace, when you wanted to hold on.

But you should learn from it and take that into your next swim.

I came across this line from Bob Bowman yesterday:

💦 “If nobody fails in practice, the practice was written wrong.
Don’t be afraid to let them fail.
That’s where they learn everything they need to learn about how to get better.” 💦

That pretty much sums up Threshold Tuesday to be honest. Although some of our sessions have reset to more tech focus, Tuesdays will ALWAYS bring that challenging threshold and pacing element 😀 😈

Come and be tested. 🙂

Free trials are available in many of our swim sessions. Request your spot by scanning the QR code or visiting the link.

Still to come this week:
🏊‍♂️ Wednesday, Technique (Waitlist)
🏊‍♂️ Thursday, Endurance Technique (Waitlist)
🏋️‍♀️ Friday, NEW S&C with Harry at P-FORM (Spaces)
🏊‍♂️ Sunday, Threshold Development (Spaces)
*Still book in for waitlisted sessions, there may be space in your lane as we allocate by pace/speed of the swimmer.

06/10/2026

WEEKEND WARRIORS
Squad swimmer Jonathan Smith has just completed something truly epic, a massive cycling journey from Munich to Rome. Here's what Jonathan had to say about this amazing achievement.

Munich to Rome - 12 Days - 815 Miles - 52,400ft of Climbing

For this Weekend Warrior, we’ve handed things over to Jonathan’s wife, Johanna, who caught up with him after his latest epic cycling adventure, Munich to Rome.

Over 12 days, Jonathan cycled 815 miles (1,310km), averaging around 68 miles (110km) and 4,400ft (1,300m) of climbing every day. By the time he reached Rome, he had clocked up an incredible 52,400ft (16,000m) of elevation.

The route took him through four countries – Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, with an ever-changing backdrop along the way.

From Bavaria and the mountains surrounding Lake Garda, through vineyards and the vast Po Valley, before heading into the rolling hills of Tuscany, Chianti and the Tufa towns. The journey also passed through some incredible historic locations including Mantova, Siena, Orvieto and Tivoli before finally reaching Rome.

Johanna explained that Jonathan, like many people, only really took up cycling during the Covid lockdowns. This was already his fourth long tour, following adventures including Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2022 and Channel to the Med in 2025.
But Munich to Rome represented another significant step up.
The scenery was breathtaking and incredibly varied, but so were the conditions. As Jonathan travelled further through Italy, the heat became increasingly oppressive, particularly when tackling some of the huge climbs along the way.
Jonathan also started swimming with SWS shortly after Covid.
Back then, he could manage just one length at a time. Now you'll regularly find him in our Tuesday and Thursday squads, swimming continuously and completing 2–3km sessions alongside his Lane 6 buddies.
Swimming might not be Jonathan's main sport, but it has become an important part of his overall fitness, and something he believes has definitely helped his cycling.

So, after 12 days, 815 miles and more than 52,000ft of climbing, how does Jonathan describe the experience?

“I’m happy to say that for an ‘Old Duffer’ I did pretty well!
It was the hardest long ride I have ever done and quite a few times I was ready to quit. BUT you learn a lot about yourself on one of these tours. You dig in, sort yourself out and keep going.
Some of the climbs were five miles long and, in the sun, it would have been easy to stop”

And what’s next?
Jonathan isn't quite sure yet...
“Maybe Trans America.” 😳
After this one, we certainly wouldn't rule it out!

A huge congratulations Jonathan, an absolutely epic adventure and another brilliant example of how the fitness built in the pool can support adventures well beyond it.

05/10/2026

Training right up until departure time tomorrow!

Good luck to 1-to-1 and Squad swimmer David Gulliver who makes his way to Hawaii in the morning for Kona Ironman World Championships.

Dave trained in Monday squad this evening, and the swim looks like it’s all piecing together very, very nicely.

Good luck Dave, safe travels for you and the bike and enjoy the experience. Remember, !

05/10/2026

WEEKEND WARRIORS
Only one event to report on this weekend as the Triathlon and open water season is effectively over in the UK, and we await those race abroad to crop up.

This weekend saw Matt Crouch take on the Selsey sprint triathlon. Matt took 5th place in his AG as he warms up for going bigger and longer in two weeks time. In (hopefully) much warmer conditions!

Well done Matt, a great return to racing.

05/10/2026

SWIM SQUAD, ARE YOU READY?

Today we hit REBOOT!

It’s time to get back to basics, build the technical foundations and begin our long-term development plan for 2027.

If you’ve followed our Weekend Warrior posts throughout 2026, you’ll know it’s been another AMAZING year for SWS swimmers.

First-time swimmers completing their first events. Swimmers taking on adventures and personal challenges. PBs smashed. Marathon, Ultra-Marathon and Channel swims completed. GB Team qualifiers. County, Regional, National AND World Champions created.

Different swimmers. Different goals. Different strokes. One squad environment supporting all of them.

Now, we reset and start building again.

Our yearly training cycle isn’t a collection of sessions made up poolside, thrown into the water and hoping for the best.

There is a long-term, logical plan behind what we do.

Over the coming months we’ll work through the different pieces of your swimming jigsaw, starting with the fundamentals and gradually building technical elements, fitness, pacing, endurance and speed as we move through the season.

The structure might be shared, but the coaching remains as individual as possible.

That’s why you’ll see coaching happening on poolside throughout our sessions, with regular written feedback, poolside tips and stroke adjustments. We can also take things further through our 1-to-1 coaching and Video Analysis sessions.

And if you’re reading this thinking that squad swimming sounds intimidating, competitive or like a closed club where you need to already be “good enough”...

THAT ISN’T US!

We’re a supportive group of adult swimmers with a huge range of goals and backgrounds, from those developing their front crawl and preparing for their first event, through to experienced triathletes, marathon swimmers and competitive athletes.

Swim with another swim or tri club? Absolutely fine.
Have your own triathlon coach? No problem.
Mix squad with public swimming, open water or training elsewhere? We welcome that.

You’re an adult and we understand your training has to work around your goals, your life, your diary and available training time.

Our job is to help you swim well, support your wider training and we love to celebrate your achievements, wherever they happen.

You don’t need to arrive as the finished swimmer, that’s what training is for.

The 2027 journey starts TODAY.

And if you’d like to be part of it, this is the perfect time to join us.

Check out the images for our Long term structure, session timetables and an overview of squad benefits, plus how to register for your FREE TRIAL SESSION if you are new to us.

Come and see what South West Swim Squad is all about and how we are a swimming club, but better!

03/10/2026

Fantastic sessions in the endless pool today, both video analysis and 1-to-1’s.

Great to receive this review from Lee, before I’d even finished my day in the pool.

If we can help you with your swimming then get in contact, or book online. We host up to 14 tailored sessions per week, so should have a time slot to suit your diary.
#1-to-1

02/10/2026

A great first S&C session with Harry at P-FORM this evening.

It was all ladies this week and they worked through a fantastic, varied and dynamic session.

Same time next week swimmers, there’s spaces left so book your spot and join is. Including the gents 🤣.

Thanks Harry.

02/10/2026

What’s your weekend looking like? Are you racing this weekend in one of the (very) late season events?

At South west swim we are busy busy with sessions, but we have a few spaces left in our groups sessions.
- Friday 7-8pm, our first S&C session with Harry Phillips from P-FORM. Still spaces available. Book via the our booking system.
- Saturday, a fully booked day in the endless pool with video analysis and 1-to-1 sessions.
- Sunday, Sunday squad at Lime Kiln takes on our ‘time is the essence’ session type. We have a few spaces left, including free trial spaces.

Whether you’re racing, chilling, our training, have a good one.

01/10/2026

Our first S&C / Dryland training session with Harry at P-FORM is coming up tomorrow evening, 7pm at Blunsdon House Hotel.

UPDATE: We’ve had requests for people wanting to join this session, who don’t currently Swim in our squads. So we’ve decided to open up the trial to athletes all.

These sessions will be focussed on movements and strength for swimming and multi sport.

Booking is required and can be done online through our booking system today.

For any questions please drop
Me a message.

30/09/2026

Well done Erin :)

Westbury teenager completes marathon swim challenge.

A 15-year-old from Westbury who only took up open-water swimming this spring has completed a 10km challenge.

Matravers student Erin Applegate took on the challenge at Cleveland Lake in the Cotswold Water Park on Saturday 5th September. The 10km distance is considered the marathon distance in open-water swimming.

Erin regularly competes with Trowbridge Amateur Swimming Club but only took up open-water swimming alongside this earlier this year. Her previous longest open-water swim was 5km.

Read more here: https://buff.ly/MEoshCS