PERSONAL TRAINER

THe perfect workout for your body type. This week: Do you have long arms and mobile ankles? Try swimming MOST of us have arms that, stretched out sideways, measure the same as our height. Top swimmers, though, have an arm measurement longer than they are tall.

U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, for example, is 1.95m (6ft 4in) tall but his outstretched arms measure 2m (6ft 5½in).

‘The longer the arms, the faster you can propel yourself through the water,’ explains Chris Pinner, a personal trainer from Innerfit. ‘Phelps has large feet and double-jointed ankles, too, which also aids propulsion.’

To check ankle flexibility, sit on the floor, legs outstretched, and drop your feet — the straighter the line between the shin and your toes, the more flexible your ankles and, in theory, the faster you’ll swim.