BURN FAT WITH ROSS EDGLEY
Ross Edgley’s world-first feats of endurance seem to defy logic – as do his pectorals. Yet the strongman swimmer’s unique body is a functional tool. Heed his advice to craft your own
Whether you want to drop a couple of kilos or torch 50,000kcal, get behind the adventure athlete
Understanding quite why a man would swim around the British Isles is, for the time being, beyond us. Instead, we’re here to question how? How did Ross Edgley’s 5ft 8in frame battle through the ocean, 12 hours a day, for five months? How did he repeatedly endure six-hour shifts in the sea and on a boat? The mind boggles. To the man himself, however, it makes perfect sense.
Edgley quotes studies in physiology as most of us do episodes of Family Guy. And his time in the North Sea has washed up some interesting theories. “I believe that muscle mass during [non-loadbearing] endurance work is an advantage,” says Edgley. “Muscle allowed me to store more glycogen. Leaner athletes reach for gels when I’m still feeding off last night’s pizza.”
It makes you more robust, too. “You might have technique, but how strong are your shoulders?” he asks. “You’re not gliding through the water – you’re wrestling with it. You need strong stabiliser muscles.”
But how to build endurance alongside such brawn? Edgley
offers more science. “If you train strength and stamina in the same session, you dilute the stimuli, and so your ability to adapt,” he answers. Instead, be specific with concurrent training: do a squat rack strength workout, recover, then spend an hour on the bike the next day.
Predictably for a man who goes against the current, plans are already afoot for his next aquatic adventure. But, right now, Edgley’s cuttingedge training principles can help you to achieve superhuman performance across both strength and stamina. Dive in. The water is lovely.
Edgley will be heading out on his first UK tour from 20 May to 2 June, to talk about The World’s Fittest Book and what he learned from his 23 weeks at sea on the Great British Swim. For more details, visit: rossedgley.seetickets.com