My name is George Williams and I joined SwimPath in November 2023. I have been a competitive swimmer for many years with Soundwell Swimming Club in Bristol and then Swansea University for 3 years. I started when I was 9 years old and progressed over the years culminating with swims at British Championships in 2022. I also have a number of National, Regional, and County appearances managing to win a few County Championship titles along the way. I have since retired from competitive swimming and taken up coaching with Soundwell and working at SwimPath.
Before working at SwimPath I was lucky enough to do some volunteering work in South Africa with a Charity called United Through Sport. I spent 8 weeks as a volunteer in 2022 and 5 months as a programme coordinator in 2023. United Through Sport uses sport as a tool to help kids develop holistically. Their education, their welfare and their overall health and wellness. Identifying kids' talent for sports allows them to access better schools and better educational opportunities and improve their overall life prospects. The charity goes to 4 schools a day and runs coaching sessions with hundreds of kids in a wide variety of sports including cricket, rugby, football, hockey, tennis, netball, basketball, dance, and perhaps most importantly, swimming. The swim programme is something I am particularly proud of. Giving nearly 100 kids the opportunity to have swimming lessons and learn water safety is priceless. Being a swimmer myself I took extra interest in this aspect of the charities programme.
SwimPath made a donation of swimming caps, swimsuits and goggles that provided the children with the necessary kit required for swimming lessons and learning water safety.
Volunteers come from all over the world, including The United States, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Weekend excursions organised by United Through Sport included safari, shark diving, bungee jumping and skydiving. This whole experience was incredible and something I will continue to be interested in and is something I would wholeheartedly recommend to young people wanting to do some travel and make a positive difference.
I am looking forward to working for SwimPath, growing the business and staying involved with the sport I love.
The NEW for 2023 Speedo Fastskin Racesuits are engineered with LAMORAL® Space Tech!
This amazing coating technology was originally used on satellites in space - making these new racing skins out of this world.
Valor 2.0 and Intent 2.0 performance racesuits feature the lowest level of water absorption on any Speedo suit whilst remaining lightweight yet compressive.
Created for sprint swimmers, the new range of Speedo Fastskin LZR Pure Intent 2.0 performance racesuits offer dual layer compression around the core for greater stability and textured fabric zones for targeted drag reduction and optimal performance.
Created for distance and multi-event swimmers, the new range of Speedo Fastskin LZR Pure Valor 2.0 performance racesuits offer moderate compression and an incredible 6x water repellency than previous Valor racing skins.
]]>Now that it’s summer and the weather’s hotting up, what better time than the present to see what swimming spots you have on your doorstep (or further afield) so you can put your breaststroke and front crawl skills to the test in the wild!
You’ll likely find that there are open swimming clubs somewhere in your local community, with over 150 clubs that train and compete in England alone… and this is a really great way to get started, helping you to build your confidence quickly and start reaping the benefits of wild swimming more immediately.
Interestingly, there are all sorts of health benefits associated with open swimming, ranging from better sleep and increased happiness to boosting your immune system and helping to manage long-term health conditions by making your body work more efficiently.
So, with all this in mind, if you’d like to start your open swimming career this year, here are three top tips from the team at SwimPath to help you do just that. If you need any further support or advice, give us a call today!
When you’re splashing about in the pool, practise treading water in the deep end so that you can be assured of your skills when out in the wild, where you’ll have no wall to grab hold of or to kick off from.
Bilateral breathing is very important for open water swimmers, so a key skill for you to practise. You need to be able to breathe on both sides so you can take in more air but also so you can see what’s happening on all sides.
It’s relatively common for beginners to feel a little overwhelmed and potentially disoriented when in the water. Find a fixed point to focus on as you swim so you can keep your bearings.
Looking for a women’s open water wetsuit? See what we have in stock today.
]]>Check out all new Funkita swimsuit designs and patterns, such as Kili Millie, Bashed Blue, Paint Smash and much, much more!
Click here to view the new collection
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"TriPath specialise in the Swim Leg of triathlons as this is a critical part of the race which is sometimes overlooked. Our Team of Triathletes offer the full training program for Swim, Run and Bike and are available for Coaching. Our products are designed for performance swimming and the training equipment required to perfect your technique . Products include competition wetsuits, trisuits, goggles and fun swimwear. Our coaches offer expert advice for everything a triathlete needs!"
]]>There is no room for error in a 50m Sprint! Check out the Top Skills that the European record holder and European Champion Georgia Davies executes in the race.
Skills like these need to be practised in training for months and years to make improvements and for them to become automatic for high level racing.
]]>Later, in 2015 I qualified for the European Games held in Baku, Azerbaijan where I won bronze in the 100m Breaststroke and then silver as part of two relays. The same year I competed at the 2015 world junior championships held in Singapore, this meet didn’t go as planned but I did make the final my events which I was happy with.
I then moved training programmes from my home club Taunton Deane to the British swimming national centre in Bath where I would be training alongside Olympians and world medallists ahead of the 2016 Olympic year. I didn’t make the Olympic team, but I did end up competing at the 2016 European championships in London the same year.
My favourite achievement was winning my individual medal in Baku at the European games. I am now working with SwimPath to help other swimmers achieve their goals. A top tip for you breaststrokers to aid your catch is to scull as much as you can in training, as this will strengthen your in sweep and out sweep to maximise your pull.
]]>The majority of Swimmers will experience Shoulder pain during their careers and there's nothing more frustrating then missing out on a competition or only being able to Kick in training due to an injury.
Strengthening and stabilising the Scaps will allow swimmers' Training to be more consistent. Stronger Shoulders and Scaps allow swimmers to create more power while pulling and travel faster through the water with less energy!
Scapula exercises can easily be done anywhere around training sessions to improve stability:
Pre- pool workouts- activates the muscles we want to use while swimming to reduce stress on the shoulders, increase Power from our pulling action, decrease chance of injury and missing training.
Around Pool sessions- Increase strength and stability of the shoulders to maximise performance in the pool and reduce chance of injury and pain.
Exercises can be done for a small amount of time each day and is definitely worth it for all of those swimmers with goals and who work hard everyday!
Thera bands are a great tool for training the shoulders and can be found here- Thera bands! Video for exercises to follow!
]]>The Core Muscles are used in all four strokes, as well as holding streamline position off the turns and the start. Here are some reasons swimmers will benefit from having good Core Strength:
- A good Core stability allows swimmers to be able to hold the correct body positions while travelling through the water. Holding streamline after pushing off the wall or blocks is essential for travelling faster with less energy.
- Swimmers will create less drag through the water by being able to hold a good body position and swim faster with less energy. Without the Core muscles being able to control an efficient body position the arms and legs use up high amounts of energy trying to pull and kick through the water resistance.
- The connection between the Core and the other muscle groups used in swimming such as Arms, Back, Chest and Legs allows swimmers to generate more power while swimming, if the Core muscles are activated.
- Strong Core muscles help massively with injury prevention and over all body strength. A good Core stability helps support hip, back and shoulder strength especially while training and allows athletes to train at higher intensities and see improvements without injuries.
The Core can be trained at home and almost anywhere with simple exercises such as the plank, side plank, leg lowers and more! Even for just 10 minutes a day, any swimmer can fit in a bit of core training to help improve their performances in the pool.
Check out my demonstration of how you can use an Ab Roller effectively in a core strength exercise routine:
]]>You can read more about GBDSC by visiting their website here
Open to all British hearing-impaired swimmers, GBDSC is a team of fantastic volunteers and are always looking for help and support in their work to create equal opportunity for deaf swimmers across the country!
]]>Land training can have a big impact on swimmer's performance in the pool. Fitness components such as Flexibility, Strength, Core stability and Speed can be trained on land in ways they can't in the pool.
With the Spokey Gym range there's no excuse to be missing out on land training. For those Club's that find it difficult to access facilities or find time for land conditioning, these gym products can be used at home or anywhere in your own free time. The range includes equipment such as Gym balls, Thera Bands, Push up bars, Skipping ropes and more that swimmer's and individuals can use to improve:
- Strength
- Stability
- Flexibility
- Endurance
- Core strength + stability
- Recovery
- Injury Prevention
All of these components can help improve Body Position in the water, Speed and Power, and technique efficiency, as well as general fitness.
Stay ahead of the competition with Spokey's Gym range and give yourself the best chance of reaching your personal goals.
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Any swimmer that swims a 200m Butterfly knows how difficult this event can be and especially if you get the pacing wrong. Pacing the 200m Butterfly can be very tricky to get right, which sometimes I still struggled with after years of experience. Even at major events, such as the World Championships, I messed up my pacing and ended up missing medals, finals and hurting a lot! It happens to even some of the most experienced swimmers.
However, those times you do manage to get that pacing right, there's no better feeling than smashing your best time, qualifying for an event or even winning a medal! Those are the feelings that keep us swimmers going.
Here are some of my tips to increase your chance of having a great 200m Butterfly swim:
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Chloe who trains at Manchester, has been part of the Jowe sponsored team for almost a year and has recently been improving her best times, getting closer to being one the best the Britain. Chloe is really looking forward to the Games and is excited for her first Senior team.
"I'm so excited to be going and competing at a high level. It's my first senior team so I'm not feeling loads of pressure, which I think is a good position to be in. But I don't want to be content with just going, I'm aiming to go and swim fast, to do a PB and make a final. Hopefully I can use the experience to help start my senior career really well."
Chloe will be heading out to Australia at the end of March with the England team in preparation for the Games that starts April 4th. She will be competing in the 200m Backstroke and hoping to get the Final! Watch out for Chloe's results!
Chloe is wearing the New Jowe swimsuit- Northern Lights. Available on SwimPath soon!
]]>SwimPath now stock More Mile products such as 'The Beast Foam Roller' which is a great tool to help aid recovery, increase and maintain range of movement and prevent injury. More Mile's Rolling Massage Stick is another great tool for helping with recovery, the Stick Roller is great for reaching areas that are difficult to reach with the Roller. More Mile's Beast Foam Roller and Stick Roller are high quality for money and offers these benefits:
-Improves Circulation
-Reduces Muscle Spams and Tightness
-Deactivates Muscle Trigger Points
-Improves Flexibility
-Helps Recovery from Training and Injuries.
See how you can improve your recovery and performance with 2XU and More Mile at SwimPath!
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One of the worst parts of being a swimmer is not being able to swim! As a hard working athlete, your immune system is reduced and the chances of getting ill are highly increased. It's very frustrating for an athlete to be ill, miss training and having to just rest while team mates are in the pool training hard!
The right nutrition during training periods and winter is so important to help avoid getting ill and to get the most out of each training session.
Post Training:
The Window of Opportunity!
Immediately after a training session muscles are primed to accept nutrients that help muscle recovery, growth and strength. It's critical to fuel your body straight away after a workout; the best way to do this is to be prepared every session, take snacks in your swim bag which can be eaten while getting changed or stretching.
It's best to get food in immediately and make sure you can get a good meal in within 2hours of your session finishing. Make sure your fuel includes Carbohydrates and Proteins! Doing this will allow your body to get the benefits from your training, increase the chances of consistent performance throughout each week, reduce the chances of getting ill.
Benefits of immediate post training nutrition:
- Decrease chances of getting ill & injured!
- Increase recovery,
- Increase muscle gains, strength,
- Reduce muscle soreness,
- Maintain performance throughout the week.
Vitamin D:
The very little amount of Sun we get in the UK in Winter massively affects our stores of Vitamin D especially in hard working swimmers! Training at high intensity and volumes decreases your stores of vitamin D more than the average person. Consuming foods that contain Vitamin D, taking a Vitamin D supplement during Winter can help maintain healthy stores and have similar benefits to the post workout eating window!
Low Vitamin D levels can:
- reduce muscle strength, power,
- increase chances of getting ill,
- increase chances of getting injuries.
Keep on top of the little things and turn your hard training into the results you want!
]]>Speedo LZR Racer X Junior
Speedo LZR Elite 2
Speedo LZR Racer Element*
Speedo Endurance+
Speedo is one of the swimming world's favourite brand and best suits for getting the most out of racing! Swimmers train so hard to be the best they can be and beat their competition. Speedo skins are made to help get the best out of all the hard work and dedication by making racing even more efficient for everyone who wears them!
Our Double Olympian Jemma Lowe's favourite race skin was the Speedo LZR Elite 2 and she broke World, British, Commonwealth & European Records in this suit!
*The NEW Speedo LZR Racer Element is a new suit design for this season. The Speedo Element suit is a perfect suit for a swimmer's first racing skin! The skin is made with stitching making it more comfortable and a great suit to practice lots of races in!
Look great and feel confident in the NEW Speedo Range.....Coming Soon!
]]>Swimmers around the world are now starting their new swimming season after a well earned summer break. Getting back in the pool means drilling in those good skills and technique again. Training with FINIS equipment is a great way to make sure swimmer's are practicing perfect technique as well as getting the advantage over competitors. Make technique and skills automatic before getting into race-mode with FINIS swimming equipment. View all FINIS products on SwimPath here!
In this blog our Olympic swimmer Jemma Lowe shows you the proper way to use FINIS equipment!
Jemma demonstrates how Finis Edge Fins can help improve your kick -
Finis Edge Fins have a unique design like no other fin that improve kicking by forcing the swimmer to work the up beat as well as the down beat kick! The fins reinforce a natural, continuous kick at high speeds, builds cardiovascular endurance and activates key muscle groups for a propulsive up-kick.
Watch this video to see how Finis Agility Paddles can improve swimming efficiency -
The Finis Agility Paddles help improve your stroke efficiency, with a unique strapless design, the paddles will give you instant feedback on your pull phase through the water. The paddles force you to use the correct pulling technique to stop them from falling off. Improve your pulling technique with these unique FINIS agility paddles.
Tutorial: FINIS Alignment Kickboard
Here Jemma demonstrates how the Finis Alignment Kickboard is used for improving body position -
The Finis Alignment Kickboard is designed to develop swimmer's streamline position, by creating a perfect alignment from the fingertips to the toes. The Alignment Kickboard sits just below the waterline so swimmers can lengthen their body without kicking at an incline. The Alignment Kickboard can be used to do one arm and side kicking drills in addition to normal kicking. When paired with a snorkel, the Finis Alignment Kickboard encourages proper head alignment and improves overall technique.
Finis training equipment makes you more aware of your technique as well as making training more fun!
You can check out the rest of our FINIS product tutorials over on our YouTube channel.
]]>We took some great photos at the event and would love to share some of the best with you!
Check out the 'Top Team' below - The Jemma Lowe All-Stars! Big thanks to everyone who took part in the event in memory of Keith Bewley!
]]>Make sure to pop along and grab yourself a bargain on swimsuits, jammers, bags, goggles and much, much more!
Read below to see where you will be able to find us over the weekend ↓↓↓
GL1 Leisure Centre, Bruton Way, Gloucester GL1 1DT
Oxford Leys Pool and Leisure Centre, Pegasus Rd, Blackbird Leys, OX4 6JL
Cardiff International Pool, Olympian Dr, Cardiff, CF11 0JS
Plymouth Life Centre, 40 Mayflower Dr, Plymouth PL2 3DG
Come find us, feel free to have a chat about suit fittings, advice and more from one of our team members!
British Double Olympic Swimmer Jemma Lowe will be in Oxford along with the SwimPath SwimShop!
See you there 👋
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Tumble turns can make a massive difference to a race. Fast turns can win races and massively improve times. Watch this video to see our Olympian Jemma Lowe demonstrating freestyle tumble turns.
]]>Watch this video to see our Olympian Jemma Lowe demonstrating freestyle tumble turns.
Tumble turns can make a massive difference to a race. Fast turns can win races and massively improve times. These turns are used for front crawl and backstroke; they are a skill and CAN be improved by repetitive practise. The swimmer uses the momentum from the swim into the wall to make a fast turning action. The transition between the swimming action and the turn should be continuous. The head tucks down into the chest as the body follows and spins in a forward somersault action. Judging the timing of the turn into the wall is the key to creating a strong push off with the legs, the legs want to be bent at around a 90 degree.
Practising turns everyday in training is the best way to make improvements and for them to become habit in a race!
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