Swimmers Natalia Usacheva and daughter Nastya in Siberia, December 2015
Ice has formed along the shore because air temperatures reached -40C. The swimming club cuts a hole in the ice with an axe or chainsaw each time we swim
Come on in, the water’s freezing: the joys of a winter swimming club
Would anyone accept my invitation to take a weekly lunchtime swim outdoors in an unheated pond? A hardcore but enthusiastic gang took the plunge …
The scenic Welsh triathlon for the non-competitive
Forget sweaty Lycra and saddle sores, in Carmarthenshire they’ve invented a scenic, fun version of the triathlon that allows Kevin Rushby’s family to do a leg each, and factor in some pub time, too
How to achieve your fitness goals this year
From your first half marathon to an outdoor swim, experts share everything you need to know to get to the finish line
An outdoor swimming tour of London – top 10 lidos and ponds
There’s no better way to escape the stresses of city life than to go for an outdoor swim. London has some historic lidos and even the odd truly beautiful swimming pond, as our writer discovers as she visits 10 of them in a weekend
Is it worth it? Swimming
‘Three breaststroked lengths of my local pool was enough to exhaust me, while middle-aged ladies went backwards and forwards for what seemed like hours’
How to balance triathlon training with work – and life
How can you train for the three triathlon disciplines and still have a life? One sufferer of ‘triathlete guilt’ enlists some expert help
My 50th-birthday challenge: week six
It is the penultimate week of the 50 swims challenge, and life is tiring and chaotic – but has moments of perfection
King’s Cross Pond Club: outdoor swimming in the city
Sally Goble: King’s Cross in London, which currently seems like one big building site, is getting an appealing new feature: an outdoor swimming pond, filtered by plants. Would you like to swim in a city pond?
Exercise: which regimes are worth the pain?
From HIIT to pilates, swimming, running, ultramarathons and crossfit, there are scores of ways to get fit. But which will really make a difference?