‘I used to be in a wheelchair with ME – now I m taking on the toughest challenge in swimming’
From Midlife Fitness Files: The Telegraph’s health series, where we glean advice from experts as they talk us through their weekly regime
Beth French is the subject of an award-winning documentary
Credit: Nyla Sammons
Anna Magee talks to Beth French, a deep tissue physical therapist and extreme swimmer who is the subject of an award-winning documentary, Against the Tides. She lives in Milverton, Somerset, with her son, Dylan, 12.
My earliest memory is being about four and climbing into the washing-up bowl in the sink. There’s not a single picture of me before age six that wasn’t in a bucket, stream, puddle or washing-up bowl.
Now we’ve found him in his natural habitat (the gym), observers will be keen to break down Backshall’s anatomy, as well as his hunting and dietary predilections, ecological role, adaptations, social activity, reproduction and life cycle, and of course whether attacks on humans are common.
Some of those are immediately answerable: old Backers, as he will be known from here, does seem very sociable, and nice to the point of crying on
Desert Island Discs; he is married to double Olympic rowing champion Helen Glover, with whom he has a two-year old, Logan, and one-year-old twins, Kit and Willow; he has a black belt in judo; he can speak Japanese, if that counts as an adaptation, and climbs, dives, mountaineers, runs marathons, and is so tough that he once finished ninth in the UK Tough Guy competition.
‘Five years ago I tried washing with a hosepipe in the garden – I haven’t had a hot shower since’
From Midlife Fitness Files: The Telegraph’s health series, where we glean advice from experts as they talk us through their weekly regime It felt more organic, exhilarating and energising
Credit: Jeff Gilbert/The Telegraph
Anna Magee talks to Mike Millen, 68, a retired engineer and part-time fitness instructor. He lives in Kent and has a grown-up daughter, Toni, 44 and two grandsons, nine and 11.
My earliest memory is kicking a football around outside the block of flats where I used to live in South London. I got to semi-professional level but, in those days, it was more about brute strength and I was quite small growing up, so I didn’t get further.