This quarry in Blansko is the place where I had my first authentic ice swim 2.5 years ago, on 21-January-2018. I have rated here as my most favourite swimming place in Czech Republic. 2 weeks ago, I started my new job right next to this quarry. I swim here nearly everyday after work. I feel connected with the nature here such as the ducks, trees and fishes. I am part of it. Water seems to be a god to guide me where to go. Water tells me what to do in life. I believe in water. Thank you water.
1. Make the training flexible and personal. Be water. Adapt to the situation we have. In the previous 2.5 months, swimming pools were not opened. I treated Brno Reservoir as a big swimming pool. The advantage is that water is colder than swimming pools. I started from 12 degree Celsius water until now 19 degree Celsius water over 2 months. It simulates the condition of English Channel a bit although the Reservoir is with fresh water instead of salt water.
2. Two months training has passed. Four more months to go before the Channel challenge. General strategy is to listen to my body. Recovery is an important part of training. I should avoid injury. After 2 months, the training will go to the peak with higher swimming amount.
3. Current training scheme is 6 days per week including 5 sessions of swimming and 1 session of TRX core training. There is always one hard training at weekend such as 4 hours in 13-degree water. Three trainings on weekdays are easy such as 1 hour in 17 degree water. Of course, all training are without wetsuit.
4. “There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work… there are no limits.” – Michael Phelps
Photo of the whole Brno Reservoir comes from Wikimedia.
連續凍水游6個鐘，合資格游英崘海峽 Support my swim here: http://bit.ly/English-Channel-HK-en How can you swim 6 hours in a row in cold water without neoprene? 🥳🥶🥶 This video shows how. To qualify for swimming across the English Channel, swimmer must swim 6 hours continuously in 16.0 or under degree Celsius water without wetsuit nor warm-keeping clothing. On 9-May-2020, I have finished this qualification. Each lap was around 450m. I have swum 31 laps in total. Every 2 laps, I had one break around 1-2 minutes to have my food and drink. Thank David Keňa for support
Feel thankful always. My coach, IISA Austria, supporting crew, medicals, friends, photographer, training partners, my love, my family. Gratitude is a power of life.
Crowdfunding link: http://bit.ly/English-Channel-HK-en I (MAK Chun Kong) have a dream which belongs to Hongkongers – be the first made-in-Hong-Kong swimmer in the history to swim across English Channel, as a pioneer in Hong Kong extreme swimming. To make this dream come true, I have been receiving three years of ice and ultramarathon swimming training with international standard. My physical condition is ready to swim across English Channel solo. In this challenge, the actual swimming distance will be over 40km. Water temperature is estimated to be 15-18°C. Through this challenge, I want to let the world know the “never give up” spirit from Hong Kong.
Water temp: 0°C water; 1000m freestyle in Murmansk, Russia (the Arctic) in March-2019
Coach man told me all the time “EASY BUT FAST”. My swimming Sifu 🙏🏿@Rostislav Vitek. Thanks for inspiration. He means I should relax my arms in every stroke but have a faster frequency. Your mind and muscles take it easy but still moving fast in frequency. Ultimately, the speed is still not bad and save a lot of energy.
It happens often in life. We push too hard and waste so much energy. Still, things don’t move forward because it takes time and patience to train up a skill and ability. It takes everyday effort, for days, weeks, months and years. Bruce Lee: “We learn the way to win but never to accept the way to lose.” You take it easy and try your best. If things don’t happen still, improve and try again next time. When it doesn’t happen right now in many life aspects such as relationship, friendship, career, just chillex. Pay small effort everyday to make it big. You take it easy everyday to make progress and ultimately the result can be extraordinarily huge.🤘🏿💪🏽
Za pomoci těchto produktů (restart-energy.cz) jsme 3. září úspěšně přeplavali celou délku jezera Loch Ness. Zde přikládáme report z naší plavby a píšeme zde i o tom, jak jsme dané produkty užívali.
Detaily přeplavby Loch Ness Plavci: 1st leg: Chun Kong Mak (Hong Kong) 2nd leg: Zdeněk Sláma (ČR) 3rd leg: Ondřej Smisitel (ČR) 4th leg: Kamil Cepelak (ČR)
Trasa: z Fort Augustus do Lochend Teplota vody: 12.9℃ ve Fort Augustus, 14.9℃ v Lochend Délka plavby: 36.2km Výsledný čas: 11 hodin 38 minut
Popis štafety: Každý plavec plave 1 hodinu v kuse, poté byl vystřídán dalším členem štafety. Pořadí štafety nemůže být v průběhu přeplavby měněno.
Plavecké potřeby: Nejsou povoleny žádné plavky, co by plavce zahřívaly, například neopren. Všichni naši členové měli na sobě klasické 11 cm plavky (53 % Polyester – 47 % PBT) od firmy BornToSwim.
Výzvy:
jezeru Loch Ness koluje známá legenda o monstru
Voda je tmavě hnědá a neprůhledná
Teplota vody se pohybuje v rozmezí 12-15℃
Bylo třeba uplavat 36,2 km
Čas, který stanovila předchozí 4členná štafeta byl 14 hodin a 39 minut. Tento rekord jsme naším časem 11 hodin a 38 minut převálcovali o 3 hodiny a v tento moment čekáme, až bude ratifikován BLDSA (Britskou dálkovoplaveckou asociací)
Problém byl i to, že 3 z našich 4 plavců ulétlo letadlo do Edinbrughu a byli tak nuceni plavbu absolvovat po sotva 4 hodinách spánku.
Produkty Restart Energy nám pomohly pokořit rekord! Každý z plavců plaval 1 hodinu a poté měl 3hodinový odpočinek, než šel znovu do vody. Proto jsme po každém hodinovém úseku plavby měli ISODRINK a HOT PROTEIN MEAL.
Restart Energy ISODRINK: Toto byl náš primární zdroj tekutin po celou dobu plavby. Díky formule obsahující jak pomalý cukr Palatinózu a rychlý cukr Dextrózu, měli jsme dostatek energie po celý hodinový úsek naší plavby. Taurin obsažený v nápoji nám pomáhal s koncentrací na techniku záběru, držení těla a s pravidelností dýchání. Kromě cukru jako zdroje energie z isodrinku, poskytuje isodrink hydrataci našim buňkám, čímž snižuje únavu a redukuje riziko vzniku křečí.
Pomocí nálevky vložte prášek do vody
Zatřes tím!
ISODrink ve velkém balení
Restart Energy ISODRINK
ISODRINK jsme rozmíchali v 2litrových lahvích vody ze supermarketu noc před přeplavbou.
Restart Energy PROTEIN SHAKE
Restart Energy PROTEIN SHAKE: Restart Energy má vlastní inovativní formuli při výrobě PROTEIN SHAKE ve srovnání s ostatními značkami. Hlavním důvodem užití protein shake je podpořit růst svaloviny a nejvhodnější je jej konzumovat po sportovním výkonu. L-Glutamán ve směsi podporuje růst svalové tkáně. Maca je zeleninou, která je kultivována už vice než 2000 let a je léta používána jak kvůli jejím výživovým, tak zdravotnickým atributům. Zvyšuje výkon a dodává energii primárně v průběhu dálkových závodů. PROTEIN SHAKE jsme užívali celý měsíc před přeplavbou, po každém tréninku. Po každém odplavaném úseku jsem pil PROTEIN SHAKE abych absorboval macu před dalším úsekem plavání.
Restart Energy HOT PROTEIN MEAL
Restart Energy proteinová kaše (různé příchutě): Rychlý zdroj energie, Dextróza, pomáhá dodávat energii. Maca podporuje fyzické a mentální zdraví a pohodu, výdrž a vitalitu. Dále je zde obsaženo 20g proteinu v jedné porci kaše. Toto sloužilo jako doplnění živin a dodávka energie mezi jednotlivými plavbami.
Restart Energy PROTEIN SMOOTHIE: Princip a účel tohoto doplňku je podobný jako u PROTEIN SHAKE, pomáhá s růstem svalové hmoty a regenerací. Tento nápoj je přijemné zpestření mezi užívanými doplňky, neboť chutná výborně díky kombinaci sušeného ovoce a kokosového mléka. Tato technologie spojená s užitím sušeného jídla je v dnešní době opravdovým pokladem. Toto PROTEIN SMOOTHIE je dle nás jedním z nejlákavějších artiklů, jaké se na trhu s doplňky stravy vyskytují.
Trénink v blanenském lomu:Týden před samotnou plavbou jsme měli “generálku” ve formě tréninku v blanenském lomu. Chtěli jsme si vyzkoušet jak vzdálenost, tak to, jaké doplňky stravy nám budou při přeplavbě vyhovovat. Plavali jsme vždy v kuse 1 hodinu a poté měli 20 min pauzu. V průběhu pauzy jsme se občerstvovali ISODRINKEM a teplou PROTEINOVOU KAŠÍ.
A picture at 3am before jumping into the dark water
Ondrej Smisitel
Kamil Cepelak jumped in
Chun Kong Mak
In front of Urquhart Castle
Zdenek Slama
Rainbow is waving us from the ending point.
Kamil Cepelak reached the shore!
Our team at Lochend
12°C water temperature
Thank you Restart Energy for supporting us!
With the help from Restart Energy products (http://www.restart-energy.cz), we crossed the whole length of Loch Ness successfully on 3rd September 2019. Here is a report of our swim and the product usage.
Details of our Loch Ness swim Swimmers: 1st leg: Chun Kong Mak (Hong Kong) 2nd leg: Zdeněk Sláma (Czech republic) 3rd leg: Ondřej Smisitel (Czech republic) 4th leg: Kamil Cepelak (Czech republic)
Route: from Fort Augustus to Lochend Water temperature: 12.9℃ at Fort Augustus, 14.9℃ at Lochend Length: 36.2km Completed time: 11 hours 38 minutes
Relay description: each swimmer swam 1 hour at least non-stop and another leg jumped in to continue. The sequence of legs cannot be swapped from the beginning till the end.
Swim wears: No warm-keeping swimwear such as neoprene is allowed. All of us wore normal 11 cm men swim shorts (53% Polyester – 47% PBT) from BornToSwim brand.
Challenges: There is a mysterious legend about Loch Ness monsters. The water is dark brown in color that we cannot see through. The water was cold between 12-15℃. The total straight-line distance was 36.2km. The fastest record of 4-people crossing Loch Ness was to-be-ratified by British Long Distance Swimming Association (BLDSA) was set in July 2019 and it was 14 hours 39 minutes. We smashed the world record of 4-people crossing by 3 hours. Our record 11 hours 38 minutes is in progress to be ratified by BLDSA. Three of our swimmers missed our flight on the way to Scotland. Due to the missed flight and delayed journey, the whole team slept only 3-4 hours after arrival in Loch Ness and went for the Loch Ness crossing directly.
Restart Energy products helped us make the record! Each swimmer basically swam 1 hour and then took 3 hours rest and jumped into the water again. We had ISODRINK and HOT PROTEIN MEAL right after every 1-hour swim.
Restart Energy ISODRINK: This was our main drink during the swim to supply our energy. Thank to the formulation which contains both slow long-lasting sugar Palatinose and the fast sugar Dextrose, we gained the authentic energy source before and during our swims. Taurine in the formulation is innovative and it kept us concentrate on our swimming stroke technique, body position and breathing pattern. In additional to sugar as a source of energy from ISODRINK, ISODRINK hydrates cells in body, which reduced fatigue and the risk of cramping.
Use a funnel to put powder into water
Shake it!
ISODrink in bulk pack
Restart Energy ISODRINK
As a traveling swimmer, we bought bottles of 2L water from supermarket. A bit of water was pulled out from the water and we added the ISODRINK powder into the water. They were prepared on the night before the swim and taken on the boat in the early morning.
Restart Energy PROTEIN SHAKE
Restart Energy PROTEIN SHAKE: Restart Energy has its own innovative formulation in PROTEIN SHAKE compared to other brands. The main aim of using protein shake is to consolidate the growth of muscle and the best moment to drink is right after a workout. L-glutamine in the formulation facilitates the synthesis of muscle fibers. Maca is a vegetable that has been cultivated as a root crop for at least 2000 years and used both nutritionally and medicinally. It boosts sports performance and energy particularly during endurance events. We drank this PROTEIN SHAKE after every section of training one month advanced to facilitate our muscle strength growth. After one leg of swim in Loch Ness, I drank the PROTEIN SHAKE to absorb maca for the performance of my next leg.
Restart Energy HOT PROTEIN MEAL
Restart Energy HOT PROTEIN MEAL (protein kase) various flavours: The fast energy source Dextrose helps to supply energy. Maca inside supports physical and mental health, endurance and vitality. Furthermore, 20 grams of protein is included within one portion of HOT PROTEIN MEAL. It supplies all the necessary needs in our body. We use them mainly as a supplementary food between our swims in Loch Ness, which gave our bodies energy.
Restart Energy PROTEIN SMOOTHIE: The principle and purpose are similar to the PROTEIN SHAKE. It helps muscle growth. Compared to PROTEIN SHAKE, it is just extremely delicious in taste thanks to the dried fruit and dried coconut milk ingredients. This technology associated with dry food is state-of-the-art nowadays. This may be one of the most attractive products we have tried in the market.
Training in Blansko Pond: We used Restart Energy products during our special training to simulate our diet in the real swim in Loch Ness. We went to Blansko pond to carry out our training. We estimated each person would swim 2-3 times 1 hour in Loch Ness. We swam 1 hour non-stop with full speed and took a 20-minute break. During the break, we had the ISODRINK and HOT PROTEIN MEAL to simulate the diet on boat in Loch Ness.
[Ice Mile Swim 🏊🏻🦋❄️Butterfly Challenge] My first post is to share my mind flow from the amazing ice mile journey. Feel grateful that I completed 1609m <5.0°C water in full butterfly stroke and became the first man in the world to finish this challenge after Pauline Barker as the first woman.
In the last 300m, my mind got into the state of flow. My consciousness decreased. Control in stroke, core and breathe started to be not so sharp. My mind and body just kept running like a mechanical machine with the butterfly motor program. When my mind started to be blur, that was when the meditation started. After the 43min swim, my mind blacked out for 20 minutes. I had no ideas how I went up from water and what happened after it.🥶
Clarity of my mind was gained and thoughts became primitive when I just wanted to survive. Ideas and memories flashed through my mind . They just came and left. For example, work, job and career did not appear. This means one day when you would die, jobs and career are not important in life. You won’t even remember them before you will die.
Three voices pop up in my head. First: my mum told me many times in my life “Mak Chun Kong, don’t do silly things please.” Sorry mum… I have ignored a lot of things you told in life. Second: my coach told me “only swim when you are in control.” I told myself yes everything is still in control. Third: My girlfriend told me “You can finish it!” My girl’s voice aligned with my mind the most. She was actually standing next to the ice pool and sending me tele-wish. The life environment where I grew has given to me too much fear. This 2 years of ice journey educates me to do things for love and passion. Choose the love over fear! ❤️Miracle can happen!
Acknowledgement: IISA Austria team for organization, special training: Rostislav Vitek, Support: Anna Klčová, Colin Bushweller
MAK Chun Kong 