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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Stuart Macdonald

Sir Rod Stewart swims lengths of pool while holding brick to help keep voice in shape

Sir Rod Stewart has revealed he swims lengths of his pool while holding a brick to help keep his voice in shape.

The singer dives in and retrieves the weight before swimming to the other end.

The practice is used to train lifeguards to save people in trouble and also by experienced swimmers to improve strength, stamina and breathing techniques.

Sir Rod has swum regularly since legendary crooner Frank Sinatra told him it was great for the singing voice.

The 76-year-old told BBC Radio 2: “I’m embarrassingly well. I’m exercising, I had a knee operation during lockdown but I’m back to running.

“I do everything. We are very lucky, we have an indoor pool and I do tons of swimming and we throw a brick on the bottom of the pool and I have to go and get it and get to the other end.

“Frank Sinatra once told me that swimming and holding your breath is the best thing for a vocalist to practice.

“It’s vital we look after ourselves.”

In 2017, Sir Rod was granted permission to build the 50ft pool at his Essex mansion after son Alastair, now 15, showed great promise as a swimmer.

Rod’s wife Penny Lancaster said: “Alastair is an amazing swimmer – he inherits that from my side – and gets up four times a week at 5.30am to swim before school. His goal is to swim in the Olympics.”

Sir Rod announced last week that his 31st studio album, The Tears of Hercules, will be released in November.

He is planning a UK tour next year and wants to give away free tickets to NHS workers who worked tirelessly during the coronavirus pandemic.

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