This homespun documentary highlights Gaddings Dam, where intrepid wild swimmers visit in all weathers

Here’s a gentle and rather lovely documentary about the community of wild swimmers who dip all year round at Gaddings Dam on the West Yorkshire moors . A beautiful spot, the dam is England’s highest beach – though it’s unlikely to be winning any awards for the sunniest. Not that lashing rain, storm-force winds or thick ice put off the hardy year-round dippers. They’re a jolly bunch – slightly bonkers, which is meant kindly. Most don’t do wetsuits; when the water temperature drops, on go the woolly hats, gloves and booties to protect extremities.

The dam is a mill pond built in the 1830s; about 20 years ago, under threat of being drained, it was rescued by a group of enthusiastic locals. Veteran dipper Clive, now in his late 60s, says he racks up 500 or 600 dips a year. The film’s director Ben Davis interviews other swimmers: among them members of the Saturday Morning Crew and the January Daily Dippers, who swim every day in January to raise money for charity. Some swim for fitness or to connect with nature; others to improve their mental health. One woman started wild swimming to deal with menopause symptoms. They might be hardcore, but the swimmers interviewed here are generous about the fair-weather paddlers who pack out Gaddings come a heatwave. Less tolerant is the pub landlord with the closest car park to the dam; it’s rammed in summertime. “They don’t respect yellow lines,” complains a local.

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Can a late convert to wellbeing undo decades of beer and barbecues? In the first of a new series, Phil Daoust has a health MOT – and gets some worrying news about his heart

I am sitting in a consulting room, talking through the results of an unusually thorough health check. The doctor seems happy with most of them, but he lingers on the squiggly lines of my ECG – a chart of the electrical signals in my heart. He’s found something called a “prolonged PR interval”. I’m very happily married to a PR, so this sounds quite pleasant, but then he explains that P and R are points on the squiggly lines, and that I probably have “first-degree heart block”. I feel a little chill.

I guess these are the risks when you try to find out more about your health. But ignorance doesn’t feel like bliss when you turn 60. How much longer have I got, you want to know. How much of that will be fit and happy? And OK, I’m now getting free prescriptions, which is nice, but is that because I’ll be needing more medicine?

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Why do people put themselves through ultra-long distance swims, runs and cycle rides? Plus our guide to the top ultra sports events worldwide

Have you noticed everyone’s cycling across Europe lately, or running over the Alps, or skiing to the south pole? Where once just a few mad explorers pushed themselves to these limits, now amateur sport is turning into a feat of ultra-endurance, from 4,000km bike rides to 100 mile runs. But … why?

“There are specific aspects to physical challenges like this,” says Dr Carla Meijen, a sport and exercise psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam. “They offer a mix of endorphins, feeling fitter and observing progress”.

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From shapewear to surgery, the male quest to build the perfect behind has become a super-sized business

In a nation divided by politics, culture wars and the appropriate way to eat a scone, it seems that there is one thing we can all agree on: we like big butts and we cannot lie. In this (and every) regard, Kim Kardashian has a lot to answer for. The 2007 pilot of her reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians began with her momager Kris Jenner discussing her “junk in the trunk”, and Kardashian’s ginormous bottom was hefty enough to “break the internet” after its official unveiling on the cover of Paper magazine in 2014. Her exaggerated hourglass silhouette changed the shape of the “ideal” woman’s body; a decade later, buttock augmentations are the fastest-growing procedure worldwide, with the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reporting a 137% increase since 2018.

Now men are getting in on the act. Fitness bible Men’s Health recently reported that “men are building their booties – and reaping the benefits”, while the Daily Mail was typically restrained, trumpeting that: “The 2024 fitness trend for men will be gigantic BUTTS.” Meanwhile, fashion and fitness retailers from Lululemon to Kardashian’s own brand, Skims, are scrabbling to corner the market in glute-hugging menswear. According to Ashley Wilson, head of brand at the bestselling gymwear business Gymshark: “We have noticed that men’s glutes are getting more attention in the gym, and have recently created products to meet the demand to accentuate this area.” A spokesperson for Spanx, which relaunched its men’s shapewear line in 2018, tells me that its Ultra Sculpt fit (which promises a perkier bum) is increasingly popular.

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Adrenaline release thought to dampen inflammation, but experts say method ‘not without risks’

Whether plunging themselves into ice baths or deliberately hyperventilating and then holding their breath, devotees of “The Iceman” Wim Hof are evangelical about the physical and mental benefits these practices bring. A new study suggests they may indeed reduce levels of inflammation in the body. However, experts stress that practising the Wim Hof method is not without risk.

Hof is a Dutch athlete, best known for record-breaking feats such as swimming under ice and running barefoot on ice and snow. More recently, he has built a business empire on the techniques he uses – which focus on a commitment mastering conscious breathing and cold exposure – with courses available around the world.

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Strongman contests are awesome displays of power, grip, agility, skill and strategic thinking. Outside the competitions, though, things get a bit weird …

Name: England’s strongest man.

Age: 26.

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Whether you go to the gym with siblings or run with your parents, we would like to hear from you

Are you a family that works out together? Perhaps you go on runs with your kids. Or you’ve set up a home gym and do group sessions with your teenagers. Or you play an intergenerational game of padel tennis or football every week.

If you exercise with other family members, we would love to hear from you for a magazine feature.

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The American author on whale watching, Kehinde Wiley’s hypnotic paintings and an indispensable Canadian singer-songwriter

Dave Eggers was born in Boston in 1970, raised in Illinois and now lives in San Francisco with his wife, the novelist Vendela Vida, and their two children. He is the author of many books for adults and children, among them The Circle , What Is the What , The Every and The Eyes and the Impossible . He is the founder of McSweeney’s, a nonprofit, independent publishing company, and two nonprofit organisations – 826 Valencia and ScholarMatch – aimed at giving low-income young people the ability to write and to access higher education, debt-free. His latest picture book, Soren’s Seventh Song , about a young humpback whale, is out in the UK this month (Cameron Kids).

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Four years ago, Tim Jonze thought his running career was as good as over. Learning how to stretch properly and sticking to these three strengthening exercises helped him get back on track

Runner’s knee struck me down at the worst possible time – in early 2020, right before the pandemic. While everyone around me started lacing up trainers for their “daily hour of exercise”, I was unable to jog to the end of the road without pain flaring up in both of my knee joints for days.

I honestly believed that I would never run again. And after an MRI scan on my knee revealed I had “shallow grooves” in which the patella slipped around, a specialist told me to think about taking up a lower-impact sport like swimming instead. “You’re not built for running,” a specialist told me. “So maybe just don’t do it.”

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