London 2012 Olympics: Liam Tancock relishes the uphill struggle to reach his peak for national swim championships Then Ben Titley, our coach, got his car out and got us pushing it up the hill. It was like something out of World's Strongest Man. Ben was sitting in it - I'm not sure if he had the handbrake on. We went cycling round the reservoir, did some running; even a bit of raft building. With nine swimmers together it is a competitive bunch, believe me. We have a lot of fun when we train, but we train hard. For Tancock, a short-distance sprinter, anything that can help strengthen his core and give him extra power is welcome. Titley encourages all his swimmers to try aspects of different sports and disciplines, something that Tancock has embraced as he looks to convert his dominance over the non-Olympic distance of 50m to the 100m backstroke. I look at any athlete, whether it is a ballet dancer or a UFC fighter, and look at how they train. What do they do to get sharp, physically? And mentally? I'm very open-minded about it. Look at ballet: you have to be strong, fit and flexible, have good body awareness, good hand and feet placement. Those are things you need in swimming too. It comes back to having a strong core. So when we do ballet, we don't do the floor routines but we work on our core and certain movements that will help us. We would go from a ballet lesson straight to kick-boxing, where the power and controlled aggression is something else we need in the pool. It's pretty crazy but we like to think outside the box. The other advantage is that it breaks the monotony of pool work, keeps the swimmers fresh. This appeals to Tancock especially, who was a talented rugby player. At the age of 14 he was excelling as a winger with Exeter Chiefs and had to make a decision about which sport to pursue seriously. I used to love playing a game on Sunday then come back home and have a roast. I was a winger. I guess I had the speed when I was younger. But I used to like getting involved, loved it. I used to get that ball and leg it, trying to not get caught. But then I also used to like giving someone a smack. It was brilliant travelling round with the team in the mini-bus. In the end it became a decision about what I was going to focus on - and swimming was giving me more opportunities. Jon Randall, his coach at the time, convinced him that he could have a big future in swimming. "My relationship with Jon was paramount - in fact it still is," Tancock said. He was my first proper coach and I still do things in races that he taught me. He knew more about me than I did when I was a kid. Before a race he would write down on a piece of paper what time I would do and he'd always be within a tenth of a second. Tancock has become a level-two instructor himself, although he does not envision going into full-time coaching. Instead he wants to use his experiences and the basic skills he has learned to help inspire younger swimmers. "I enjoy giving something back," he said. At 26, he is at his peak as a sprinter and is looking forward to testing himself in the Olympic pool next week. "The training has stepped up even from last year," he said. If you asked me then I wouldn't have thought it was possible to do that. We have been doing some really hard work over the winter period; just come back from a training camp in Tenerife. Now it is just about staying away from any illnesses and keeping myself fit and healthy. These are the big meets that you live for. I don't get nervous, just excited. I had a great year last year, becoming the first British swimmer in 36 years to retain a world title. Now I want to have success in London. I think I'll love the crowd. I got a glimpse of that in Manchester for the World Short-course Championships in 2008. When you got out of the water with people chanting your name, it did not feel like a swimming pool - it was like a football or rugby match. I think we are going to get a taste of that atmosphere at the trials. Racing in front of a home crowd is like a best-man's speech, everyone wants you to do well - you just have to soak it all up. Liam Tancock is a Gillette ambassador. Gillette's 'Great Start" campaign celebrates great coaches and inspires the next generation by encouraging men to get into coaching. Facebook.com/GilletteUK