The man they call the Polar Bear is at it again. Not content with holding the World Records for the most northern and most southern long distance swims, this week Lewis Gordon Pugh broke the World Record for the Longest Ice Swim by swimming 1200m in the icy fresh water of the Nigards Glacier Lake in Norway. The previous record stood at 1000m and was set by Lewis himself in Antarctica last year. In order to comply with the English Channel Swimming Association Rules, Lewis had to make the attempt in just a pair of Speedos, swimming cap and goggles. The water was so cold, (just above 0º Centigrade / 32 degree Fahrenheit) that should any untrained person have fallen in, they would have immediately been paralysed by the temperature and drowned within two or three minutes. It is testament to the hard work and conditioning that Lewis has put himself through everyday that enabled him to not only survive but manage the task in just 23 minutes. Like the seals, walruses and polar bears that live in the freezing conditions, Lewis had to bulk up on a see food and eat it diet as he put it, in order to get his fat levels up to the necessary 22%. This fat level provided the crucial layer of insulation his body needed to survive. Even then, it was a close run thing; Lewis lost the feeling in his hands and feet after 15 minutes and was suffering from a brief bout of hypothermia when he finished.I pushed myself to the edge! admitted Lewis after the record-breaking swim.Since the age of 17 Lewis has been taking on swimming challenges of extreme endurance. However he has spent the last couple of months training intensively. Apart from the swimming in the freezing water, he has found the Concept2 Indoor Rower to be a crucial part of his training.It really is a fantastic bit of equipment. I have been extremely impressed with it and it has helped me enormously with my daily training. I use it every day, said Lewis.In order to cope with the shock the body feels, Lewis has been sprinting on the machine – doing four sets of 500m, with a minute rest in between, three times a day.When you are swimming in icy waters you have to be aggressive and move quickly otherwise you become very cold, and as we saw, in a short period of time you can get hypothermia. The Concept2 has been invaluable in helping me build upper body strength to move through the water with speed, aggression and purpose.Lewis recently won the gold medal in the 500m freestyle at the World Winter Swimming Championships in Oulu, Finland, beating Russia's top cold water swimmers. However, the Polar Bear went one step further last Friday by beating himself and setting his latest World Record.For more news on Lewis, check out www.lewispugh.com.