We talk with All-American masters swimmer and physical therapist, 55-year-old Margaret Conze, about the day she suffered a sudden stroke at a swim meet despite being in peak shape, and the split-second choice to call 911 that got her life-saving treatment in time. We also dig into the hidden causes behind unexpected health events in active adults, how she returned to racing even stronger, and what masters swimmers can do to train hard while staying health-aware.

• The subtle first warning signs at the pool—and why embarrassment cannot win in a medical crisis
• Trusting your gut when something feels off and insisting on immediate emergency care
• Visual changes, strange body sensations, and one-sided weakness as urgent red flags
• How a standard home blood pressure cuff can serve as a quick reality check
• The unexpected cardiac finding behind her stroke that affects up to 25% of people
• The "golden window": what it takes to stop neurological damage in real time
• The psychological and physical path from the ICU back to national top times
• Strength training essentials every masters swimmer needs for long-term joint health
• Using physical therapy as proactive maintenance rather than injury reaction
• Hand paddles and shoulder risk: why you can’t judge the strain until 24 to 48 hours later

Would you consider leaving us a five star review on Apple? That's like getting a best time for us. Kelly and our team would be so grateful.

Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

You can learn more about the Host and Founder of Champions Mojo at www.KellyPalace.com

Are you logging thousands of yards each week only to watch your pace stay frozen in time?

Most masters swimmers and triathletes fall into the same trap: they try to engineer their stroke into looking smooth and effortless, yet they find themselves stuck grinding out laps at a single, unchanging speed.

In this episode, we sit down with Brenton Ford, the mastermind behind Effortless Swimming. Having coached thousands of athletes worldwide—from beginners to elite triathletes and national champions—Brenton reveals the fundamental disconnect between how adults think about freestyle and what actually generates forward propulsion.

If you’ve ever felt awkward trying new drills, wondered why pool-deck critiques don’t translate into faster race splits, or felt guilty resting at the wall, this conversation will completely reframe your approach to training.

In this episode, we explore:

• The Adult Learning Bottleneck: The single psychological obstacle adult swimmers bring to the pool that kids never face—and the simple drill to rewire it.
• The "Pretty Stroke" Fallacy: Why an obsession with smooth, splash-free recoveries could actually be sabotaging your power under the surface.
• Finding Your "Lost" Gears: Why relying on a single training pace locks you into the "gray zone," and how subtle kick timing adjustments unlock true sprinting ability.
• The Rest Paradox: Why cutting your rest short between sets may be the exact reason your top-end speed has plateaued.
• The 40-Minute Threshold Blueprint: The exact "best average" set Brenton used to qualify for Australian Open Nationals at age 38 against teenagers—and why elite distance Olympians swear by it.
• Why Technique Changes Feel Worse First: The uncomfortable biological truth every swimmer needs to accept before real speed breakthroughs happen.

Connect with Brenton:

• Website: Effortless Swimming
• YouTube & Instagram: @effortlessswimming

Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

You can learn more about the Host and Founder of Champions Mojo at www.KellyPalace.com

What do you do when the body that carried you to Olympic Legend Status changes in the blink of an eye? How do you stop comparing yourself to the athlete you used to be and build unshakeable mental resilience in the face of life-altering obstacles?

In this episode, six-time Olympic gold medalist Amy Van Dyken sits down with Kelly Palace to share how she completely redefined her identity, athletic drive, and relationship with her body after a traumatic 2014 ATV accident left her paralyzed from the waist down. Amy reveals how she transitioned from Olympic sprinter to adaptive CrossFit champion, why comparing your present times to your past self is a recipe for frustration, and the practical mental reframing technique she uses to turn paralyzing race-day nerves into pure excitement. Whether you are navigating an injury, battling an aging body, or seeking the grit to conquer daily setbacks, Amy provides the ultimate blueprint for choosing joy, grace, and relentless forward momentum.

Inside this episode, you’ll discover:

• Adapting When Your Body Rebels: How Amy shifted from Olympic sprint dominance to floating and finding peace in the pool with paralyzed legs and minimal core.
• Ending the "Old Times" Comparison Trap: Why measuring your current performance against your younger self drains the joy from swimming—and how to give your body grace at every stage.
• Reframing Pre-Race Nerves: The physiological trick to turn racing anxiety into explosive excitement behind the starting blocks.
• Why Swimming Keeps Getting Faster: Amy’s expert perspective as an NBC Olympic analyst on training quality over junk yardage, hydrodynamics, and modern sprinting speed.
• The Training Shift That Saved Her Career: How leaving high-volume yardage for speed work and fun at Colorado State helped her claim four Olympic gold medals in 1996.
• The Power of Daily Micro-Wins: How conquering small, frustrating tasks builds true athletic resilience and gratitude on hard days.
• Channeling Competitive Fire: How Amy took her sprint drive to adaptive CrossFit and became the second-fittest seated woman on Earth in her mid-40s.

Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

You can learn more about the Host and Founder of Champions Mojo at www.KellyPalace.com