Harrington Road South Kensington is not the most obvious spot to train as an Olympic rower - but it's there on very dry land James Lindsay-Fynn has laid down his marker for a medal.
The 32-year-old world champion (left), as one quarter of the lightweight four, has been giving his body some very heavy duty at the Fitness First gym prior to flying out to Beijing last week.
The following is not for the squeamish - so, if you don't want to know what it takes to get fitted for an Olympic suit - look away now.
With nary a drop of water in sight, has been training three times a day, starting with a 90-minute row at around 140bpm - that's his heart, not the songs on the sound system. Round two is a snack, weights, trunk strengthening, and a quick nap.
A mere 18k on the rowing machine follows - this time at a more competitive 160-170bpm to round off most days.
What's kept Lindsay-Fynn motivated in SW7 when he's not with the rest of his crew - is the thought of all that lovely loot as a banker he's missed out on in order to ritually punish his body. He said: "I put my banking career on hold to row, so I find focus from having to perform on every occasion and never make excuses."
The man who has already tasted glory in last year's World Cup, first got the bug for the sport as a result of winding up the manager of the Hyde Park boating lake when he was six.
"My father took us rowing in the park," he explained, "and there were too many of us in the boat. The manager chased us around the lake - I loved the excitement of this.
"I also took to rowing at school, when I was one of the few who didn't fall in at the start."
