Tolerating cold is something not many people can do. Our bodies are not supposed to handle the freezing weather that easy, especially when inside the water swimming. If you’re a professional swimmer, or even a fan who frequently likes to swim, must take many things into consideration before going out in the cold to take a swim. Learning to understand and calculate your physiological and environmental conditions is the first, essential step before you actually jump into the cold water.
The truth is, swimming in cold water, it’s not only challenging, it’s dangerous too. Many times, even the professional swimmers; have had to be gotten out of the water. No one can really consider it to be an easy and free of risk thing. A tip: when you finally decide to try it, take a partner with you. Training with someone else, gives both of you the opportunity to be saved if the worst happens.
Here is our list of tips to make this experience a pleasant one for you:
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Wear a full wetsuit
You should not let your body heat to get wasted. If you allow that to happen, by wearing a sleeveless wetsuit, you’re probably going to frostbite. If the water temperature doesn’t surpass 70 degrees Fahrenheit, a wetsuit is a must!
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Wear a neoprene cap and socks
If possible, wear two! Preventing the heat coming out from your head is a smart thing to do. The most common caps you can find are the latex ones. Unfortunately, they do not prevent all the heat from coming out like a neoprene cap does. Same goes as for the socks. Buying a pair of neoprene socks will prevent some good amount of heat getting out from your system and leaving you in a dangerous situation. So, buy and think smart.
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Buy some good ear plugs
Cold water has the tendency to make your inner ear bones to start closing the plugholes. This will definitely damage your hearing. This is commonly known as Surfer’s Ear-endening. So, don’t underestimate this little tool.
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Always warm up!
We’re not saying that you should warm up right before the swimming season. But, at least 3-4 hours will do the trick. Doing some cardio exercises for about 10-15 minutes, will minimize the shock effect that cold water tend to have. Also, preparing your body, especially your muscles, will make you get into the swimming rhythm much easier!
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Start in the summer
One of the smartest trick professional swimmers do is to start their cold water swimming season since August. If you make your body handle normal water, and then, a colder one, it will handle the cold winter water much easier. You just need to slowly adjust your body to the different temperatures. Before you know it, you will be swimming normally during all four seasons.
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Understand when you should get out
One of the most common mistakes new cold-water swimmers do is to not know and understand when the time to get out is. You see, after the first shock of the cold water, your instinct will make you want to get out. But, after a while, your body starts to get used to it and you might feel a little warm. This is a very dangerous situation because it indicates the beginning of hypothermia. Your end nerves start to freeze and to stop functioning, that is why you experience less cold and warmer. Get out immediately after you start feeling this way.
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Pure some hot chocolate
After challenging yourself and body with a cold water swimming, the best thing to do, is to start warm up your inner system. Drinking a hot cup of tea, or chocolate, is a good start. Then, you can get yourself into the shower and stay there for a while until your body has fully recovered from the cold.
