Winter Swimming

Chilly Dipping Schedule

Winter Swim Top Tips!

Start with brief sessions

To give your body and mind time to adapt, start cold water swimming with brief sessions. Then as you become accustomed, you can gradually lengthen them. For those of you who have continued to swim regularly with us since the summer you'll already be acclimatised. Start with Breaststroke and wear a wooly hat! Submerging your head will significantly speed up the cooling process and shorten your swim.

Enter gradually

Do not to jump or dive into cold water, but to enter gradually. The human body is very adaptable to different environments. Yet, we help ourself a lot if we give the body some time to readjust. Enter the water slowly, taking half a minute to a minute.

Know your limits

There's a fine line between healthy winter swimming and it becoming a health risk. Swim to your own ability not that of others. We are all different both physically and psychologically and therefore our individual ability to cope with the cold can vary significantly. Just because others stay in longer it's no reflection of your strength or fortitude. Get out before you feel like it's becoming hard work. When you exit you should be more than capable to dress yourself. If you require assistance then you've possible pushed it too far.

Get dry, get covered up

Dry off your wet skin when you have finished your swim; you waste a lot of heat if the body needs to dry your skin from its internal heat supply. Start getting dressed immediately starting with your top half (wooly hat first) and try to have a 'wicking' base layer closest to your skin. Avoid having cotton next to your skin as this will trap moisture and prevent rewarming. Lay your clothes out ready for when you get out and choose clothes that are easy to get on. Many layers are better than one thick one.

Stay active

After exiting the water, stay active to warm up your body. Your body is excellent in producing its own heat, and you do that by keeping your muscles busy, walking, standing with a slight squat to activate your muscles will help your body rewarm. Let your body shiver, it's your body doing it's thing, the shivering will subside as you rewarm.

Hot Drinks & Hot Water Bottles!

Sipping a hot drink will help you rewarm, just little regular sips, no gulping! A hot water bottle between your thighs and/or under your arm pits will also help rewarm you. In these areas blood flows through major arteries close to your skins surface. Make sure the hot water bottle has a cover or there is clothing between your skin and the hot water bottle as you may scald yourself without realising.

Stay Safe

Make sure you are fully recovered before you attempt to drive home. Your body temperature will continue to fall for a significant time period after you exit the water. Leave enough time for your recovery before the next thing in your schedule.