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Cold-Water Swimming

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Re: Cold-Water Swimming

#21

Post by mikejarema »

Disruptive_Dave wrote: post #17

East coast winter surfer here. After that initial shock (anyone have ideas on how to minimize this??), it's a great feeling. Almost as good as the coffee and burrito after the session. Highly recommended.

I haven't been able to minimize the shock too much, but I've seen a little success fully entering and exiting the water repeatedly, staying in a little longer each time. Eg. 5 secs, 15 secs, then 30 secs. After 3 or 4 in and outs, I just stay in and get on with the swim.

This gives me a chance to gauge what I'm dealing with (water temp + how willful and resilient I'm feeling that day). Plus it makes the initial entry less of a mental hurdle because I know I'm coming out shortly after entering.

Re: Cold-Water Swimming

#22

Post by liampronan »

For anyone in SF, I'd recommend checking out the Dolphin Club if you're into swimming in cold water – it's right on Aquatic Park in Fisherman's Wharf and has saunas that you can jump into right after your swim. It's probably my favorite place in the city and is open to the public every other day.

https://www.dolphinclub.org/

Re: Cold-Water Swimming

#23

Post by glofish »

KotlinFan554001 wrote: post #19

"it is warmed by an Aga stove and an enormous open hearth, over which dinner is typically cooked" I guess this produces way too much greenhouse gases, as compared to more modern ways.

Compared to what?

Are you accounting for the greenhouse costs of producing and shipping all the equipment that it is replacing? A stove, ducts and vents, cabling, a heating furnace and the production of all the energy sources that run these?

You might find that answer is not so clear.

Re: Cold-Water Swimming

#24

Post by dacoldswimmer »

Disruptive_Dave wrote: post #17

East coast winter surfer here. After that initial shock (anyone have ideas on how to minimize this??), it's a great feeling. Almost as good as the coffee and burrito after the session. Highly recommended.

If you have time, just enter much more slowly. Let your feet get cold then move up to your knees after the feet aren't so cold. Then nuts, then belly, then nips, then shoulders.

The real hurdle is when the water is high enough that my hands are in the water too. The whole time I'm slowly splashing and rubbing water over my body to prepare for submersion. I can tell which areas are still dry and upon their first exposure to water its slightly uncomfortable but well worth it. I get my hair wet with my hands as well.

Finally I get up to my neck and after awhile I feel like I'm in a nice cool pool. I don't wear a wetsuit.

Re: Cold-Water Swimming

#25

Post by ThePirateofOz »

hcnews wrote: post #18

If you are interested in this, you should probably take a look into Wim Hof. He has made a process out of using coldness for improving day-to-day condition. PS: His practice is mostly (power) breathing and cold showers/swims/etc.

I took 1000 consecutive cold showers after studying the Wim Hof technique. It was awesome, and I still sometimes take a cold shower instead of hot, just for fun.

Did I gain any super human abilities like Wim claims he can teach? Nah, I just enjoy the cold. I'm that weirdo that wears shorts all winter, shovels the snow barefooted and dresses inappropriately for the weather, according the the comments everyone seems to need to tell me.

Re: Cold-Water Swimming

#27

Post by miketuritzin »

jhu247 wrote: post #26

If you don't live near cold water, I find that taking an ice-cold shower has a similar physiological effect.

I have started doing this on days I go to the gym (3x per week) and anecdotally it has positive effects on how I feel mentally and physically. (And these effects have lasted after about 6 months of this practice.)

Re: Cold-Water Swimming

#28

Post by papeda »

2zcon wrote: post #15

>A year later, Walnut Tree Farm was bought by a couple, Jasmin and Titus Rowlandson, who have maintained his commitment to ungentrified country living...it is warmed by an Aga stove. There's not much more gentric than an Aga

It could be an old one. Wikipedia claims [1] they hang around for decades.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGA_cooker

Re: Cold-Water Swimming

#29

Post by kiliantics »

danenania wrote: post #6

Last summer I ran to the beach and went for a swim in the ~58 deg f ocean almost every day. I love it—you feel amazing after. From casual googling, it seems that the cold water triggers an adrenaline response, causing lower adrenaline levels afterward, i.e. less stress. I find the effect to be pretty dramatic. I also noticed a significant increase in my tolerance for cold in general.

In my hometown, in Ireland, there were people who would swim in the sea every day of the year (unless stormy). This is common across many Irish coastal towns. The old people in my town who were regulars, including men in their 80s, would claim it is very healthy and that they rarely become ill.

I now live too far from the sea to do it regularly but I was just up in Cape Cod at the weekend and took a dip in the ~40F water. This was on the colder end of what I would ever do back home and I wasn't accustomed to it, so it was a little difficult but I certainly felt very refreshed after! I still usually do, as others have commented, turn most of my morning showers to cold at the end, if not taking them entirely cold, but it's just not the same... The saltiness of seawater in particular seems to be very therapeutic and might be an additional factor.

Re: Cold-Water Swimming

#30

Post by jamesblonde »

Disruptive_Dave wrote: post #17

East coast winter surfer here. After that initial shock (anyone have ideas on how to minimize this??), it's a great feeling. Almost as good as the coffee and burrito after the session. Highly recommended.

A steamer, booties, gloves, and a skull cap? That is the defacto setup we use in Ireland for winter surfing. You still get the brain freeze when you duck-dive, but your body never gets really cold.
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