Diving Into The Wild…
So you fancy giving open water swimming a try but not sure if it will be different to what you know already from pool swimming? Have a read of the below to find out a bit more about what it will be like and what you should know before you jump (or slide REAAAALLY slowly) in.
Open water swimming is quite different to pool swimming for various reasons. Temperature, visibility, wildlife, lack of walls, and depth being just a few! If you are not a confident swimmer in the pool, then unless you have a coach with you when you go, I would not recommend going open water swimming by yourself, and if you do, I would DEFINITELY attend a purpose run open water session where you can alert whoever is running the session that you are new and they will advise you on what to do. If you ARE a confident swimmer in the pool you should still make yourself aware of the differences when swimming open water, so have a read of the below to know what to expect.
1) Unless you live in the Caribbean or somewhere with a similar climate (if you do, I am jealous!), I would recommend wearing a wetsuit. Lots of places hire them out for the session. Even if it is warm outside, it is likely the water temperature will be a LOT colder than a swimming pool. Swimming pools on average are between 26 and 31 degrees. In the UK, open water temperatures on average can be anywhere between 10 and 20 degrees (and the closer it is to 10 degrees it will feel absolutely freezing!) If you are new to swimming I would not recommend getting in anywhere that is less than 10 degrees (and even if you are not new, these type of temperatures are usually only for the really daring (or slightly crazy depending on how you look at it) extreme winter swimmers! Wetsuits do not necessarily stop you feeling cold but they will help. They also help to keep you more buoyant in the water too so you may feel higher in the water than you do in a swimming pool. Open Water season is usually from around April to October for the better temperatures.
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2) I would advise making sure that you are comfortable swimming at least 400m (16 lengths of a 25m pool) in a swimming pool if you want to go and try open water swimming. Most open water centres have laps for you to follow and on average, the shorter ones are around 300m. Things feel further in open water and there are no walls for you to hold onto if you get tired half way round so make sure you are prepared!
3) If you DO get tired, don’t panic as this will make things worse. Just roll onto your back for a little bit to recover. Get your breath back and relax your limbs. You will float as your lungs act like a buoyancy aid because they are full of air! If you are wearing a wetsuit you will also be more buoyant because of that.
4) Take your time getting in. You may have heard of something called “cold water shock”. If you jump into cold water this may happen, and it can cause a sharp intake of breath followed by rapid breathing, your heart rate will increase, and your blood pressure will increase which can make you feel strange. Take your time to submerge yourself and leave your head until last once you have got your breathing under control – take long deep breaths to help with this. One tip is to let a little bit of water into your wetsuit and it will warm up with your body heat and help you adjust.
5) Wear a bright swimming hat. Most open water centres don’t allow dark coloured hats as they’re less visible. So treat yourself to a neon hat and feel confident you can be seen. If you live near Manchester, UK, we recommend heading to Sale Waterpark and going to one of the sessions ran by OpenSwimUk – we think they are the best in the area and they will look after you!
6) Invest in some good open water goggles – preferably ones which are tinted to protect you from the sun glare. We recommend checking out Yonda Sports for goggles, as well as amazing wetsuits and hats if you start to really get into it! They are an award winning triathlon brand with affordable prices. Use code SWIMWOD15 for a discount.
7) There are no lane ropes to guide your way, there are buoys (usually big colourful ones) to help you round the course. So before you go, practice “sighting” in your usual pool swims. Lift your head up so your goggles clear the water at the front every few strokes to check you’re heading in the right direction. Still breathe as normal to the left or the right (on frontcrawl) but separately lift your eyes up to check your direction and do this often to avoid adding more distance onto your swim if you accidently go off course. For further coaching on this - please get in touch.
8) When doing frontcrawl, breathe regularly. Every 2 or 3 strokes is recommended as keeping regular oxygen intake will help to keep your muscles going for longer and prevent lactic acid build up, and will help to control your heart rate too. If it is very cold and you feel like your muscles are starting to stop working, try and head to shore and get out. This could be due to “Swim Failure” where the body sends all the blood to the vital organs instead of the limbs. Although you could also just be tired so see tip number 3 on how to rest.
9) If you are going sea swimming or river swimming – make sure you check the tides and the currents prior to going and make sure you know where your entry and exit points are and that the tides are not going to affect this. Sea and river swimming is a whole different ball game to lake swimming so make sure you are fully clued up and prepared.
10) Lastly – Enjoy it!! It’s exciting, liberating and calming to go open water swimming and exercising outside in nature can give you so many endorphins. When you get out make sure you have a towel and warm clothes to get changed into, (and flip flops help when getting changed) and most importantly a snack as swimming ALWAYs makes you hungry… A little fact for you here – the reason you’re always hungry after swimming (and even hungrier than you are after other exercise) is due to the temperature of the water! As it is colder than your internal body temperature, your body has to work harder to stay warm – and induces hormones that make you crave food when you get out as your body thinks it needs the extra calories.
If you go open water swimming for the first time – we want to hear about it! Tag @swimwodofficial on Instagram in your pics and tell us how you found it! Good luck! And if it is something you can see yourself getting into and would like tailored programming to help you progress and improve your technique – feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to help.