This past winter, the usual
pall cast itself over my fitness
routine, leaving me binge-watching Yo u
in my Outdoor Voices leggings, which
had barely seen the outdoors. I trawled
for fitness retreats, seeking something
to compel me to exercise again. But
“SEAL Team boot camp” seemed too
shouty; a “Sacred Space Shamanic Yoga
Experience,” too self-consciously spiritual.
Then a London friend raved over lunch
about an open-water ‘‘swim holiday” she
had taken in Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor.
Had I heard about open-water swimming?
I had not.
I can swim, but I wouldn’t call myself a
swimmer. When I can get to the pool, my
stroke of choice is a workaday breaststroke
peppered with some vaguely purposeful
splashing. But a weeklong session of
guided swimming—in lakes, rivers, and the
sea—seemed like the ideal blend of nature,
cardio, travel, and wellness.
This same salutary mix has helped cause
a spike of interest in “wild swimming,” as
it’s called by devotees: At least a half-dozen
tour operators have sprung up in recent
years—from the U.K.’s Strel Swimming
Adventure Vacations and SwimTrek to
the U.S.-based SwimVacation. They
typically cater to all skill levels and feature
trained guides that neatly package the
life-extending, heart-protecting benefits
that have made swimming the full-body
workout of choice for the model Karlie
Kloss, the actress Kerry Washington, and
the French designer Isabel Marant, who
has been known to log 35 laps in the pool
before work. Because water is denser than
air, it exerts more pressure on your limbs
than training out of the water, so even at a
moderate pace, it fires around 500 calories
an hour—almost as much as running.
And it’s famously low-impact. Water has
a “microgravity environment similar to
that of our moon, so there’s less stress on
your joints and spinal column,” says Don
Crowley, professor of kinesiology at the
University of Texas at Austin and a USA
Swimming coach. Ocean swimming, he
adds, has specific pros (“Humans float
better in dense salt water”) and cons (“It’s
hard to swim straight, so you have to get
your bearings by following a fixed marker”).
Other cons, for me personally, include
doubts that I can keep up with
Combining cardio
with low-impact
toning and a dose
of adventure
travel, open-water
swimming just
might be the perfect
summer workout.
Jancee Dunn dives in.
Swim Fan
FITNESS
IN DEEP
“WILD SWIMMING” PROMISES EQUAL
PARTS CALORIE BURNING AND
MENTAL CLARITY. SHE DIVES,
PHOTOGRAPHED BY EUGENE TAN.
FITNESS>72
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JUNE 2019 VOGUE.COM
