Men’s Fitness UK – October 2019

research, the NHS will be able to

start socially prescribing cold-water

swimming, much as they already do

with walking in the Shetland Isles.

“It is absolutely about social

prescribing,” he says. “But funding

bodies and commissioning bodies need

evidence to prescribe it. Cognitive

Behavioral  erapy (CBT) has

evidence to back it up, so does doing

exercise. But I do think you get added

value from the cold adaptation. You get

the exercise, you get the outdoors, but

you get more from the cold and from

the anti-in ammatory e ect.”

And for those just starting out

and unsure about the cold, Harper has

good news: “You don’t need much time

at all: two or three minutes.  ere’s not

safetytips

howtotake

a danger-freedip

GOINAGROUP

Ifyou’rejuststartingout,itpaysto

gowithagroupofmates.Aquickdip

withfriendscanbeagreatsocial

occasionandensuresthere’ssafety

innumbers.

BUILDUPSLOWLY

Ifyouwanttoswimthroughthe

winterwithoutawetsuit,youneedto

acclimatise.Startswimmingwhen

thewaterisatitswarmestduringthe

summer,andgoregularly.

DON’TBEAHERO

Wavescrashingin?Riverraging?

Therearenoprizesfortakingamacho

approachtowildswimming.Infact,

it’sdangerous.Ifitdoesn’tlookright,

don’tgetin.

DOYOURRESEARCH

Readuponnewlocationsusingthe

OutdoorSwimmingSociety’scrowd–

sourcedswimmap,atwildswim.com.

KateRew’sWildSwimisalsoa

handyresource.

LISTENTOYOURINTERNAL

THERMOMETER

Gettingovertheinitialshockofthe

coldisakeypartofwildswimming.

Equally,it’simportanttolistentoyour

body.Whenyouthinkyou’vehad

enough,getout.

a speci c time, but by the time you

get in, get your breath back and you’ve

settled, that’s enough. You’re getting the

full e ect.”

COLD-WATER CALM

 e anecdotal evidence of wild

swimming’s mental health bene ts

is also growing. In a survey of 600

people, conducted by the Outdoor

Swimming Society with Mark Harper,

over half said they were getting into the

water to boost their mental wellbeing.

It’s something Ella Foote can relate

to. Known for her wild swimming

adventures on Instagram

(@ellachloeswims), Foote is an

advocate for wild swimming’s positive

e ects. She became a keen swimmer

after spending her childhood on the

Dorset coast, but it’s only recently she’s

realised that swimming in cold water

has helped her mental health.

“When I started river swimming it

was more out of necessity than want,”

Foote says. “I started doing swimming

events in the sea, as that was the only

way into open water in the early

2000s... it became a necessity because I

couldn’t get to the sea after work.”

Foote’s obsession grew. She started