There are two types of fat in your body: white and brown. These days, humans mostly stockpile the white variety, but back in our hunter gatherer days, the balance was much more even. Studies have shown that the unique brown fat can be activated by cold-water. Not only will brown fat keep you warm, but as its job is to raise body temperature, it burns through calories at a high rate and will help you shed excess weight, too. Bonus!
3. Break the boredom cycle
Turning up to a new outdoor swimming spot is much more stimulating than simply sliding into the local indoor pool for another monotonous 60 laps. By searching for new and unexplored places, you’ll add a sense of adventure and reward to your workout that might otherwise be lacking.
Helping you achieve a bit of serenity among chaotic cities and towns, taking a dip in the sea, or a local pond or lake (provided it’s safe to do so) offers a welcome escape from swimming lengths in your local gym. With time in nature proven to reduce stress levels and reduce your risk of developing depression and mental illness, taking your workout outside is the best way to be kind to both body and mind.
5. Get fitter
Much like training in an altitude chamber, pushing yourself to perform in harsh conditions will force your body to adapt quickly. The cold will make breathing more difficult, forcing you to optimize what little oxygen you can take in, making you more adept at adapting to stressful conditions. Going back into the local indoor pool will be a piece of cake in comparison.
Just like using an ice pack, the natural response to immersion in cold water can be the constriction of your arteries; this can help prevent bruising, swelling and waste tissue build-up following an injury or sprain. Cold water training as part of triathlon training can even help reduce soreness, too.
7. Boost your immune system
By exposing yourself to nature and the cold, you’ll naturally encounter more germs. Provided you’ve had your flu jabs and quickly get warm afterwards, this is no bad thing, regular cold water immersion helps boost your body’s levels of the antioxidant glutathione, which in turn helps regulate the process of all other antioxidants in the body, helping to reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer.
8. Men increase their libido
And not just because of the swimsuits (honestly, invest in a wetsuit, come on). According to studies carried out by the UK’s Thrombosis Research Institute, cold water exposure increases testosterone production, which in turn boosts libido in men. And while it doesn't work quite the same way in women, the shock of the cold is guaranteed to boost energy levels and release endorphins, leaving you feeling pretty good regardless.
9. You’ll feel less pain
Not because you’re too cold to feel anything. According to Rude Health’s Outdoor Swimming Society, swimming in cold water increases blood flow throughout the body, which in turn helps improve circulation, allowing inflamed areas to heal more quickly, thereby reducing pain. The same principal can be applied by alternatively bathing an injured area in hot and cold water, the difference is, not only is this method more fun, you’ll hopefully avoid injury in the first place altogether.
10. You’ll become a better swimmer
Much how running on outdoor trails burns more calories and forces your body to adapt in a more natural way than pounding away on the treadmill, taking your swim to the wilds forces your body to work harder. Not only will you be burning calories to keep warm, tides, wind and obstacles naturally make it a harder session. So if you want to level up, go wild.
