Your Top Five Open Water Swimming Worries Solved, With This One Important Technique.
If you’re feeling anxious about returning to the water, our effective tips will help you regain your confidence.
Open water swimming, in general, can bring some fears along with it. A lot of these are understandable but actually, in most cases, there’s no need to be worried. In fact, studies have continued to show that open water swimming is excellent for mental health.
So if you’re feeling a few nerves about getting into the lake, loch or ocean this summer, you’re not alone. Here’s our rundown of the five most common worries and some tips on how to combat them.
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Scared of the unknown
Many people have a fear of the unknown and quite often when you’re swimming in a natural body of water, it’s impossible to know who or what is sharing your space. More often than not, and particularly here in the UK, the fear of the unknown in open water sits within the irrational box, like sharks in inland bodies of water. You might understand that it’s not possible but irrational fears can be powerful! It’s important to keep reminding yourself that they are exactly that- irrational.
However, if you’re feeling the nerves creep in, a distraction is a great way to quash them. Try counting your strokes and focusing on your form. Teaching yourself a breathing technique for anxiety is also a great option so keep an eye on our Instagram where Keri-anne will share her breathing tips.
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The Depth of the water
When you’re in a swimming pool, you have a good idea of how deep it is but open water swimming is different. Not being able to touch the bottom, is off-putting for some. Luckily, there are some simple measures you can take to feel secure.
Initially, start off in the shallows, there’s no need to put pressure on yourself, so only go in as deep as you feel comfortable with. A great way to build confidence from there is with a tow float. This handy device will bob along behind you, with no interference to your swim. Whilst it’s by no means a replacement for a life jacket, it can bring a lot of confidence to know that you can have a little rest thanks to the buoyancy of your float and has the added benefit of being brightly coloured, so other swimmers or kayakers can see you coming. Finally, just like feeling afraid of the unknown, teaching yourself a breathing technique is a great way to calm your nerves and feel in control.
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Being Unfit for Swimming
A common myth that we hear is that being ‘swimming fit’, is different to being generally fit and that even if you’re in good shape, you’re not ready for the water. This is largely untrue but there are two vital differences between swimming and other sports. One is shoulder strength and the other is how you breathe.
Both of these things are easy to build on over time and with the help of a coach. You can find a highly qualified open water swimming coach in your area using our coach finder or check out our CPD on breathing techniques.
Either way, it’s important to remember that swimming is joyful sport for any level of fitness. You can go at your own speed and build confidence, and fitness, over time.
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The cold
This one is legitimate and unavoidable. There is very little you can do about the temperature of a natural pool of water, particularly in the UK where temperatures are unlikely to rise about 15°. But the temperature of open water is what makes it a truly exhilarating experience and one reason why you’ll finish your swim with a great buzz!
There are, however, things you can do to make yourself feel more comfortable. First of all, start swimming in summer and slowly accclimatise to the water this way. Likewise, you might want to start your swim in a wetsuit and slowly over time, remove it for the last five minutes of your swim, at first toward the end of your swim but gradually sooner until you don’t need it at all.
The RLSS are an excellent resource for swimmers and have some really helpful tips on how to prepare your body for the cold. They offer a brilliant Cold Water Exposure Plan that you can carry out from your own home.
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Breathing
A concern that’s related to the cold is hyperventilating as you enter the water. And whilst this can feel very real, it’s important to remember that it will pass and you will be okay. This happens because your body has had a natural shock reaction to the cold water, everyone experiences it when they go in water under 15°c. This is known as ‘cold water shock’ and there’s nothing to fear. Allow your body around two minutes to deal with the shock and you’ll be fine. The RNLI also have a really handy trick for this call ‘float to live.’ They advise that if you’re feeling breathless, the best thing to do is to lie flat on your back, put your arms out and take in some cleansing deep breaths. You should start to feel less panicked at around 90 minutes to 2 minutes, at which point you can continue on with your swim.
As before, a top tip is to get your body used to colder temperatures. You might do this by having cold showers, or even just slowly lowering the temperature of your shower toward the end, so it’s less of a shock to your body. The best tip of all is to train your breath, ready for when you start to hyperventilate so you know exactly how to calm yourself down again.
The one important technique to resolve your open water anxiety
Whatever your anxiety might be and even if it’s not featured here on our list, it’s likely that learning a breathing technique will help you to overcome it.
When you learn to breathe to your advantage, your body will feel in control of the situation and your mind will quickly follow suit. Finding a slow and consistent rhythm to your breathing not only has the huge advantage of being a natural and effective way of calming you down, but it also has the potential to improve your swimming technique.
At Straight Line Swimming, understanding the breath is a huge part of what we do, because it’s enormously important to open water swimming. And because we’re all about empowering the world to swim, Keri-anne has designed a short course that focuses on your breathing technique and how getting it right can drastically improve your open water swimming technique.