What Do You Wear in a Cold Swimming Pool?
If you have decided that cold weather won’t keep you indoors, you must know what to wear when swimming in a cold pool.
Swimming in cold water is no mean feat. In another article, we looked at the side effects of swimming in cold water. These include serious risks such as hypothermia, cold water shock, chilblains and even drowning.
To know how to stay warm in a cold pool, you need to know what to wear. You also need to know how long you can swim in such water.
With such precautions, you can enjoy a cold swim. Remember, swimming in cold water for weight loss is quite effective.
What to wear in a cold swimming pool
How long you can swim in cold water depends on many things, but chief among them is what you wear for swimming in a cold pool.
Remember, this applies not only to cold pool swimming, but also to open water swimming. Ocean swimming really exposes you to the cold.
Swimsuit for cold pool
For swimming in a cold pool, a regular swimsuit is not going to hack it. You do not want to get down into the water with a pair of swim trunks such as you would wear in the summer.
In this case, you will wear a wetsuit for swimming in a cold pool. Please note that this suit is not going to keep you dry. Rather, it is going to get wet.
But since it clings to your body like a second skin, it creates a vacuum or a buffer zone between your skin and the suit.
Since your skin produces heat, the empty space between it and the suit prevents heat from escaping. That is how a wetsuit for swimming in cold water keeps you warm.
Now, wetsuits for swimming are not any different from those used for scuba diving. The only difference is the thickness of the neoprene material used.
Wetsuit thickness starts at 2mm most of the time, and some can be as thick as 5 MM. The thicker it is, the more protection it will give you in cold water.
Thus, for cold water swimming or ocean swimming, you might want to get a 3MM wetsuit.
Lastly, please make it a full wetsuit with sleeves and all.
Swimming gloves
In warm water, people don’t worry too much about protecting their hands. However, when you are swimming in cold water, the best swim gloves can protect your hands from the cold water.
When you are buying your gloves, make sure they have long cuffs. That way, you can tuck them inside the wetsuit. That way, your entire arm will be covered and protected from the cold.
Just like wetsuits, most swim gloves are made with neoprene material. Also, they come in various thicknesses. For instance, a 2MM glove is good for swimming in warm water, while a 5MM would be best for open-water swimming in winter.
Other things that you need to consider when buying swimming gloves include the palm area construction. You need to be able to move your fingers to hold onto things without any trouble. Thus, even for the thickest gloves, you need to be able to flex your fingers easily.
Another thing that you need to consider is the design and style of the gloves. For instance, some come webbed while others come in a non-webbed design.
The webbed swimming gloves give you more power for propulsion in the water. But they do not give your fingers a natural feel.
Swimming socks
Swim socks are very popular. In that regard, there are swim socks for kids and for adults. They are made of neoprene material, and they can come in handy when you are training in cold water.
Just as we have swim gloves to protect our hands, swim socks are good for protecting the feet. They are made of neoprene material.
By design, swimming socks are very simple. They cover the entire foot area.
Also, some are thicker than others. The thickest ones are for swimming in cold water while the thinner ones are for swimming in warm water.
You can also wear these neoprene socks when you are swimming in white water where there may be debris floating around.
They will protect your feet from piercings and biting accidents from aquatic creatures.
You will also be surprised that swimming socks on Amazon.com can be so cheap. Their prices range from $5 to $10. Thus, you can afford to buy even more than one pair.
They come in all sorts of colors. No matter what your taste is, you will find something that you will love.
Water shoes for swimming
You might not swim with water shoes all the time since they are bulkier than the socks. However, it is good to have a pair or two in your swimming item collection because you will need them for the beach.
They will protect your feet from rocks. They will also protect you from sand, sticks, and other debris that you find on the beach.
Water shoes can also come in quite handy when you want to swim for weight loss. You could do with some weight on your feet, and that is what water shoes do: they add some weight.
Even if you are swimming at home, there is no reason not to wear water shoes. They are good for staying warm in a cold pool.
If you have been looking for what to wear for cold water swimming, you might want to toss in a pair of water shoes. Just make sure you choose a pair that is really light in weight and comes in a slip-on design.
Water shoes are also good for people who love snorkeling. Thus, if you love to snorkel in the ocean and swim at the same time, these shoes will keep your feet protected from the cold water.
Swim goggles
You can wear swim goggles all the time, but you especially need them when you are swimming in cold water. They will prevent the cold water from splashing on your face and eyes.
The idea here is to keep as much of your body as possible covered. That way, there will be no contact with the cold water.
If you are learning how to swim, you definitely need a pair of antifog swimming goggles. The good thing is that today, there are even goggles that you can wear over your glasses. Thus, if you have been wondering how to swim with bad eyesight, get a pair of goggles.
Ear Plugs
You also need a pair of earplugs to keep the cold water from getting inside your ears. Of course, we also said that swimming in pool water can cause ear infection.
Earplugs keep the water away. One of the concerns that beginner swimmers have is that water gets into their ears and eyes. Now, with goggles and earplugs, that problem is sorted.
You can also swim with your cochlear ear implant.
How to Keep Warm When Swimming in Cold Water
Swimming in cold water requires you to be extra vigorous to last at least several minutes. Thus, you will need all the tips that you can for how to stay warm in the swimming pool. Try employing the following tactics:
Kick harder and stroke faster
The more vigorous you are when swimming in the winter, the warmer you will stay. The rate of metabolism increases with an increase in body activity. Of course, metabolism produces heat!
You should also know the dynamics of swimming in cold water. For instance, if you pause between laps in the pool, you are allowing your body to cool down.
Also, the time that it takes your body to warm up is double the time that it takes to warm up. Therefore, avoid too many rests. It is best to swim up to the time you intended and then get out of the water altogether.
What we are saying is… put in more work than you would when swimming in warm water.
Acclimatize to the cold first
By making your body acclimatize to the cold water before you start swimming, you avoid cold water shock and hypothermia.
Before you get into the water, stretch out to warm your muscles up. This will help you get ready for the hard work ahead.
Stay only as long as necessary
Stay in the water only as long as necessary. When swimming underwater in the winter, you should stay three minutes in the water and then get out.
Experts recommend that if the water temperature is really low, say at 12°C, you should stay even shorter in the water.
This is going to prevent your body going into hypothermia where it starts to lose heat to the cold surroundings.
Eat and drink before swimming in cold water
You will need a lot of energy to swim and keep warm at the same time. Thus, your body needs more calories to burn. Calories are the fuel that the body burns down for energy and heat.
Eat a warm snack before you get in the water. You can also take a warm, sugary drink. Likewise, when the pool becomes too cold, and you get out, drink a warm, sugary drink or eat a hot meal.
Conclusion
Hopefully, the few tips that we have shared here for what to wear in a cold swimming pool will help you swim a bit longer in the cold.
To swim successfully in cold water, you have to prepare well. Prepare your mind for the cold ahead of you. That way, even the body somehow acclimatizes to the cold.
Do not jump into the cold water! Sudden entry into the ice-cold water can send your body into sudden shock and close the blood vessels in the skin. It will make you start breathing so rapidly and send your heart into overdrive.
Of course, knowing what to wear when swimming in a cold pool helps a lot, and it is the most important factor.
Most items you can wear for swimming in a cold pool are available on Amazon.com.
Also, check your gear from time to time. This means checking the wetsuit, gloves, socks, and other items for tears.