Cold water swimming is the latest craze.
Here in Estepona, there is an emerging cold water swimming community. Well maybe not quite cold water, but to be fair in the winter time, we are struggling in water temperature of about 10 degrees. Every Saturday morning at 7,30am, the brave men and women don their swimming costumes and wooly hats, and dive right in.
Although it is safe to say that heads only occasionally go under, the whole experience is beautiful and exhilarating. The benefits of cold water swimming are now widely known, but just in case you don´t know here are 7 benefits to setting that alarm and coming to join us.
It boosts your immune system – Cold water boosts the white blood cell count in your body as it reacts to the change in conditions.
It exhilarates you and gets the endorphines going – it is certainly true, that you wake up very quickly, and feel amazing and ready to take on the world after a morning dip.
It improves your circulation – this one is definitely true, after 15 minutes in a cold sea, I can feel the blood racing through my veins.
It increases your libido – cold water swimming is perfect for raising your oestogen and testoterone levels, which is great for menopausal women. And even if you are not a menopausal woman, then who doesn´t want increased self esteem and more confident that a raised libido gives you?
It burns calories – with your heart beating fast as your body tries to get used to the temperature, you metabolism rises. This is especially true for those swimmers who swim rather than dip.
It reduces stress – entering a cold water enviroment places the body in a stressed state, this ironically has been proved to even out the mood and put you in a calm and relaxed state.
What a great way to meet people – meeting new people can be awkward in a new country or even in one you have lived in for a long time, but what could be better than the shared experience of pushing your boundaries and doing something most people would not dream of.
It is a great group, lead by Ashleigh McCartney, who created the group and keeps the energy going brilliantly. If you fancy taking the plunge and joining us, join the whats app group https://chat.whatsapp.com/Csfb7gdiFWu7ZbjMJO3I4N
Hope to see you soon.
