When to start open water swimming
Open Water Swimming Tips for Beginners
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welcome to whiteboard Wednesday on
today's episode I'm sharing with you
guys five open water swimming tips if
you're a beginner swimmer I'll share a
few different reasons why you want to
consider the open water and of course if
you're a beginner or advanced from our
five different tips that you can make
your open water swim as efficient and
enjoyable as possible if you're new to
the channel welcome to my super where we
share the latest and greatest to help
you improve your performance and help
both in and out of the water if you're
new to channel make sure you're
subscribe like this video and let me
know in the comments what your favorite
part about open water swimming is or if
you're beginner swimmer let us know in
the comments what questions you have and
hopefully we can answer them by the end
of this video now the first thing you
might be considering is why would I go
for an open water swim in the first
place there's a few different reasons
I'm gonna hold line six of them right
here
the first could be that you're bored and
tired of swimming in a chlorinated pool
maybe you hate the smell of chlorine you
get tired of looking at that black line
going back and forth and a 25 meter 25
yard or 50 meter pool and you just had
enough and you want to mix things up
open water can be a great alternative
perhaps you don't have access to a pool
maybe you're quarantined somewhere
you're traveling you just don't have
access for a number of different reasons
and the open water is the only thing
that you can get into so it's fun to go
for a dip no pool no excuses
the third reason could be that you just
want to be one with nature it's so
enjoyable to go out in the open water
and you're in a different element you're
really connecting with the water in a
new and creative way and that's
something that makes open water swimming
really unique and fun perhaps you want
to expand your social circle this is a
great reason to try open water swimming
because there's definitely a different
community there's some overlap pool and
open water swimming but there's
definitely a group of people who love
open water swimming and they'll never go
swimming in a pool and that community is
something really fun to be a part of
maybe you want to get that sense of
achievement accomplishment I mean how
cool is it to look out in the water and
just say that you swam to a buoy and
back or maybe you swam a certain
distance open water you swam from one
point to another or across a lake or
across a channel with safety of course
there's an are different things that
make you feel prideful and you'd like
you accomplished something that you
really can't get in the pool like you
can in open water and the last reason I
like to consider open water swimming is
because it's downright fun it's a
different experience really thinking
about that elements of nature
and really being able to connect with
the water in a new and creative way
definitely going for an open water swim
is fun not that swimming in a pool is
not fun but it definitely fun in its own
right now what equipment might you want
to have there's a lot of different
equipment that you may or may not need
depending on who you are and what your
skill level is and how serious you want
to take it there's of course some basics
that you have to have you have to have
some kind of a swimsuit got to cover
yourself up it's a pan where you live
might get away with something else yeah
I have some goggles swim cap safety buoy
if you're not used to wearing a swim cap
for my guys out there in a pool in open
water it's a really important thing to
have a swim cap because it makes you
visible to other people if it's really
choppy and you don't have a swim cap on
and you have dark hair like I do or even
blonde hair doesn't really matter it's
really hard to see you so for
watercrafts marine life whatever you
need to make sure that you're present
and visible so having a swim cap is a
must
and I also recommend highly recommend a
safety movie this is one of those things
that you can attach with a buckle around
your waist it inflates with air and you
can even put your stuff in there whether
it's your phone wallet or anything you
don't believe on the beach if you don't
want to leave it on the shore and again
this is all about visibility of course
you can hang on it and it's gonna keep
you from you know potentially needing it
a life life preserved but it's
definitely something I highly recommend
there are definitely some optional
pieces of equipment really depends on
where you are where you're at but
definitely having a wetsuit is super
beneficial if you're trying to go for a
longer swim if the water is really cold
it's not required but it's definitely a
super helpful if the water is chilly you
might have energy gels again if you're
swimming with an open water buoy you can
attach these to it you can stick the
energy gels inside if you're going for a
longer swim something to consider even
an energy drink not an energy drink like
a sports drink or something to keep
yourself hydrated you might want air
plugs if even if you're not used to
using those in the pool it might be a
good consideration I have in the open
water if it's really cold and that's a
great way to keep yourself warm
maybe swim gloves or a skullcap
something to keep your body a little bit
more insulated you can get some things
that cover your hands or your feet or
your head in addition to the swim cap
that you're actually gonna wear those a
lot of them have to do with temperature
they're optional not required now let's
get into these five tips now these are
five broken out a number different
things sort of an order that you need to
follow the first is to serve an
environment this is really if you're a
beginner swimmer this is something you
have to before you get started you've
got to figure out
safety first where are you actually
going to swim you know is it are you
swimming in the lake the ocean what does
it look like is you know how deep is the
water what is the water depth is there
marine life or is there a restricted
area you're not allowed to swim in
certain areas are there sharks right
are there Turtles alligators whatever
make sure it's safe where you're gonna
swim
what is the watercraft situation are
there jet skis boats is there a shipping
channel does it matter what time of day
you're allowed to swim so make sure you
follow the regulations and of course
think safety first if you enjoy my silbo
make sure you give the video a big like
thank you very much
step number two and tip number two is to
have a game plan it the worst thing you
can do is say I'm gonna swim from here
to the other side of the lake
good luck we'll see you later bye that's
the worst thing you can do it's really
important to figure out your plan figure
out where you're gonna swim the route
ideally you're swimming with someone
else step number three to number three
and set a SMART goal for yourself
there's three layers to this so you can
go by time you can say I'm gonna swim
for 30 minutes maybe you have two buoys
and you're to swim from one buoy to
another buoy and you're just gonna go
for thirty minutes and you got a
SmartWatch you just have a mental
awareness of the time somehow or you can
go by distance you know that you want to
swim one mile one kilometre two
kilometers five kilometers you have a
plan
marked out you know a map you know
you're gonna swim and you have mapped
out that's the second best way and the
reason why I say time is really the best
because you know given the current and
other variables it might be really
difficult to really understand how far
you're going and how long it's gonna
take you but time is actually the the
least risky way if you've got a watch to
know how long you should be spending in
the water if you're used to only
swimming for thirty minutes it doesn't
make sense to try and swim across the
lake that's five miles you're just not
gonna make it you're asking for a
disaster to happen and then the third
and potentially worth way is by feel I'm
just gonna swim until I get tired and
I'm gonna get out you can certainly do
that I don't recommend it I recommend
going by time or distance or some
combination of the two and figure out
your game plan before you get into the
water and alongside that have a swim
buddy
make sure you swim in a pack it helps
for visibility helps for mental
motivation and of course it makes it
more fun it could be a swim buddy you
could have someone following you on a
kayak like a spotter they could carry
your gear as well whether if they're in
a kayak or maybe even
a paddleboard maybe they're in a small
watercraft of some kind it's really
important to have a swim buddy and it
doesn't be a swim buddy could be just a
companion a partner that goes out in the
open water with you makes it more
enjoyable it makes it more more safe the
fourth tip is to use the right gear now
we talked about the gear a little bit
right here we talked about what swim
equipment is required to go for an open
water swim and what equipment is
optional again let us know in the
comments if you want more specificity if
you need certain gear for certain
environments but it's really important
to have the right stuff and make sure
you plan it out before if you know
you're gonna go for a longer swim make
sure you get your energy gels if you
know the water is gonna be 45 degrees
Fahrenheit I don't recommend swinging
that kind of temperature but you know
the waters gonna be under sixty degrees
you need to have a wetsuit it's just not
smart to go in there in a brief and hope
for the best
so figure out your equipment game plan
before and keep it simple there's a lot
of different equipment out there let us
know if you want recommendations on what
you should be getting but don't over
complicate it keep it simple especially
if you're getting started and even for
the advanced swimmers there's no reason
to over indulge and just spend a ton of
money buying all this stuff that's
really just gonna over complicate it
remember swimming is so beautiful
because just you and the water you need
to have a swimsuit between you and the
water but other than that it's pretty
much you don't really need anything of
course you want to have goggles and a
swim cap if you're going for open water
and you want to get in a real swim
workout but other than that you don't
really need a lot so keep it simple and
then add in the gear as appropriate and
the fifth tip is to do a dynamic warmup
before you actually get in the water
this is probably most training specific
goal here notice how we talked about
four different tips before even getting
into the water all about preparation so
you can enjoy the open water swim and
the fifth tip here is the dynamic warmup
so it's really important to elevate your
heart rate because when you get in the
water in a pool it's a lot easier to
warm yourself up you can just do one
length 25 meters 50 meters 100 meters
and then boom you can take a break you
can stop you can stand grab on to the
wall you can't really do that
necessarily in open water and of course
you want to measure the depth you want
to know how deep it is and you want to
know what you're getting yourself into
and most of the time you're not going to
be able to stop you're gonna have to
tread water float on your back if you
need to take a break so because of that
there isn't really an easy way to warm
yourself up in the open water unless
you're more experienced from where there
are some things you can do so it's
important to Elle
your heart rate and increase the blood
flow in your entire body so dynamic
stretching is before the workout that's
moving your arms hem dynamic hamstring
stretch jumping up and down you know
shaking out your muscles getting the
blood activated because remember you're
not going to be moving your arms until
you get in the water and it's not going
to stop unless you float on your back or
do some kind of elementary back stroke
so really important to do dynamic
warm-up before you even get in the water
if you're looking for dynamic stretches
and dryland training programs make sure
you check out the my swim Pro app we've
got swim training programs and dryland
training programs let's talk about a few
different bonus tips so I've got four
right here the first one is probably the
most important for a beginner or an
advanced swimmer who's coming from a
swimming pool training competition or
just fitness background and it's don't
worry about the distance or pace that
you go compared to a pool and a pool you
might have a routine you go 2,000 meters
you go 5,000 meters three times a week
whatever your routine is you kind of
throw that out the window it's not
really that relevant when you go to the
open water it's not apples and oranges
apples and oranges they don't really
compare because they're so different for
a number of factors there's current
there's waves there's chop
there's fatigue there's no push off the
wall there's Sun there's temperature
there's so many different things you
don't worry about in the pool so it's
really important not to get yourself in
the mental and blind yourself to the
fact that this is a different
environment it's almost like a different
sport entirely and you need to treat it
as such along with your assumptions so
set those SMART goals don't especially
if you're getting started don't worry
about how fast you're swimming don't
worry if you all have to swim 2,000
meters because I'm used to swimming
2,000 meters and don't do this is the
worst thing
don't try and equate well from buoy a to
buoy B is 50 meters so I'm gonna run
1550s on some interval you can do that
if you become a more advanced swimmer
and you're used to running training and
you're used to open water but you're
just getting started
don't try and run a pool workout in the
open water it's just not gonna be the
same there are certain things you can
apply from the pool to open water
because go in the water with an open
mind and really enjoy it
I also recommend mixing up the strokes
you don't have to only do freestyle
backstroke and breaststroke make sure
you're safe if you're doing backstroke
understand where the buoys are
potentially your other watercraft it's
not like a pool in that regard
and make sure you're just enjoying
yourself float on your back if you get
tired the easiest thing you can do is to
roll onto your back and do elementary
backstroke or just float on your back if
you have a wetsuit you're gonna float by
default it's gonna be pretty easy so
make sure you float kick your legs a
little bit do a flutter kick really
enjoy the water and make sure you're not
over for taking yourself mixed up The
Strokes
the third is to practice open water
sighting in different open water skills
now if you are swimming between buoys
and you're swimming in a relatively flat
environment open water sighting is
actually kind of easy the way it works
is you're gonna lift your head up so
your eyes are just above the surface of
the water and you can make a good
observation of what's in front of you
and make sure you can just orient
yourself to make sure you're going in a
straight line or wherever it is that
you're trying to go practice these
skills it's really difficult to do this
in a pool effectively you can do in a
pool you can set up cones and you can
practice open water sighting but if you
are training for an open water race or a
triathlon this is your chance don't blow
it
make sure you're practicing the skills
and if you're interested in more open
water techniques make sure you check out
the links in the description below we'll
make sure we provide the best open water
training content for all of our
subscribers and the fourth is to learn
to relax in cold water may be sure to
put this one first if you're beginner
swimmer this might be the most
intimidating thing going into water you
can't see the bottom you can't stand the
water is freezing am I supposed to just
start swimming it's okay take a deep
breath and learn to relax because the
worst thing you want to do is kind of
just get anxiety and tense up and
everything that's why it's really
important to have that dynamic warm-up
before you get in the water so that way
you've already elevated your heart rate
you're ready to go and then bring your
heart rate down then whether you dive in
or just walk into the water depending on
your environment if the water is cold
your body's already been acclimated to
physical work so you're not going just
wake up in the morning from bed and you
hop in a freezing lake and then you
start swimming you break yourself in
that's why the dynamic warmup is super
important it's also really important to
learn to relax in that cold water so
focus on your breathing and your nose
out your mouth because it can be a big
waste of energy and it can actually be a
safety risk if you panic just because
the water is a little bit colder than
you're used to in the pool another
reason why it's important to have a
wetsuit but even without a wetsuit it's
important to learn this skill so that
way you're safe in the open water I hope
you guys enjoyed this video on different
open water
swimming tips whether you're beginner
swimmer advanced swimmer if you enjoyed
it make sure you give it a big like also
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linked in description below as always
thanks so much for tuning in and happy
swimming
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