Why you should keep warm post swim

Beginner and advance swimmers alike will understand the importance of keeping your body warm after a swim. Especially when open water swimming. To make it a little easier, Alderford have put together a few main reasons as to why you should stay arm and how to do so, after you have taken a dip.

Afterdrop

Firstly, lets talk about Afterdrop. This something you will need to be aware of when outdoor swimming. Afterdrop is the decline in core body temperature after you have gotten out of the water. It is a completely normal process, beginning when you’re in the water. In order to protect your vital organs your body will reduce blood flow to the skin and limbs. Keeping your core warm, while your arms, legs and skin cool down.

When you get out of the water, the cooler blood form your limbs and skin will make it’s way back to your core where it meets with the warmer blood. This will cause your core temperature to drop. Because of this process it is important to work on keeping yourself warm. This will prevent you from getting ill and prevent any injuries!

Have warm dry clothes ready

You don’t want to be getting changed into wet clothes! Here at Alderford we have a swimmers hut, this is a private place for you to leave your belongings this saves them getting wet if it is raining. Also, when you’re swimming int the colder months it is important to have some warm layers to put on when you get out of the water. Especially with the colder air temperature.

We recommend to wear loose fitting layers like hoodies. These are easy to put on quickly. You don’t want to be fiddling with clothing when your hands are cold! If you have long hair, we would recommend tying it up insider a hat in the winter months. Having cold wet hair in cold air temperatures can give you a chill.

Leggings sadly can be really tricky to get back on when your wet, this is one thing we recommend you steer clear from! But, a hat, scarf and some gloves can be great for keeping you warm. You will also want to bring something to put your wet gear in. This doesn’t have to be anything special, you could even use a dry bag, to keep everything that is wet all sealed up.

Warm up slowly

You might feel like you want to get warm as quickly as possible when you have finished cold water swimming. But, you need to be mindful and careful about this. If you warm up too quickly you can risk getting chilblains, these can be really painful. Don’t worry too much about this, but you must not run immediately for a steaming hot shower! Give your body the chance to warm up a little bit before you try to warm up more and more. Hot drinks can really help the process of warming up. Lucky for you, Alderford offer a free drink to all of our swimmers, all you need to do is ask a member of staff and we will direct you tot he right place!

How to get warm after your swim

Get your wet clothes off ASAP, This sounds so simple, but bare in mind how far you have to walk back to your dry clothes. Don’t be tempted to wait around by the waters edge having a chat in your wet kit by the waters edge. It is so important to get your wet clothes off and get into a changing robe/dry robe immediately. Make sure you have somewhere to put your wet kit once you’re changed.

Layers, layers, layers! Loose fitting clothing layer are ideal, we recommend you try to avoid tricky zips and fastenings! Some good key pieces of clothing are: hoodies, joggers, vests, warm cotton socks and t shirts. Don’t forget the woolly hat and gloves, maybe even a scarf. A top tip, is to put a hot water bottle in the bag with your clothes in to keep them super toasty and warm!

Tea and cake. Who doesn’t love tea, a warm drink and something sweet like cake after a cold dip! Come and grab your free hot drink from the lakeside takeaway or the cafe with something sweet too. Post cold water swim can also be the best excuse to indulge in something sugary. Warming up from the inside is a great idea, and he sugar helps to provide you with much needed energy after your little shiver.

We would love to see you here at Alderford, book your swim pass now!