Our fourth season of group cold-water swimming at U Žida begins on Saturday 1 October 2022 at 9am.
The biggest advantage of swimming together is precisely that: the company. Experienced swimmers can struggle with motivation just as much as beginners. You can go off to a pool on your own, but very few people keep that up three times a week throughout the winter. A dip with a friend every fortnight, a selfie and a promise to go again ‘sometime’ will not build a regular cold-water swimming habit. As in any sport, consistency matters. A group of like-minded people is the best way to achieve it.
What will stay the same:
- We meet at the water at 9am on Saturdays and 4pm on Mondays and Wednesdays. We aim to arrive on time, but we are a friendly bunch: if we know someone is on their way and has been unlucky with traffic lights, we wait a few minutes. Please allow for that; we will again enter the water together.
- Beginners take their first dip with me, on Saturdays only.
- You can start at any point throughout the winter — but on a Saturday!
- We acclimatise the whole body, including our hands and ideally our heads.
- Wear a swimming costume, a swimming cap or nothing on your head, and low-cut water shoes ending at the ankle. If you want to swim in a woolly hat, please choose another time or place.
- If you can swim, swim. Standing still will chill you; swimming is the most natural way to move in water. And yes, by all means stop for a photo.
- After getting out, it is best to dress straight away and start moving as soon as possible.
What will change this year:
- If it catches on, we will add a group workout after swimming. Until now, the options have been a run or warming up on your own. As I know a fair bit about exercise, this year I would like to offer people who cannot or do not want to run a way to warm up together. It will last 20 minutes, with 10 sets of exercises you will enjoy: squats, press-ups and lunges in different variations and at an interesting pace. For some, it may be a first introduction to strength training. If people are keen, we could begin in November, once the running group has settled into its routine.
- There will be less photography. We already have about a million promotional photos, well known to Google and Facebook, so I will mainly photograph special occasions: the first snow, heavy snow, ice or a particularly big turnout, usually on Saturdays. Anyone who enjoys having photos is welcome to bring a camera or a family member to take them. I also found it quite demanding to take photographs and then be the last person into the water. Besides, not everyone loves being photographed.
I look forward to seeing everyone who already considers cold-water swimming part of their way of life, and those who simply want to try it. Please follow my instructions at the water. It is great fun, but it needs a sensible approach.
If you have any questions, call, write, email or come and see me — whatever suits you. My contact details are here on the website. Ota Zemek.
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