I’m an ice swimmer! How cold water swimming affects my health, but mostly my appearance

Hey everyone!

I guess, not many of you know that I’ve been ice swimming for a few years now. Somehow I’ve never thought about writing about this hobby here, on my blog. However, since I’ve noticed that the number of ice swimmers is constantly growing – and this makes me truly happy – I decided to tell you something about the benefits that winter swimming has on the skin and health.

At the beginning let me tell you that I’m a huge fan of all sorts of physical activities. I try to swim in the winter season regularly, long before it was so hyped. Despite all the jokes about ice swimmers, I’m truly happy that the circle of the enthusiasts of bathing in outdoor locations during winter is growing steadily. To me, the things that make this activity such a great fun are that it:

• boosts our immune system.
• makes us healthier.
• improves our physical appearance.

The first step is always the hardest

Just like with almost everything, the worst part is getting your stuff together and starting doing the thing that has been on your mind for some time. When it comes to winter swimming in particular, first you must cross this invisible barrier in the head and force yourself to walk into this icy water. I remember my first time so vividly 🙂 Minus seven degrees Celsius, a frozen lake and a group of cheerful people. I remember feeling my fear being mixed with excitement, that later changed to the feeling of massive satisfaction that I was brimming with. It was priceless. Ever since I swim in cold water in winter I barely come down with any disease. Below I’m presenting to you the health benefits of ice swimming, which I checked on my body – that’s true 🙂

The benefits of cold water swimming:

• toughens you up and adapts you to the cold.
• boosts your immune system.
• has a positive impact on your cardio-vascular system.
• boosts blood flow.
• has a positive effect on the joints.
• soothes some skin concerns.

Free SPA in an ice-hole

An additional asset of taking baths in cold water is the almost instant improvement of your looks. Doing this activity on a regular basis, you get a supplier body, skin starts looking better, and this hated by all women cellulite – disappears! What’s the point in spending a small fortune on beauty treatments if you can get them for free? I’m deadly serious, ever since I regularly dip my body in cold water every winter, I noticed that the condition of my body has significantly improved. Take the cellulite for example, the blemish that I used to fight against for many years, now appears to be somehow less visible. My skin’s tone is healthier and the capillaries don’t break any longer 🙂

Ice swimming slims your body down! How many pounds can you lose?

If I haven’t talked you into plunging into cold water yet, perhaps this argument will change your mind – you can lose even up to 10 lbs of your body mass! Indeed, that’s true! Naturally, fighting the flab is never easy and ice swimming shouldn’t be perceived as some kind of miraculous panacea, yet it must be admitted that taking cold swims helps a lot. When you go into cold water, the blood vessels constrict suddenly, which in turn sparks the defense mechanisms (fight-or-flight response) and increases your metabolism – and that’s something, right?

Let’s jump into the ice-hole, shall we?

As you can see, bathing in cold winter water has plenty of benefits, and therefore I believe that it’s worth finding it in your heart to take off the clothes and try some ice swimming! However, I need to warn you that not everyone should dip the body in cold water. The contraindications to ice swimming are:

• diseases that affect the circulatory system.
• heart diseases.
• epilepsy.
• high blood pressure.

But let’s get back to the benefits of cold water swimming. This activity makes an opportunity for you to meet new, really crazy people – but “crazy” in a positive sense, of course. Moreover, ice swimming will motivate you to do more physical activities outside – before you plunge into an ice-hole, you must warm your body up, which usually lasts around 15 minutes. Therefore, I wholeheartedly encourage you to face up your fears, take a chance and hop into the ice-hole. Cold water bathing gives you nothing but benefits for your health and beauty. And how proud of yourself you will be! Trust me!