So autumn has hit us with it's beautiful days, where the air is cold, but sun still warms you up, the trees are shaking their leaves, but what leaves remain, look beautiful with colours of the spectre. Perfect time for a swim in the local outdoors pool, don't you think?
I have some picture perfect spots for autumn walks, but due to a certain 11-month old, longs cross-country walks are out of the question, unless you want a horribly bad back. I've recently had to pay too much attention to my posture and various exercises, to release the tensions in my back, so autumn swimming and a hot tub it is.
I usually prefer just a cold swim without immediately warming up in a hut tub or sauna, as this makes your body actually work with all the spectacular benefits that come with it, giving you a massive boost, whether it be for your immune or sleep system, your health or your overall mood. And later when your body has done it's exercises on it's own, there's a time for a nice relaxing sauna.
But sometimes it's just a nice to go for a few cool laps in the pool and then relax in the hot tub with strangers. And this was the time for it :)
The water was at a nice 10 degrees Celsius, but boy it felt like 3! Since this is my first year doing this, this is my first time easing from summer temperature water to the winter one. It was just two months ago when we were jumping hoops and bombos off the tower and cliffs at Rummu lake into the waves.
But you don't see many winter swimmers diving in with a splash. Perhaps it's not a good habit for your health to release the heat from your body so rapidly or perhaps it's just because we tend to wear hats :)
So in we climbed and it's still scary everytime. The first times during the cold weather are the craziest, giving you butterflies every time when driving to the pool. But that's called living, pity the guy who doesn't feel such emotions.
I love what they've done with the place here. Warm wooden flooring outdoors, greenery, sunshine and lollipops, feels like a promenade of sorts.
The winter swimming season is not in full gear yet, so we have lots of space in the pool, enabling us to even swim diagonally, if we wanted. But remember, it's not the distance swam, it's the time you spend in the pool. And if you're a beginner, even a 10-second swim will give you a nice boost. Any less than that and I believe that you're just torturing yourself :D But hey, no judgement!
So we swam 3-4 laps and there was this lady calling us crazy, in a joking manner. But I like to say, that people who don't try this now and then, are the really crazy ones. Of course, make sure to consult your doctor first, if you have some heart conditions.
But this has been doing wonders for my beer belly as well, that I have managed to obtain in the last few years. Yes, I drink beer. Along with some minor, almost non-existent exercise, cold showers and cold water swimming have seriously started burning my body fat, so expect to see me soon in a six-pack 😀 Didn't even have to suck my belly in for this shot.
Yours truly soon with a sixpack. Or maybe not.
