Remember to warm up, even when it’s not ‘cold’

There are benefits to warming up before any swim, even a wild or recreational swim, says Simon Griffiths

In last week’s newsletter, I mentioned that I was cold before I got into the Thames, and that contributed to me having to stop my swim sooner than planned. One of our readers, Graham, wrote in to remind me of the importance of warming up pre-swim.

It was a timely reminder. And it got me pondering the importance of a good warm-up.

Traditionally, a warm-up is some light exercise you do before a harder training session or a race. It’s a way of getting your body and mind ready. It’s a gradual transition from resting to working that helps improve performance and reduce the risk of injury.

Why warming up your joints before a swim matters

When you swim in a heated pool, you can do much of this warming up in the water, although it’s beneficial to do some on land first too.

With outdoor swimming, a pre-swim warm-up serves an additional purpose. If you do some exercise before your swim, your muscles start working and producing metabolic heat. This can help you stay comfortable in cool water for longer.

As we move towards summer, you may think this is less important. Water at 20 degrees feels much more comfortable than the icy 5-degree swims of winter. Yet it’s still much cooler than your blood and core body temperature.

In fact, for many of us, 20 degrees without a wetsuit is still too cold for an in-water warm-up. We will be getting colder from the minute we get in. A pre-swim land-based warm up will help us swim more effectively and stay comfortable for longer.

Any form of light exercise will serve for your warm-up: cycling, walking, jogging, skipping, squats etc. Try to include some arm swings and back and shoulder mobility exercises. You don’t need to get out of breath. Just get to the point where you can feel yourself warming up from the inside.

Try it out and let us know if it makes a difference on your next swim.