Swimming in the open cold water is being discovered by more and more people in ‘t Gooi, and a real school has even been opened for this purpose in Kortenhoef about a year ago. While many people think you are crazy, swimmers swear by their habit. “You feel alive down to your toes.”
240112_OPEN WATER – NH News
Taking an ice bath or swimming in cold water is healthy, the Gooise cold water swimmers swear by it. It is said to improve blood circulation and oxygen supply, strengthen the cardiovascular system and reduce stress. Yet not everyone is convinced.
“They think I’m crazy”
When you ask the swimmers what those around them think, you get many of the same answers: “They think I’m crazy.” This also happens regularly to Fabienne from the Kortenhoef ‘Open Water Swimming School’. The school has been around for less than a year. “I sometimes think I’m crazy, but once you get into it it gives you such a kick,” says Fabienne. “When you get out of the water, you can take on the world.”
Fabienne gives swimming lessons in open water twice a week. In summer it looks very different than in winter. In the summer the water is a lot warmer and you can swim in large stretches. In winter it is different. Then it is more like a short bath of a few minutes. “We maintain one minute per degree, today the water is four degrees so we stay in it for four minutes,” said one of the swimmers.
Post-COVID
One of the swimmers who goes into the ice-cold water twice a week is Kortehoefse Richard. He is 37 years old and was always busy with work and the children. When it turned out that he had post-COVID everything fell apart: “I went from inexhaustible energy to extreme fatigue, it was terrible.”
“In addition to being a very fun social activity, it also helps reduce my post-COVID complaints”
Now Richard is busy with his health and open water swimming is a big part of this: “I started looking for what could help me rebuild my fitness, and then I ended up here.” Now he swims every week and is very enthusiastic. “In addition to being a very fun social activity, it also helps reduce my post-COVID complaints,” says Richard. “You have to experience it yourself, you feel as if you are alive down to your toes.”
Not without danger
Swimming in cold water is not without danger. Inexperienced swimmers can panic or even go into shock in the very cold water. For this reason, it is very important that you do breathing exercises before entering the water. It is also important to swim together in the cold water, so that you can pay close attention to each other.
Every day the circumstances are different. High waves, low temperatures and strong winds. Fabienne says that no matter how experienced you are, you must always be alert. She always takes safety measures during her lessons. For example, each swimmer must wear a buoy, all swimmers also adhere to a maximum number of minutes in the water and the group does breathing exercises before entering the water. “There are certainly dangers, but they shouldn’t stop you from enjoying it.”