Acclimation to water conditions and temperatures is an important part of preparing for your open water swim.  The best way to acclimate to any condition is to practice in similar conditions, frequency being of utmost importance.

1. Always listen to your body and don’t push yourself too far.  Know the symptoms of hypothermia and constantly monitor your condition.  Always swim with supervision.

2. Fall is an ideal time to work on acclimating to cold water, when the water is gradually dropping. If easing into a colder temperature is not possible, start off with short swims and gradually increase the time of exposure.

3. Keeping warm is oftentimes just a matter of keeping moving!  Keep stops brief an infrequent and maintain a high tempo.

4. Be prepared to warm up after a cold swim.  Getting dry and into warm clothes immediately is of utmost importance.  DO NOT take a hot shower, although a warm shower is OK.  Place warm water bottles between your thighs, under your armpits, and against the sides of your neck and drink warm liquids to warm up gradually.

5. Many channel swimmers swear by the practice of ice baths.  If you choose to take ice baths in order to accelerate your cold water acclimation, make sure to take the water temperature.  A water temperature of 60 degrees is more than sufficiently cold to be effective.  Alternate sitting in the ice bath (submerging as much as your body as possible) for 10 minutes and performing 10 minutes of calisthenics, for two or three rounds.  DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITHOUT SUPERVISION!

1. Always listen to your body and don’t push yourself too far.  Know the symptoms of hyperthermia and constantly monitor your condition.  Always swim with supervision.

2. It is easy to overexert yourself in hot conditions. Start off at an easy pace and gradually build speed.  Stop immediately if you become dizzy, disoriented, or nauseated.

3. Drink plenty of fluids and replace electrolytes.

4. If you do not have access to warm water, a wetsuit can be worn in normal (high 70s) water temperatures to simulate swimming in warmer conditions.