11 Best Clothes For Swimming

Best Clothes For Swimming in 2023

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Winter Swimming: The Often Overlooked Health Benefits

Winter swimming has plenty of health benefits -- and even a little crazy fun.

Well, hold that frozen cell phone of yours that you probably dialed to tell your friends about this strange sight. Those people jumping into frigid water with barely any clothing on aren't really crazy at all. In fact, you probably know someone (within a sixth degree of separation) who does this ritualistic procedure once a week in winter or on New Year's Day here in the United States.

If you happened to go up and talk to those people after they stopped screaming from freezing their patooties off--you'd probably have a "that sounds familiar" moment when they tell you that they belong to the Polar Bear Club. Then you can stare incredulously for a few minutes as they tell you the health benefits of jumping into icy water on one of the coldest days of the year.

Quite a few people in various states around the country belong to an organization called the Polar Bear Club where winter swimming (or, how the Europeans say it: ice swimming) is an annual tradition. In another sociological mystery, however, we might have to solve one fact about the Polar Bear Club: Most of the members are located in New York.

Maybe it's because the lakes and rivers in New York have a more balanced temperature that's better-suited for this type of swimming. If someone say in Wisconsin or North Dakota (where it'd be more likely below-zero temps on New Year's Day) decided to do this--you'd be seeing their names in the obituary columns the next day. That's not to say that the lakes and rivers in New York aren't close to temperatures like that. All members of the Polar Bear Club have to sign waivers that the organization isn't responsible if someone gets hypothermia or worse after being in the water. That might seem disconcerting--especially when they hold media-covered "Polar Plunges" for charity once a year.

So what's the whole point of doing this then? Well, it seems to be divided in half of those just doing it for fun (which I've learned can come in gradations) and others swearing by the process as a way to prevent illness in the coming year.

Marking down winter swimming as alternative medicine...

Yes, you can officially mark down this outlandish procedure as a form of preventative medicine--at least according to those who adhere to the original principles behind the Polar Bear Club. The founder of the organization was also a true-blue New Yawker by the name of Bernarr MacFadden who may be one of the most legendary originators of alternative health who's been utterly forgotten from even the alternative health world of today.

When he founded the PBC in 1903--he was already becoming well-known for books that detailed the importance of physical exercise during a time (Victorian Era) when it really wasn't on the minds quite yet in the masses. Being dubbed the "Father of Physical Culture"--he also touted the then-unheard-of procedure of swimming in lakes and rivers during the height of winter to help boost the immune system, supposedly help virility and used generally as a natural cure for depression.

People were rightfully skeptical at first--but MacFadden managed to draw people in who (for generations now) have proof of not getting any colds, flu or any other illness during the year after taking a dip in frigid water on New Year's Day. People with circulation problems say it helps them feel better--as well as alleviating the effects of arthritis. But MacFadden pointed out already back in the early 20th century that you have to swim in cold water several times a week to get the greatest benefits. With that, he single-handedly blew away the notion that you can catch cold or get pneumonia by swimming in cold water several times a week (while being careful on how long you're in the water to avoid hypothermia).

That's contingent, of course, on how your health is already before taking the plunge. MacFadden wisely painted an accurate portrait (and still relevant today) of what preventative methods are rather than promoting the typical process you'd see in that era of quick-fix quackery...otherwise known as a panacea in a bottle.

Well, MacFadden couldn't avoid the charlatan stigma anyway. He looked like Harry Houdini and had the hard-driving, loud-talking health philosophy of a Jack LaLanne or Tony Little rolled into one person without the use of television to make him even more ingratiating. That combination kept him in the suspect alternative side of things--despite making millions off his exercise books for a while before dying nearly broke in 1955 at the age of 87 with a large family around him.

(Give a check mark for the virility enhancement there.) He also managed to bring the Polar Bear Club up as a legitimate organization that's now a successful network in other states, though primarily became a New York tradition. When you realize MacFadden walked sometimes 25 miles into New York City from his home on his bare feet--most of the people diving into the Atlantic Ocean near Coney Island every year (where the organization originated) probably live and look at life a little differently than the rest of us.

Coney Island and Finland are the Winter/Ice Swimming centers of the world (your local area notwithstanding)...

That Coney Island Polar Bear Club is the most famous and oldest of this tradition--and (as noted) that's the region where MacFadden started the organization 104 years ago. As of this writing, they're getting ready again to do the dip on New Year's Day of '08 (even though they swim in the Atlantic every Sunday from October through April)--while the New Year's event is almost always to raise money for a particular charity.

Even though many who participate may say they do it just for the thrill as well as for charity, any of the few I've ever known who've done winter swimming says that it did help boost their immune system and prevented them from even having to get a flu shot let alone getting the flu. Perhaps a study needs to be done to show the average of how many people truly did stay healthy in a given year after doing this yearly. But it's something that's truly American in its non-medically-approved left-field ways--with Europe surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly) copying us in recent years. Where else could you possibly think it could realistically be done without hypothermic death other than Finland?

Up in the Nordic regions, it's now known as Ice Swimming--which actually might be a bit more dangerous. The reason being is they cut a hole in the ice in order to dive in. It doesn't have to be said that if you go underwater (and some do when they say not to)--you might lose sight of the opening in the ice. That makes this version a bit riskier to say the least. It's also different in the way the body is prepared to get the greatest benefits. When this is done in Finland--people spend time in a sauna first before going into the water that's then altered back and forth to create a balance in body temperature. This part of it is actually the smartest route that some American swimmers don't obey by.

The perfect term was created by the Finns and Swedes who do this regularly now. They call ice swimming "Avanto" (Finnish for "hole in the ice")--and hearing someone yelling out that word when jumping into icy water would be just perfect. Then again, I've seen footage of people jumping in saying a lot worse for the first few minutes if just pure, primal screaming and yelling. Once they get acclimated to the water, however, many will tell you that the feeling of well-being is hard to describe. After that perfect warm-cold balance of blood flow in the body happens--it makes you wonder if something unusual happens in the body to create a euphoria while also truly creating a safeguard against future illness.

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In a time when U.S. prevention in health care is something we should be focusing on more--anything that prevents common illnesses isn't something to be scoffed at. My local area has its own chapter of the Polar Bear Club and your city or town likely has one too. Perhaps you should bundle up, stop by and talk to the people there who do this regularly or just once a year. A lot more people (especially Europeans) are placing a spiritual connection to the whole process as well as swearing by it preventing or ameliorating numerous medical conditions not mentioned in this article.

And if you just get that sudden urge to dive in with the others (yes, the temptation is ALWAYS there whether you believe it or not)...at least wear a warm hat as recommended by a lot of those who dive in the Nordic regions to balance body temperature. I'll be glad not to have to encounter you coughing over me because you prevented yourself from getting the flu...