Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • For me when I'm standing

  • at the edge of the lake

  • and waiting to go in

  • I'm thinking, 'What am I doing?'

  • and there are many swear words

  • going through my head.

  • I can often find myself staring

  • at the water

  • I think doing something like

  • outdoor swimming

  • which is something that many people

  • will think is mad.

  • It has a way of empowering you.

  • Doing something outside.

  • In the cold weather.

  • It makes you feel brave

  • and I think there's something really empowering

  • about doing something for yourself.

  • So when I first

  • started to get into outdoor swimming

  • I was definitely nervous.

  • There was a lot of self doubt.

  • Would I be fast enough?

  • Would I be brave enough?

  • Would I be able to get in?

  • How long could I stay in for?

  • and that actually took me a while

  • to get over before

  • I stopped thinking of the excuses

  • and actually got on with it.

  • It was just crossing that initial barrier

  • of doubt

  • and once I did

  • It's fair to say that I fell

  • deeply in love with outdoor swimming.

  • When you're in the water

  • your body is weightless

  • I'm not worrying about anything.

  • I'm not thinking about anything.

  • I'm just there in the enjoying that moment

  • right then

  • The thing that I enjoy the most

  • about outdoor swimming

  • is definitely being outside in nature

  • doing an activity

  • that has a way of reducing

  • the scale of any problems

  • that you may have.

  • The health benefits for me

  • are mainly mental

  • I work in a job that can be

  • highly emotionally demanding

  • and I find that

  • outdoor swimming

  • has a way of reducing any stress

  • that I may have

  • and I'm able to

  • leave work at the door

  • and get a better

  • work / life balance.

  • The open water community

  • is fun and vibrant

  • and it's fair to say

  • that I've definitely found my tribe

  • It's diverse

  • there's people of all ages,

  • all different shapes and sizes,

  • all different races,

  • and all different outlooks on life.

  • Outdoor swimming has a place

  • for everybody.

  • It's effortless to say though that

  • although there can be some days

  • where it's tough to get in the water,

  • the easy days definitely out weigh

  • the tougher ones

  • and the majority of the time

  • I'm excited

  • I'm ready for it

  • and I just want to get in.

  • One of things that I think I love

  • the most about outdoor swimming

  • is that

  • you don't need loads of equipment.

  • You just need yourself,

  • you need a towel,

  • you need a costume and

  • some good friends to have a giggle with.

  • A bit of cake never goes a miss either.

  • It really is free

  • and you just need to get yourself

  • to some water

  • and get in!

For me when I'm standing

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it