1001 Outdoor Swimming Tips

Calum Maclean is a writer, broadcaster and experienced outdoor swimmer. He swims year-round in all conditions, from cold-water dipping and competing in ice swimming races, to long-distance, open-water swims. He makes films for the BBC on this subject in both Gaelic and English, including his series for BBC ALBA, Dhan Uisge (Into the Water) and his much-loved films for BBC The Social. An ambassador for the Outdoor Swimming Society, Calum has also spoken at the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and is an award-winning filmmaker. He lives in Aberfeldy where his regular swimming spot is the River Tay.

INTRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FEEDBACK AND UPDATES 1 BASICS [1–194] 25 REASONS WHY (OR WHAT TO TELL PEOPLE WHO JUST DON’T ‘GET IT’) WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW SWIMMER’S LIFE GENERAL SAFETY SAFETY OF OTHERS SWIMMING WITH CHILDREN THE NASTY STUFF (ILLNESSES) PLANNING WEATHER 2 THINGS TO CONSIDER [195–270] FEAR, ANXIETY AND DEEP WATER ANIMALS BIOSECURITY IS IT CLEAN? JUMPING 3 THE SWIMMER’S BODY [271–391] PIE? CAKE? HOT CHOCOLATE? … NUTRITION RECOVERY FOOD GETTING IN AND GETTING OUT RECOVERY MENSTRUAL CYCLE PREGNANCY MENOPAUSE 4 COLD-WATER SWIMMING [392–456] COLD WATER ICE SWIMMING 5 TECHNIQUE AND LONGER SWIMS [457–615] STROKE AND MORE SIGHTING COACHING AND GROUPS EVENTS MENTAL PREPARATION FOR EVENTS TRAINING SWIMRUN ADVENTURE AND SWIM-PACKING/SWIM-CAMPING THE THOUGHTS OF THE OUTDOOR SWIMMER 6 SWIMMING ENVIRONMENTS [616–775] WHERE CAN I SWIM? RIVERS WATERFALLS LOCH/LAKE/TARN/LLYN/MERE SEA SWIMMING QUARRIES RESERVOIRS URBAN SWIMMING SWIM VENUES SWIMMING TO ISLANDS DISCOVERING YOUR OWN SWIMS 7 GEAR [776–884] GENERAL WETSUITS EARPLUGS TOW FLOATS GOGGLES EXTRA GEAR 8 SOCIAL MEDIA AND PHOTOGRAPHY [885–962] SOCIAL MEDIA AND WRITING TAKING PHOTOS AND VIDEOS SELF-SHOOTING FILMING UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILMING 9 STUFF [963–1001] NIGHT SWIMMING SKINNY-DIPPING FIVE ICONIC WORLD SWIM EVENTS SEVEN ICONIC UK SWIMS AND EVENTS RECOMMENDED SWIM SPOTS 10 READING LIST