Melbourne swimmers Sujun Jiao and Ron Xie swear by the mental and physical benefits of their hobby while attempting to convince this journalist to take the icy plunge during a question and answer chat.
They sat down with SBS Chinese to explain how their fascination with the pastime began, and how it has changed their lives.
What got you into cold water swimming?
Sujun Jiao: Coldwater swimming is not a huge stress for me because I also did triathlons. I watched a lot of YouTube videos and started learning about all the good things to do with cold water swimming. A man called Wim Hof is a huge influence on me because he can sit in a container full of ice for two hours without movement. That means you don’t have to move fast to produce heat. There are some chemical changes inside the body because the body uses the fat to produce the heat to conquer hypothermia.
Ron Xie: It’s all in the head. It’s a mindset and also breathing. I got into cold-water therapy mainly because of mindfulness. I do a bit of meditation and this is the extension of it. If you do a lot of exercise, it helps with recovery. All the stuff Sujun does, helps your muscles recover and all your organs as well. That’s part of the reason I think why a lot of people do it – it's because of all the health benefits. And also, it’s a strange feeling that you get afterwards.
SJ: You feel high. You feel like you’re taking drugs.
RX: No joke, Tania. The feeling you get, the endorphins … it’s unreal
SJ: Endorphins are the happy hormones.
Did anyone encourage you to get into this or was it the pulling power of extreme athlete Wim Hof?
SJ: I took part in the ocean swims at Brighton Beach on Australia Day. Preparing for the event was my motivation. You just need to have an open mind, then you read, you believe then you start to try.
RX: I think you need one initial reason even if it’s for practising or body recovery or if you’ve lost a bet. Something that gives you that one reason to just go in there and try it.
Have you been able to swim in the ocean throughout the pandemic and during lockdowns?
SJ: Going to Brighton Beach is part of my daily routine so if I can’t go, it has a huge impact on my life. Instead, I do ice baths at home. I put cold water in my bath. In winter, the cold water is usually around 10 degrees. I also buy the ice from the shop. At least one bag. That makes the temperature around five. One day I bought four bags which made the temperature under zero. I just soaked my body in the water. Say this morning, I bought one bag. I soaked in it for 25 minutes.
I also bought a home steam room from eBay, which is like a small tent and acts as a steamer or pressure cooker. The tube is delivered the steam inside the tent, which is big enough for one person. I would stay in there for 30 minutes. The whole process would take me about one hour.
Say tomorrow the lockdown ends, I can go back to Brighton Beach because my body’s condition has been maintained.
RX: My complex has a dry sauna, so I’d get in. Every night, I’d also practice by taking cold showers. Again, it’s all the health benefits. It really helps with the skin, general wellbeing... you get that rush as well. You’re probably starting to think we’re junkies.
Tania Lee: A little bit
SJ: We’re always high
RX: We’re constantly chasing that high. You feel really, really good.
SJ: If you have a cup of coffee after that, you’re high. You’re on top of the world. You feel lighter. You don’t feel any pain. You don’t feel any discomfort.
RX: It is a mindset thing. Once you snap out of it and become reluctant and start thinking ‘it’s cold today’, you break your rhythm. My belief is you’ll probably never be able to get back.
How cold does it get in the water?
SJ: This winter the coldest it got on one day was under 9 degrees. But your body will tell you even if there was a slight change of 0.2 degrees.
Do you have rituals before hopping in, and do you hop or dive in?
RX: I do a full workout beforehand. I’m really into callisthenics right now, exercising with your own body weight. In my 20s, I did a lot of heavy weights to build muscle. Now I’m in my 30s, I do a lot more functional exercise, so pull-ups using the bars. So I do a full workout in the outdoor gym at Brighton Baths. I get changed, I go into the steam room to warm up, get the blood flowing and then I go for a dip. I just walk in from the sand out, go in the water and then come back in.
What stroke do you use in the water?
RX: I do freestyle and breaststroke if I don’t want to get my hair wet.
SJ: To get the best benefit, it’s better to put the whole face down because it’s very anti-inflammatory. I swim with snorkels, so I don’t turn my head for breathing. My head is always under the water. The part of our body that needs to cool down the most is not our arms or legs, it’s our heads. I believe it prevents dementia.
I usually run for 5-10 minutes before I hop in. Swimming has one downside – it doesn’t put much pressure on your bones, which is crucial for preventing osteoporosis. So I do some jumping and running. After that, I go to the shower room to condition myself, condition the body. I start the water on hot, then suddenly have it on cold. That starts burning my body fat. Then I feel more comfortable walking down to the water. I never jump in. I just walk slowly down the stairs. My feet and legs first, then my tummy, then my chest. Then I take a deep breath into the water.
In the first minute, don't do quick movements. You just get your breathing right. The heat doesn’t come from your quick movement. The heat comes from your body itself.
RX: You have to get your breathing right before you get into the water. Breathing too quickly can cause the risk of drowning due to them panicking in the cold water. They lose their breathing pattern and then they can drown.
Do you feel young? What’s your secret to a healthy lifestyle?
RX: How old do I look?
TL: Late 20s. Early 30s.
RX: I'm 33. I still feel like a kid, to be honest. The body is great. I do a lot of exercise in terms of weightlifting. I do get sore quite a bit and I think for most people who go to the gym, after a workout your muscles are sore the next day. So I find if I use the steam room to stretch out afterwards and use cold water to recover and you do the hot, cold, hot, cold, the next day you’re pretty much good to go. You could actually work out the same muscle if you wanted, again. It definitely helps me feel young and vibrant.
Does it help with remaining focused at work?
RX: 100 per cent. If you’ve had a long day. I go in the evenings, but I can definitely see how it helps in the mornings as well. You’re just really refreshed no matter how bad your day was, you can unwind in the evening, decompress.
TL: Sujun, how young do you feel? You told me you are 65.
SJ: Yeah, 65.
RX: Don’t look it, at all.
SJ: The reason why I’m an exercise fanatic is that, in Australia, you have to work until you’re 67 but I’m prepared to work longer. I feel no different from when I was 50. With swimming, you can work out smarter, not longer.
RX: That’s something my parents never really told me. They always told me to work hard.
SJ: You know when you’re not swimming, your body is still burning fat. Before at night, I used to use two doonas to cover me, now I only use one. I feel my body is burning. They talk about BMI – that rate is higher among winter swimmers compared to the rest of the population.
RX: It helps with weight loss is what Sujun is trying to say. Your resting metabolism is much faster than if you weren’t doing it. So if you were comparing someone that did it compared to someone that didn’t do it and they had the same calorie intake, you’ll probably find that the person that does the cold water swimming, because they have a fast metabolism, they’ll metabolise a lot quicker.
TL: Sujun, how long would you ideally like to live to?
SJ: I don’t know. I’d just like to work for another five to seven years. I’m not aiming for longevity, but quality of life.
Have you ever been injured? Any advice on getting back on your feet?
I’ve been heli-lifted from Mt Buller. Not really related to cold water swimming. I’ve got 16 stitches running across my head and a metal plate underneath my eye. But that hasn’t deterred me. I go to the snow every year. And I have been going for 12 years and going again this year unless there’s a lockdown again, lockdown 6.0.
You both come across as people with a lot of willpower. Do you think that’s what it takes to get into winter swimming? Where did you learn about determination? Were you taught about the importance of having the right attitude?
SJ: You only have one life. You have to live it to the fullest.
RX: I think being the oldest of first-gen migrants. When my parents came, I just saw them struggle and I participated in that struggle in terms of just getting by. You do realise how much of an opportunity and what you sacrificed to be here in Australia and to give you that life. There’s a contrast growing up the child of first-gen migrants versus a lot of people you grow up with. There’s a lot of self-entitlement for the people that have grown up here and have had a pretty cushy upbringing. For me and my family and my brothers, you very much had to earn it. When you’ve earned something, you appreciate it a lot more so you put a lot of effort and determination into that stuff.
SJ: I strongly believe exercise provides quality of life.
Sujun, you train every day and sometimes on the weekends as well. Ron, you train three times a week for an hour after work. Have you ever considered quitting?
RX: No.
SJ: No.
RX: Sujun, have you ever considered not having a shower at night? It’s kind of akin to that. I know I don’t go every day but I know it’s part of my weekly routine in that you need the exercise, it’s just part of life hygiene.
What does winter swimming do for your body? Explain the good and bad.
SJ: It improves your health, both physically and mentally. It gives you more energy. You feel you have extra fuel in your tank.
TL: And the bad?
SJ: So with winter swimming, the biggest risk is hypothermia. I experienced it a few times. Only minor, not severe. You feel the cold more not when you get into the water, but when you get out of the water. When Brighton Beach closed down, I had to go to the bathing box where you haven’t got hot showers. Everyone was shivering, even when you hopped into your car, closed the door and turned on the heat. Shivering, that’s hypothermia. Just a few weeks ago, the ambulance was called because someone had hypothermia. You have to deal with it seriously. Luckily, he was ok.
What about sharks, are you scared of them?
Sujun Jiao standing in Brighton Bath's enclosed sea baths. Source: Sujun Jiao
RX: Sometimes you do step on weird stuff. You realise you’re not stepping on the sand. But there are no sharks. Brighton Baths are caged off. You might get a jellyfish or something.
SJ: I have been stung by jellyfish. Few times. But the cold water reduces the pain.
RX: Yeah, it reduces the inflammation.
SJ: After 20-30 minutes, it has disappeared.
Complete this sentence, other people rug up in winter with the heater and layers on, I …
SJ: I will have cold water swimming to start off the day.
RX: I will do that after I go for a dip in the bay.
What do you people think of you when you tell them this is what you do?
SJ: They think we are crazy. I said to other people who also come to Brighton Beach, I said people that are here all have a certain degree of craziness.
You don’t need to be an elite sportsperson to have sporting goals. Do you have any?
SJ: No, just to keep healthy. Can do the job, can look after the family. And enjoy life.
RX: I’ve set myself the goal to do three muscle ups by the end of this year and I’ve still yet to do it. The lockdowns haven’t helped because I’ve been able to consistently train.
TL: Three muscle-ups?
RX: So, a muscle-up is a pull-up and then you get over the bar and then you do a dip and then you come back down. I can do one right now. I’m just trying to get into the rhythm of being able to do three in a row.
Do you idolise any Olympians?
RX: My family is watching the swimming. My family is heavily into swimming. We all went through swim school growing up. It must be a Chinese thing. My dad loves swimming and made sure we all went swimming when we were young.
SJ: Yes, I’ve been watching the swimming.
TL: Are you hoping to get as fast as them?
SJ: No, sometimes I thread the water and do meditation. I don’t rush around. When I swim in the water, I do slow strokes.
