The 365 Day Swim Challenge – Ocean, lake, river, creek, dam or pool with no wetsuit! I did it!

Very late in September 2020 my wife and I sat down one night and decided to watch an amazing documentary called “My Octopus Teacher“. If you haven’t seen it I suggest you do as it is an amazing story in itself but based around a man that goes into the Ocean daily and befriends an Octopus and films his daily interactions. The movie or should I say documentary was enthralling and got me thinking…. As I live in the most beautiful beachside town of Barwon Heads, perhaps I could challenge myself to a 365 day challenge of fully submersing myself in the Ocean? Now I was blessed with the Barwon River and 13th Beach on my doorstep and if I was ever working in Melbourne or away from home, any beach, lake, river, creek, dam or pool would suffice (as long as any pool was not heated).

So given that my successful Personal Training, Workplace Health and Gym Management Business turned 8 on October 1, 2020, I decided that would be the very first day that I would start my 365 day challenge! So, off I embarked on what many people questioned my sanity. In just my board shorts and with towel in arm, I started what would be a daily tradition and sorry to spoil the story early, but yes I successfully completed my challenge on September 30, 2021 – 365 days later!

Click on the link below to watch a video compilation of many of my daily dips including the harrowing day 365!

Why did I do it you might ask?

Covid hit our shores in March 2020 and changed our world forever. It made us have to rethink our lives, wrestle with our priorities and in many cases it was a time to reflect on the direction our lives were taking us. From the very outset it was really tough seeing my business that was continuing to shine and grow have to come to an almost complete stop. We had won three tenders to manage three separate gyms in the space of 10 months and the most recent one a massive 80 hour per week contract in South Wharf to start on April 6, 2020!

Sadly though with our very first lockdown starting on March 16, that contract was eventually ripped up and our three year contract for 80 hours per week went begging. It left me feeling really sad and disappointed that my team were unable to secure much work and also some small doubts about the entire business being able to weather the storm…. Whilst it was evident that Covid was going to be with us for some time and me not being one to dwell on the negatives, I shifted my focus to spending more and more quality time with my wife Lauren and our three kids (Madeline, Tyler and Beau). Movies, walks, bike rides, table tennis on a makeshift dining table, kicking a footy, frequenting the beach, it was all just amazing quality family time that I am so very happy to have had the opportunity to spend that valuable time with the ones that I love the most.

I really started focusing on my running and in between lockdowns my footy with the Geelong Super Rules team – we missed all games in 2020 with the season being cancelled but I managed to play some games in 2021 before the latter part of the season was cancelled. Health and fitness became a priority (as it did for many others and demand for our Personal Training – when allowed – soared!)

Business was still tough but our name has grown massively within the industry and in recent months with outdoor Personal Training allowed, we have rapidly expanded and cannot keep up with demand for our mobile service! (We will bounce back massively when things reopen again fully).

The one thing that was evident was that I am always a go-go-go person, I am highly active and love moving… running, walking, kicking a ball, playing in the pool with the kids…. Sitting down and being “mindful”, just isn’t me… I have not read a book in over 20 years! Noticing how much I love the beach (always have) and how relaxing it is, gave me a thought… To get into board shorts, grab a towel and then walk, ride or drive to the beach everyday, jump in, dry off and then come home would effectively be a 15-30 minute exercise. It would allow me to “slow down”, enjoy the scenery, take the plunge into “cold” and sometimes “really cold” water which would take me out of my comfort zone and even though I pride myself on my mental strength and resilience, it would really push me mentally and take me to another level! It was also something that I don’t know of another person that has embarked on such a challenge and that made it something original and exciting!

So my why, was multi-faceted.

What was the experience like? How did it feel?

So it became ever-apparent that going into the water was, in the early days a mental psych up to get my mind and body ready for it. It was going to be cold and that was that. I thought that I would be always seeking a towel immediately and wanting to put on a jumper and get home to a hot shower but not the case… In fact, it was completely invigorating and there was no rush to dry off and put a top on, let alone wanting to rush home to a warm shower. After just a few weeks, there was no longer any resistance to getting fully wet, it was a case of finding a spot to leave my clothes and then jump straight in!

The earliest I did it would have been around 7.30am in the morning in between my PT clients and the latest around 11.40pm when I had nearly forgotten on one occasion! On any occasion when there was daylight, it was always just so beautiful to enjoy the scenery and to relax and enjoy nature and the experience. Coming out always gave another kick in my energy levels and in fact there were a few times late at night on a Monday coming home from a busy day in Melbourne and up since 4-5am that once jumping in late at night, I would then be energised and full of beans and unable to fall asleep like I usually do as soon as my head hits the pillow!

In a nutshell, it became almost the highlight of my day. I would genuinely look forward to it and felt amazing after almost if not, every day’s swim. My mind remains calm and I have a real connection with nature and marine life.

It was funny to see the reactions from many people over the year that thought I was a lunatic but it always brought a smile to people watching.

I have no fear of going into the ocean on even the coldest of days and I am certain that will remain with me for the rest of my life!

Forming a habit, behaviour change and accountability

It is amazing how easy it is to keep things going when you set your mind to something. A strategy I knew would work well was to proclaim each and every day on Facebook what I was doing, so on day one I simply took a picture of the spot I was going to do my daily dip and my status update read:

“Day 1/365 – Location – Barwon Heads River – 3.45pm.

I am going to jump into the ocean, river or a pool every day for 365 days – rain, hail or shine!

Never ever wearing a wetsuit!”

Now no doubt my daily updates for many of my Facebook friends was tedious and I am sure I lost some ‘friends’ or was put on snooze, but it became a powerful motivator and kept me accountable which is a strategy I often employ for my Personal Training clients. It is very powerful and gets results! They say a habit is formed in 21 days and behaviour change takes 6 months, I know this and it was very clear that the steps I was taking would ensure that I would succeed. Simply copying my status from the day before and merely changing the day number, location and time of day and it was awesome to see those days steadily tick over.

The impact I hope to have had on others and in one case did!

As a business owner and viewed by many of my clients as a leader or a mentor means that I need to lead by example and I honestly try to do that in so many ways. I am still to this day very proud that I have never had a cigarette or touched a single drug to this day and I will continue that to the day I die. You see life to me is simply amazing and I wish there were more hours in the day to get more done, to spend more time with friends and family, to do more exercise…. Put simply life is abundant and I love every day. I try to inspire and motivate people to enjoy every moment of every day. A client of mine once said “if you could bottle your energy, it would be priceless”.

Doing a challenge like this has in some ways motivated a lot of people to become a better version of themselves and one lady in particular has endured some horrible things in her life, the loss of her husband unexpectedly a couple of years ago and a son off the rails and she confided early on that seeing me do this daily challenge gave her hope and a focus to do something that would benefit her health and well-being daily… one of her messages read “I just wanted you to know how much you inspire me…. I used the words Just In Time for a reason… often watching your dip encourages me to get off my bum..”

Her messages were powerful and for her in such a dark place, I am privileged to have people look up to me and I am honoured that I am able to make a positive difference.

By doing something so completely random and out of left field, it shows just how powerful our mind is when we set ourselves a challenge. I am so happy that this challenge for myself has had a positive impact on others.

What did I learn?

Mum and Lauren – it is safe to say the old “don’t go out in the cold or without a jumper or you will catch a cold” is simply redundant… I endured as low as 4 degrees late one night and countless other windy, wet and awful days and I have yet to have a cold in over 18 months!

Your mind is amazingly powerful if you make it that way and work hard on building resilience!

Setting goals and writing them down (publicly in this case or privately) are very powerful in achieving the things you want in life.

Water is cold – but it is all relative!

Mindfulness and time to reflect is worth its weight in gold! Throw the natural environment in the mix and you are set for life!

Barwon Heads and the entire Bellarine are simply stunning and I will be forever grateful for having the belief and positive attitude to make the move from Melbourne and live here just over 4 years ago! Exploring the stunning coastline has been amazing!

To my wife and family – Thanks so much!

Lauren and my kids are simply amazing and I couldn’t ask for a better wife or mum to our children. Simply selfless and always so supportive (but at the same time quick to put me back in my place when needed!). I asked her a few months in if she thought I would fail and rather quickly her reply was “no, because I know you will do it”. I am sorry for the many towels and board shorts left around the bath and shower and the endless supply of sand through the house, but your support to allow me to take off whenever I wanted to go to the beach and ‘do my thing’ was greatly appreciated. I am certain that the kids will have taken a lot from the experience too and see how important setting goals and achieving them is.

Will I continue going into the water daily?

It has become such a habit and part of my life now that I honestly think I will! Time will tell but it sure is addictive and I am a better person for having done it.

Where do I go from here?

That is the million dollar question and I am really not sure that I will. I have found more than ever what is important to me and in a nutshell that revolves around my family, friends, my business and in particular devoting much time mentoring my amazing team as well as continuing to pour my heart and soul into helping my (and our) clients be their best. Last of all, investing in myself – health, fitness and well-being is so important and I feel that I almost have the perfect balance right now.

Should anyone reading this attempt the 365 Day Swim Challenge – Ocean, lake, river, creek, dam or pool with no wetsuit?

Most definitely – for all of the reasons that I have outlined above, it is almost injury risk-free (if you don’t jump off piers and into rocks below!) and costs you nothing financially. It will challenge you and push you out of your comfort zone, but trust me you will love doing it and be super proud when you achieve all 365 days!

Lastly –

My mum’s sister, my sister-in-law and one of my awesome clients have beaten breast cancer and since starting Personal Training with me my client (JH) has lost over 20kgs and is as fit as a fiddle and I feel that this charity sits well with me

So if interested please click here to donate.

Thanks for taking the time to read and watch and I hope that it serves as some motivation for you!

Justin Moran

Managing Director

Just In Time Personal Training

0411 798 934

[email protected]