Manitoulin man in midst of 100 straight polar dips

Sudbury -

It's been bitterly cold across much of northern Ontario as of late but one Manitoulin Island man is not letting that stop his bid to inspire others to get out of their comfort zone.

Mindemoya's Kyle McDermid, a fitness trainer/gym owner by trade, is currently in the midst of completing 100 polar dips in 100 days.

"I don't even know how it all got started, I did it a couple of months ago and thought 100 sounds cool so we'll go for 100 days and that's basically how it started," McDermid said.

McDermid spoke to CTV Northern Ontario shirtless while walking down his street with the temperature at a blustery -23.

He's garnered a lot of attention for posting his latest venture on his Instagram feed.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Kyle McDermott (Online Coach) (@kyle.fitness.online)

"I would say the main reaction is 'wow', 'that's cool, I really want to try it,'" he said. "A lot of people have been trying it but there are people who are like 'you're crazy, it's the last thing I'd ever do.'"

McDermid said he has come to really enjoy his daily dips into the freezing water.

"It makes you feel incredible -- once you're finished, your positive goes up, your body feels better, your energy is increased. It's literally the best part of my day now," he said.

"It's just like a workout. It's very challenging to push yourself in a gym, right? Same thing with the cold exposure."

But it's also not for the faint of heart. McDermid said the science is new and he's been taking cold showers for five years. Depending on your fitness level, you may not want to try it cold turkey.

"The lake is the furthest thing down the road that you want to do," he said. "I'm very used to this and it's not a new concept for me ... and it's an amazing feeling for me. When you're in that cold, you don't think of anything else."

Check with your doctor first

It's a sentiment repeated by fitness advocate Hal Johnson of Body Break fame. Given the cardiac implications, he said it may be good to get your doctor's input first.

"It's good for the muscles, in essence," said Johnson.

"I had a knee replacement a year ago this month and so I was in the lake behind me icing my knee many, many, many days when it was cold and they went through the ice it was great. It was cold and it really refreshes, it really reduces inflammation and it eases pain."

While he's a believer, Johnson said getting medical advice first is a good idea.

"I would check with your doctor before you do anything like this because it can be a shock to your system," he said.

"Depending on how well your heart can handle it, there have been people who have had a heart attack or gone into cardiac failure."

While he wasn't sure about the benefits for everyone, Johnson says there are many ways to 'keep fit and have fun,' as the saying goes, during the cold weather.

"I think what you have to look at is what is the alternative?" he said.

"The alternative is you're not going to live as healthy a lifestyle so yeah, it might be a little more difficult in the wintertime but COVID has shown our health is the most important thing that we have. If we don't have it we have nothing, and there are people more susceptible to lasting impacts from COVID."

Johnson said the goal should always be finding ways to be healthier today than we were yesterday.

Persistence is the key

McDermid said when it comes to staying in shape, even in weather like this, what's most important is persistence.

He said even having a poor workout program that you do consistently is better than the best workout program where you try it for a few months and then quit.

"So for people out there that just want to exercise, go for a 20-minute walk every day," McDermid said.

"Do that for a couple weeks and once you finish that and build that into a habit, start doing some push-ups, start doing some squats, keep it simple because consistency over time is where the results will come from."

In the meantime, he's showing no signs of slowing down and is optimistic about reaching his goal of 100 dips. He said his ultimate goal is to inspire others.

"As challenging as this has been, it's my favourite part of the day," he said. "You know it's hard to get there, just like it's hard for people to get to the gym but once you get there, you feel better and it's worth it."