How to know which is suit to get for racing and training?

So I'm not to sure what size suit to get for both swim practice and meets. I'm not exactly sure either how to tell if the suit is to tight or not. I was told once if you can get it on without struggling it isn't tight enough, but I'm not sure if they were serious or not. I'm a 30/31 waist normally, and a guy..since that will make a difference I'm sure. Oh also, I know technical suits are illegal for meets but I might be able to get one for cheap. The only thing I'm curious of is if there is a difference between the male and female versions of the kneesuits are(cover the chest to knees)? I've checked measurements on myself and it matches with what the measurements of the suit is I can get for cheap. Does it matter what the "sex" of the suit is if its just for swim practice? :lmao: Did you know the same guys I swam with 6 or so years ago!? The general rule in the female locker room back then was.....if it took less than 15 mins to get into a full leg/full arm bodysuit, it was too big. Not sure how this applies to kneeskins (my current one is a bit too big on me). Also I have read that if you can pull the shoulder straps up above your ears its too big. A number of the guys did wear female suits, but would ensure they bought the ones with the zippers, as the open-back ones looked a bit girly. I'm not sure if this was because they were cut slimmer, or they were just available in smaller sizes. For the practice suit, you probably won't want a super-tight-takes-10+-mins-to-get-on suit though, so a "normal" sized suit would suffice. I now need to drop 2 sizes from my Lycra size or 3 from my Endurance suit for racing, but it may be different for males.

So I'm not to sure what size suit to get for both swim practice and meets. I'm not exactly sure either how to tell if the suit is to tight or not. I was told once if you can get it on without struggling it isn't tight enough, but I'm not sure if they were serious or not. I'm a 30/31 waist normally, and a guy..since that will make a difference I'm sure. Oh also, I know technical suits are illegal for meets but I might be able to get one for cheap. The only thing I'm curious of is if there is a difference between the male and female versions of the kneesuits are(cover the chest to knees)? I've checked measurements on myself and it matches with what the measurements of the suit is I can get for cheap. Does it matter what the "sex" of the suit is if its just for swim practice? :lmao: Did you know the same guys I swam with 6 or so years ago!? The general rule in the female locker room back then was.....if it took less than 15 mins to get into a full leg/full arm bodysuit, it was too big. Not sure how this applies to kneeskins (my current one is a bit too big on me). Also I have read that if you can pull the shoulder straps up above your ears its too big. A number of the guys did wear female suits, but would ensure they bought the ones with the zippers, as the open-back ones looked a bit girly. I'm not sure if this was because they were cut slimmer, or they were just available in smaller sizes. For the practice suit, you probably won't want a super-tight-takes-10+-mins-to-get-on suit though, so a "normal" sized suit would suffice. I now need to drop 2 sizes from my Lycra size or 3 from my Endurance suit for racing, but it may be different for males.