I first started wearing a drag suit around 12 years old swimming for our age group team. Now 18 years later I am wondering if they do more harm than good, or if they increase strength without impacting your technique too much. I am considering purchasing one but can't decide one way or another. Everything I read is conflicting information so I thought I would get the opinion of the swimmers on this forum. The ones I am looking at are all polymesh so no parachutes.
Does the type of swimmer you are factor into this decision? I am a sprinter...50's, 100's, 200's, and the occasional 400 IM. I like to maintain technique in my practices and will stop my set if I lose form. My hips and legs will sink and I dip my left shoulder more when I get tired and lose form. Are there any shoulder considerations to take into account when using a drag suit? If I do purchase one should I limit myself to using it for just a couple sets a practice or wear it all the time even when sprint training?
Last week the stitching on my speedo endurance jammer blew out so I wore an old stretched out lycra jammer that is a size too big on top to remain decent. When I was swimming the legs would stretch a few inches past my knees. This provided tremendous drag and I thought it was a bit too much. If it's anything like this then I'm not sure if I can handle it because I felt like crap all week.
Hey man. I have been swimming for 20+ years. I have always trained in brief style suits but recently grabbed a Sporti drag suit from SwimOutlet. As someone who has never really worn jammers or a drag suit I found it uncomfortable. I understand the theory behind them but don't find the comfortable for training.
Wow, old post. But no, I dont. After one of the kids' coaches said he didn't like them as they changed body position, I quit, and realized just how stark that difference is.
