As long as it takes me to shave, forget it.
3+ hrs *WITH* clippers....i laugh at the thought of not using them.
and then some lucky person get the back job. lol
For what is worth, I only have the opportunity to swim in four maybe five meets each year. I shave down for everyone of them. I figure I need to take advantage of my invested work.
I shave for every meet indeed! If I'm going to shave I'm also going to wear something really fast. Doesn't make sense to do one and not the other.
Just don't wear a fast suit hairy unless your extremely wealthy. That would be like racing a dragster with 4 for 3 tires from pep boys.
I've never shaved. Does shaving really make you faster? I can't imagine that it would have any significant impact for those of us without a lot of hair, and from what I've read that seems to be supported by data. But perhaps it does help a bit?
Screw data reports. I have first hand experience. I'm no wookiee when it comes to hair, but I like the emotional high you get from the slippery smooth feeling diving in after shaving (and the extra sting of energy produced by the cuts). As swimming fast has a lot to do with your mental state, I think shaving has a greater attitude boost than physical boost. Even with that, the tech suit era taught us all how even minor reduction in drag could translate to greater speeds, so I'll keep shaving for big meets.
So far, though, I've not yet shaved my back as a Masters swimmer; I'm saving that for when I need to increase the amp to 11.
I've never shaved. Does shaving really make you faster? I can't imagine that it would have any significant impact for those of us without a lot of hair, and from what I've read that seems to be supported by data. But perhaps it does help a bit?
What data do you have that shaving doesn't make a difference.It does.It makes at least 1 sec/100 for me.
Referring to Ernest Maglischo's Swimming Fastest (I love this book), swimmers believe the time improvement from shaving can range from 0.5 to 2 seconds per 100m. He also quoted a study on the before and after effects of shaving suggesting a significant drop in blood lactate levels and stroke lengths compared to the control. Another test was done to confirm the results were directly related to the reduction of frictional drag and nothing more.
Maglischo, Ernest, W. 2003. Frictional Drag. Swimming Fastest, the essential reference on technique, training, and program design, 60-64 Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. The study he presented is in: Sharp, R.L. and D.L. Costill. 1989. Influence of body hair removal on physiological responses during breaststroke swimming. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 21 (5), 576-580
Just time yourself before and after shaving to see.
"1 s per 100" blah blah blah - does anyone every shave and NOT taper? I though so. So how do you know the 1s was from shaving and not from tapering? Furthermore, for those of us who are fuzz-impaired, there really isn't much "magic speedy sensation" after shaving.
So how do you know the 1s was from shaving and not from tapering?
I think this is true. It's difficult to know how much of the improvement is coming from shaving and how much from tapering, but I do know that doing both very often produces the effect I desire. I often can drop two seconds per hundred.
3+ hrs *WITH* clippers....i laugh at the thought of not using them.
and then some lucky person get the back job. lol
3 hours? Psssh. I would have to clip for a day or so before I would start the razor and shaving cream. There isn't a masters meet worth that much troube.
I would also have to have at least 3 clippers. One or two would always overheat.
