Shave year-round?

RE: Shave year-round?

Former Member — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 06:39:49 GMT

Laughing. I'm a female who hasn't shaved in 35 years. Guys talking about shaving gets me giggling. What I hated was scratchy, stubbly legs as it grew out. I respect your devotion to speedy swimming. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

RE: Shave year-round?

Water Rat — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 10:06:00 GMT

since i am short and fat and almost as furry as a wookie you can call me an Ewok. shave all year? oh heck no!!!Steve, I've definitely noticed I'm less hairy as I age. The hair doesn't seem to grow back like it used too. Maybe you just need more practice? Of course, it could be that it's just grayer than before and appears invisible to my deteriorating vision too.

RE: Shave year-round?

secondheart — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 05:33:51 GMT

I only shave down once or twice a year throughout my swimming career. For me shaving is part of the mental process for a big meet. Re-shaving doesn't have that same mental impact

RE: Shave year-round?

__steve__ — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 04:53:54 GMT

Not too long ago I looked good after a shave-down. Then the vegetation turned grey and the topography started eroding

RE: Shave year-round?

orca1946 — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 04:42:21 GMT

NOOOO ! TOOOOOO much work !!!!

RE: Shave year-round?

Elaine Krugman — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 10:13:29 GMT

Hey guys! I just saw a TV ad for the Gillette Body razor. Perhaps this will make the job a bit easier for you. I found a link to a $3 off coupon on their website: www.gillette.com/.../gillette-coupons.aspx As for the ad I saw, it seemed to work just fine for the guy with the 6-pack abs! :cheerleader:

RE: Shave year-round?

jim thornton — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 09:31:25 GMT

www.swimmingscience.net/.../does-shaving-improve-swim-performance.html Evidence that it does help, though somewhat modestly. I agree with the wookie here--the fuzzier you are in your natural state, the more improvement you're likely to see in the deplilated morph. I can see the difference even in the shower! When my Austin Powers-like chestal hair is in full regalia, water seeps down my abdomen like a spring trickling through a wooded thicket. When the hair is gone, frantic little cascading rivulets flow like flash floods down my gravid-appearing belly. Think of a fine camel's hair jacket of body hair as serving roughly the same purpose of ground cover that prevents soil erosion by slowing run off. In fact, I would be willing to suggest that if Speedo and Tyr could make special hairsuits for training, they could prove popular with even the smoothest, most porcelain-skinned women swimmers.

RE: Shave year-round?

Swimosaur — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 02:59:43 GMT

forums.usms.org/attachment.php

RE: Shave year-round?

Chris Stevenson — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 03:05:33 GMT

So the "traditional" strategy is to shave the night before the meet starts, or even the morning of the meet. It occurs to me that it might be a good strategy to shave for the last 2-3 days of taper. You'd probably get a substantial psychological boost from going fast in the last couple of practices going into the meet and it would save you some time the night before, when you should be resting. Even if you want to re-shave the night before, that takes much less time than doing the initial shave. I think I'll try that next spring or summer.

RE: Shave year-round?

orca1946 — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:04:58 GMT

I shave my beard every other day. I only shave down for Nats.

RE: Shave year-round?

Former Member — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 11:48:26 GMT

Long gone are my days of not shaving for the season! :eeew: Although I do have fond memories of girls' team bleaching parties! If I attend a big meet like nats I could fathom shaving my arms :)

RE: Shave year-round?

ande — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 01:22:19 GMT

since i am short and fat and almost as furry as a wookie you can call me an Ewok. shave all year? oh heck no!!! the in growns on my chest and legs hurt so bad as it is just shaving for nats. when i did the reshave for the 400 free after 2 days off in italy the bathwater turned pink. not having to shave was probably the #2 biggest reason i loved the supersuits (you have to say it in the voice of Frozone from The Incredibles..."Honey, where is my supersuit?") since shaving's such a problem Let's take a collection for Steve to WAX year round. Maybe do a kickstarter.

RE: Shave year-round?

flystorms — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 11:27:06 GMT

OMG this is the funnies thread out there! Thanks for the laughs!!

RE: Shave year-round?

That Guy — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 06:50:16 GMT

By the way, That Guy shaves for just about every meet. he uses the theory of supercompensation to swim fast times at (ideally) every meet rather than put all his eggs in one basket and swim fast only at a couple taper meets per year. Yep. "1 s per 100" blah blah blah - does anyone every shave and NOT taper? Yep.

RE: Shave year-round?

mmlr38 — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 12:05:06 GMT

What data do you have that shaving doesn't make a difference.It does.It makes at least 1 sec/100 for me. I don't recall the article I read now. I think was a scientific article with hard data and controlled experiments. I do recall that after reading it, I decided it wasn't likely worth the time and effort to shave. I only shaved once. I did 2 meets, both in the same pool, about 2 months apart. Tapered for both. My times for the non-shave meet were better than the one I shaved for. Considering all the drama involved with it, and the time involved, I've never done it since. And my times have only gotten faster I'd rather spend the time actually swimming, or stretching...anything productive. That's how I've viewed shaving since entering the sport a couple of years ago. But maybe I'll have to do a controlled experiment of my own. The problem is that there are so many variables in swimming that it will likely be difficult to get definitive results.

RE: Shave year-round?

__steve__ — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 11:17:33 GMT

And that's a fact worth at least one second per 100

RE: Shave year-round?

Former Member — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 08:59:42 GMT

Have you tried a hedge trimmer, or maybe a chainsaw?? They ended up smoking up as well.

RE: Shave year-round?

jaadams1 — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 03:53:11 GMT

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.Have you tried a hedge trimmer, or maybe a chainsaw??

RE: Shave year-round?

Allen Stark — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 01:24:16 GMT

If you don't sacrifice your hair to the god of speed, you can't swim fast!

RE: Shave year-round?

Former Member — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 17:41:14 GMT

As long as it takes me to shave, forget it.

RE: Shave year-round?

Rob Copeland — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 11:22:27 GMT

when i did the reshave for the 400 free after 2 days off in italy the bathwater turned pink.Maybe if you shaved every week, you would get good enough at it to eliminate the literal blood bath. And while Mullen raises good points, I’m not sure how many times I can play the “Honey, will you shave my back” card before my wife lets the blade slip and severs my spine.

RE: Shave year-round?

aztimm — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 11:16:01 GMT

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? I only shaved once. I did 2 meets, both in the same pool, about 2 months apart. Tapered for both. My times for the non-shave meet were better than the one I shaved for. Considering all the drama involved with it, and the time involved, I've never done it since. And my times have only gotten faster :) I'd rather spend the time actually swimming, or stretching...anything productive.

RE: Shave year-round?

knelson — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 09:57:51 GMT

Mullen definitely makes some good points. I've always thought swimming has been too focused on the once or twice a year "peaking" thing. Why shouldn't we be able to swim fast all year? And I think many of us are so used to doing it this way we're actually afraid to shave or wear a tech suit at a non-taper meet. It's like we'll use up our mojo or something! By the way, That Guy shaves for just about every meet. I don't think he's taken it to the extreme of shaving in between meets, but he uses the theory of supercompensation to swim fast times at (ideally) every meet rather than put all his eggs in one basket and swim fast only at a couple taper meets per year.

RE: Shave year-round?

sunruh — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 09:48:27 GMT

RE: Shave year-round?

Former Member — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 09:00:59 GMT

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. Shaved, I can swim a lot faster in both meets and practice. You gain a new feel for the water by removing old skin for one. Two, those of us with hair, esp. on the body and legs, do have extra anchors. The hair does cause people to slow down when present. People without much hair may not be affected as much when they shave. Maybe they do gain a mental boost though. People with a lot of hair can see a big difference from shaved to unshaved. Mine might have been part mental but the 2nd 100 of a 200 fly always seemed easier shaved.