Shave year-round?

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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 :)

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

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.

forums.usms.org/attachment.php

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.