Full body swimsuits

6 seconds difference in a 100m!!!! Where do I sign up!! Lexa is right, maybe .6 but not 6.0. I do wear a full body suit in competition and I think it does help even if only psychologically. Also running in a full body suit after a swim would be uncomfortable. In order to work right the suit must be tight. When you run you do not want to be chaffed. And you certainly do not want to stop to take it off. That would add at least 10 minutes to your time!! Glenn

Hi Joan, I have worn the full body suit (to the knees and no arms for 8 years now. My experience has been that the suit improves my times by 1.5 - 2.0 seconds per 100. I understand your reluctance to use technology to improve your time. However, haven't there been improvements in running shoes and running uniforms that have aided the athletes? And, certainly, there most be improvements in the manufacturing and design of guns that improve the quality of your shooting? Why does improved uniform for swimming stand out when improvements in running gear and shooting gear are not brought under the same scrunity? Just curious... Paul Windrath

The theory, as I understand it, is that the bodysuit reduces drag - as a bathing suit can be less "draggy" in the water than skin, it would seem to make sense to cover up as much skin as possible. Hence the full body swimsuits for free, fly, and backstroke...breaststroke requires too much knee action, so the long suit is too restrictive. As well, the full body suits add compression to the major leg muscles, which is supposed to improve performance; and a bit of heat, which improves performance by increasing the blood/oxygen flow to the muscles. As for a 6 second difference in a 100m...I doubt it. MAYBE a .6 second difference for a highly efficient swimmer. Good luck in your competition!

Hi Joan, I need to clarify something about the body suits - at least from my standpoint. I do not think women benefit nearly as much from the body suits as men do. I believe regardless of the effect the suit may have on muscle compression and all that stuff. I believe the suit streamlines men who previously wore the traditional swim suit. Our skin gets loose with age and the body suits keep the skin from "flapping" around which creates resistance and slows us down. Women have always benefitted from the streamlining effect of the women's one piece suit, so a body suit will not have the same effect except perhaps with the legs being covered if you are using the knee length suit. Paul

Thanks for the responses. Why do I feel these particular suits are different than advances in running shoes or pistols? If the difference attributed to the suits was .6 of a second, then I have no problem with them, as they are probably just reducing drag, which has been the aim of competitive costumes for decades, but if they give added buoyancy to those who are less adept at body balance and compress muscles, then I feel that they are an aid. So I guess I really need to understand how they work before I would feel comfortable using them. An example of pistol technology which is not allowed in Pentathlon is telescopic sites for instance. Also any advances in pistol or shoe technology would appear to benefit all competitors equally - but in our event it is only the "runners" who are claiming amazing PBs whilst using the full (inc. arms) body suits! By the way, as the events are not run concurrently, we have at least an hour between each event to get changed into appropriate gear - so whether or not they are good for running is is not an issue here. On a personal note, I have come back to the sport after a five year break, and am trying to get back to my previous times - I'm gradually getting there, but I guess for my own satisfaction, I'd like to know it was because of the training rather than just advances in equipment! Again thanks for your input. Joan

Bringing up 6 seconds per 100 makes me want to clear something up. Are we talking about the full body suits made by speedo like the aquablade? Or are we talking about the wetsuits like those made by Ironman or quintana roo. A real wetsuit like we wear in tris or some open water swims can give you 6 seconds per 100 because they add bouyancy. The other suits that swimmers wore in the olympics won't give you anything like that.

Hi Paul I think you've got a point there. They certainly seem to hold in the flappy bits! The suits in question were from neck to ankle, and the arms go right down to the wrist. Getting them on seems to need the help of others as they are meant to be worn skin tight. It took me 15 minutes to help a fellow competitor into hers - I thought we were both going to miss the warm up! Joan

IMHO, if people are putting on full-body FastSkin or Aquablad, etc., suits, and dropping 6 seconds per 100, then what you really have is absolute proof of the high mental component of swimming. -Rick

For what it is worth, I was a body suit skeptic until very recently. I wore an Arena Powerskin bodysuit (full legs, no arms, open back) for the first time in Hawaii and dropped a tremendous amount of time in all my events (50 free & fly, 100 free & fly, 200 free). Now, I have to say that I had a great taper -- but I definitely believe the suit helped with leg buoyancy (I don't float very well) and reducing muscle strain (from lack of "flapping around"). One of my former age group coaches is now a Div I college coach and has done extensive testing of the suits with his swimmers. He believes the full suits are worth 1.0 seconds per 100. I have to say that based on my swims, I agree! I also was expecting the suit to be uncomfortable while hanging around between events, and it wasn't that bad at all! I intend to wear it again ... but save it for nationals! I don't want the magic to run out!

We are talking about the fast skin/aquablade type suits rather than wetsuits. Maybe it is all in the mind! J