Shaving down

...John, if you're talking about the Canandaigua meet this weekend,... Too far north and snowy for a soft Western CT resident like me...maybe next year

In college we used to shave once in December (right before the holiday break) and once in the Spring at our conference championships.....The only 2 meets I've actually competed in as a USMS swimmer were about 6-8 weeks apart (one was in March and the other was SCYNAts in 2005 in May) and I actually shaved and tapered for both. I shaved for the first meet because I wanted to make the national cuts...and then I shaved for the other because it was nationals. In high school some of us had to shave and taper for regionals to make it to the state championships (you had to place either first or second in your event at regionals to make state)...then about 4 weeks later we had our state championships and would have to shave again....Our coach would make us wear panty hose in between so that we would lose the shaved sensation at practice between regionals and state. Newmastersswimmer

Our coach would make us wear panty hose... Newmastersswimmer C'mon Jim he never had to MAKE you wear them... Back to you regularly scheduled seriousness now. Sorry but I couldn't let that one go. Rich

Rich and the one liners.....I guess you got on me on that one Rich....I don't want to have to write another limerick now...LOL! Newmastersswimmer p.s. I like your new signature....I wonder what Heather thinks of it...LOL!

John, if you're talking about the Canandaigua meet this weekend, I doubt that anyone else will be shaved. Yup, that is the meet I am going to. Thanks for the info. I'll most likely save the shaving thing for some future meet when I'm in better shape. I think for now I'd rather be the slow hairy guy than the slow shaven guy. I probably wouldn't have even considered it, except shaving always made a big difference for me in college and high school.

Only shave the "exposed skin" areas, not skin under the fabric. Hair helps in elevating the fabric (just a little) to allow a minor air gap. This helps in providing a little extra floatation.

When is the best time to shave? -The day before? -Just after warmup the same day? -Other time? When wearing fastskins...theoretically it would be better NOT to shave...wouldnt it? You practically gets a layer of air between the fastskin and your real skin then...meaning you wil float better and higher in the water...or am I wrong here? :dunno: /Per

When is the best time to shave? -The day before? -Just after warmup the same day? -Other time? When wearing fastskins...theoretically it would be better NOT to shave...wouldnt it? You practically gets a layer of air between the fastskin and your real skin then...meaning you wil float better and higher in the water...or am I wrong here? :dunno: /Per night before is the best time. You deffinatly should shcave if you are going to wear a fastskin.

I'm pretty fanatic about shaving at big meets. I shave with a razor the night before(in a long hot bath) and then I shave again in the morning with my electric shaver. After the session is finished,if I'm swimming the next day,I'll have another long hot bath and shave again.The next morning it's the electric razor again. That may be more than necessary,but I am fairly hirsute. I heard Amy Van Dyken say she,d shave before prelims and then before finals.She said when she found a hair she missed(and you always find some) she thought"there's another 100th of a second off."I have heard it is better not to shave under your fastskin(for breaststroke I wear a jammer.)If you get a fastskin for a big meet remember they are faster dry,so do not wear them for warmup.

You can shave faster if you use electric clippers first.