IMO,
There is no way you could be faster in a pool with a wetsuit.....no way.
Way. I've had this discussion with my friend Dave Holland, who bombarded me with literature on this. Below is one reference, with abstract. I've read the full article, the trials were done in a 50m pool.
Possibly for sprints it would be a hindrance but not for distance events.
The effect of wetsuits on swim performance. Nicolaou, K.D.; Kozusko, J.M.; Bishop, P.A., Journal of Swimming Research Fall 2001: Vol. 15. p. 20-26
The use of a wetsuit during the swim portion of a triathlon has increased in popularity over the past few years. The purpose of this study was to quantify the impact of both the full-body and sleeveless wetsuits on 800m swim performance. Nine collegiate female swimmers swam three counterbalanced and randomized trials of 800m. Velocity, distance per stroke, swimming efficiency index, heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion, and perceived comfort were recorded for all trials, full-body wetsuit, sleeveless wetsuit, and swimsuits. No significant difference between the trials was found in distance per stroke, ratings of perceived exertion, heart rate, or swimming efficiency index. No significance was found among three different comfort levels between the two wetsuits. Inhibition in kicking occurred in 50 % of subjects with the full-body wetsuit and 27.7 % with sleeveless wetsuit. However, significant differences were found in velocity between both swimsuits (1.28 +/- 0.059 m/sec) and full-body wetsuits (1.31 +/- 0.033m/sec), and the sleeveless wetsuit (1.36 +/- 0.065 m/sec) and the full-body wetsuit (p
IMO,
There is no way you could be faster in a pool with a wetsuit.....no way.
Way. I've had this discussion with my friend Dave Holland, who bombarded me with literature on this. Below is one reference, with abstract. I've read the full article, the trials were done in a 50m pool.
Possibly for sprints it would be a hindrance but not for distance events.
The effect of wetsuits on swim performance. Nicolaou, K.D.; Kozusko, J.M.; Bishop, P.A., Journal of Swimming Research Fall 2001: Vol. 15. p. 20-26
The use of a wetsuit during the swim portion of a triathlon has increased in popularity over the past few years. The purpose of this study was to quantify the impact of both the full-body and sleeveless wetsuits on 800m swim performance. Nine collegiate female swimmers swam three counterbalanced and randomized trials of 800m. Velocity, distance per stroke, swimming efficiency index, heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion, and perceived comfort were recorded for all trials, full-body wetsuit, sleeveless wetsuit, and swimsuits. No significant difference between the trials was found in distance per stroke, ratings of perceived exertion, heart rate, or swimming efficiency index. No significance was found among three different comfort levels between the two wetsuits. Inhibition in kicking occurred in 50 % of subjects with the full-body wetsuit and 27.7 % with sleeveless wetsuit. However, significant differences were found in velocity between both swimsuits (1.28 +/- 0.059 m/sec) and full-body wetsuits (1.31 +/- 0.033m/sec), and the sleeveless wetsuit (1.36 +/- 0.065 m/sec) and the full-body wetsuit (p
