Technology Under Review

From my understanding of the history of athletics, certain sports were considered to be “innate to the body” and not subject to aid from extraneous factors. In fact, the word “Gym” (as in gymnastics or gymnasium) is derived from the Greek “Gymnos” which literally refers to performing in near nudity and swimming is one athletic activity that lends itself quite well to the definition of a “Gym” activity. However, It is the feel of being in the water with very minimal cover that makes swimming attractive and if you're wearing a "Dry Suit", practically all sensation is lost and you may as well go for ride in a mini submarine instead of swimming. Here’s an idea to swim faster without subjecting the swimmer to the hassle of suiting up in an uncomfortable “costume”: Just add water softener (a surfactant that's in shampoo or bath gels) to the pool to break the surface tension and reduce hydrodynamic friction. Anyone who has taken a bubble bath that contains a water softener knows how it makes the water feel wetter and slippery. I’ve heard a saying something to the effect that “To take away the feel of swimming is to completely ruin the art” -so let's not ruin the art. Happy swimming :cool: California Dolphin

I can’t wait until someone in a conventional 1970s style racer brief wins out over the LZR and embarrass the hell out of all these high tech suit makers!!! :banana: Happy swimming :) Dolphin 2 I think you are going to have to wait. Anyone in the talent caliber that these top swimmers are will be wearing a LZR, or its competitor, and be handsomely compensated for it by the manufacturer. None would be willing to jeapordize their livelyhood for a stunt like that.

Speedo claims they developed the LZR and other suits with the aid of NASA’s Langley Research Laboratory. However, I did a search for this project and this is all that I could find: naca.larc.nasa.gov/search.jsp www.nasa.gov/.../2008-0214-swimsuit.html In the last link, it turns out that all NASA did was place sheet of the LZR material in a table top wind tunnel and record the data for drag. Basically all the “space age research” performed on the material amounted to a high school science project. It sounds to me like Speedo, Nike, and others have been putting out a bunch of hype (as usual) about the LZR about their “technological research” and looking to make big $$$ off the spectacle of mechanized swimming. I can’t wait until someone in a conventional 1970s style racer brief wins out over the LZR and embarrass the hell out of all these high tech suit makers!!! :banana: Happy swimming :) Dolphin 2

Hey thanks for the comment Art Z. I had a conversation with one of the guys on the swim team that I help manage and here’s another item to add to my list of "Pet Peeves" about these new suits. He says the combination of full body coverage and waterproof material eliminates the water flow over your skin that would normally keep you cool (if you were swimming in briefs) and you actually sweat in the suit –yes he said sweat- while you’re swimming! :shakeshead: When he gets out of the pool he can’t wait to get the damn thing off and run into the locker room to take a long shower just as if he had finished a work out on dry land. Also, the waterproofing keeps the perspiration inside the suit so it too has to be thoroughly washed or it starts smelling like a moldy gym bag. Frankly I’m developing a case of “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder” as I learn more sordid details about how these new suits feel and every time I read something new about them, I get the uncontrollable urge to start flinging off all of my clothes until I’m wearing nothing but my Fruit Of The Loom undies right in front of everybody in my office. :help: Happy swimming :) Dolphin 2

Now you know what a Hockey players bag smells like. The bags have to be left open outside to get rid of the stink. Hey thanks for the comment Art Z. I had a conversation with one of the guys on the swim team that I help manage and here’s another item to add to my list of "Pet Peeves" about these new suits. He says the combination of full body coverage and waterproof material eliminates the water flow over your skin that would normally keep you cool (if you were swimming in briefs) and you actually sweat in the suit –yes he said sweat- while you’re swimming! :shakeshead: When he gets out of the pool he can’t wait to get the damn thing off and run into the locker room to take a long shower just as if he had finished a work out on dry land. Also, the waterproofing keeps the perspiration inside the suit so it too has to be thoroughly washed or it starts smelling like a moldy gym bag. Frankly I’m developing a case of “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder” as I learn more sordid details about how these new suits feel and every time I read something new about them, I get the uncontrollable urge to start flinging off all of my clothes until I’m wearing nothing but my Fruit Of The Loom undies right in front of everybody in my office. :help: Happy swimming :) Dolphin 2

"Now you know what a Hockey players bag smells like" George, were you talking about my ex wife?:rofl: