I think we can all be certain that the suits are here to stay -- love them, hate them, it does not really matter -- Speedo, TYR and the others will not allow the suits to all over sudden disappear.
But, we as Masters swimmers have to make a decision about our own reasoning to compete -- why do we compete in swim meets ?
There are many reasons - social, participating in a sport beats the hell out of watching one on TV and so on --- but for me, 2 of the main reasons are the competition aspects. We obviously compete against other swimmers --- but more than maybe many other sports, we compete against ourselves. I can tell you my best 100 Free from every season over the last 30 years (10 of which I did not compete).
I have used most of the suits and did very well -- I set some personal bests and also achieved some record swims, but I have no idea how my times really compare to other seasons. I can keep telling myself that all that speedwork and lifting paid off - but I just don't know.
I like to give a golf comparison -- let's say you have a home course and you always shoot in the low 90s going from the Blue Tees --- well guess what, if you are going from the white tees you will probably average high 80s and going from the red you may get down to the mid to low 80s. But you are not a better player because of it. The LZR seems to be the "white tees" and the new Jaked suit may be the "red tees".
I think we really have to make a decision now to what matters more -- your personal records and history of swimming or the competition against other swimmers ? For me, this may change from meet to meet - but I must be able to stay honest with myself and be able to compare my times -- I do not want to be cheating myself.
Old generations suits (Fastskin Pro) only for: all major Masters meets (individual swims) except for Worlds. That means, I am ok to lose a few places in a meet, in order to know what my time really means. I could just go really old school -- but I think the older generation suits are pretty equal to shaving -- and they allow you to be "shaved" and swim fast in season, which is a huge plus.
LZR / Blue70 for: relays, Worlds and maybe some USS meets, if I am going for a time standard. I want to give any relay my fastest time possible - I swimming Worlds to win the title, so if others use the suits, I will have to do the same - if I go to USS meets, I may use them to get into the finals or to make a time standard for a big meet.
It may take some adjustments - but I think it will work --
Who is with me ?
I think the jury is still out on whether B70s help those with rocket SDKs or help those with poorer SDKs. Paul Smith thinks the former. Chris Stevenson seems to think it doesn't help him that much.
Actually what I said is that these suits have some benefit to more elite kickers but not nearly as much as it does for average/non-kickers. I find it odd that anyone would deny this if they have put a suit on and done some testing in workout...
In my case wearing a drag suit it will take me about 9 SDK's from a dive (fly/free), with a B70 its closer to 6-7, with a pro about 7-8.
My experience, for what it is worth: in practice it usually takes me 20 dolphin kicks on my back from a push to go 25 yards underwater.
First time I tried with a brand-new B70, warming up for meet for which I had NOT shaved, I made it in 18 kicks and thought WOW, that's a 10% drop. I started worrying about going past 15m by accident in the race.
But next time I shaved, I realized that I was also making it in 18 kicks during warmup wearing just briefs. When I taper and shave, I know my DPS increases in swimming; I guess maybe the same thing happens to kick?
In a race, all my usual benchmarks for 15m (10 kicks off the start, 12 kicks off turns) still seem to apply, with or without the suit.
Probably this just means that the effect, if it exists for me, is 5% max (which might still be a lot).
Ya ain't seen nothin yet. Wait'll they get into college! (if they're not there yet).:badday:
well, true but it's scholarship or work through. I am not living on pasta and cat food so they can get have it easy for 4 years. I'm serious, about not paying for college. They can come home after to clear their debts.
This thread is really interesting. I'm one of the "too cheap" people who can't bring myself to spend over $40 for any suit. But now you're making me wonder if I could swim a whole lot closer to my old times if I wasn't such a tightwad!
lol
. I don't like being short vis-a-vis my backstroke competitors -- when height is clearly an advantage. Too bad for me.
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Yes, you may not like it but you certainly make-up for it with your uncanny ability to cover the first 15 plus meters in a really short amount of time :)
I do fail to understand why you are very sensitive about being judged while maintaining a blog ???
I don't care what Smith says, you are really full of yourself. You are in no position to judge anyone, no one is. Most keep blogs for a variety of reasons, none of which are to have others judge them. I keep mine to track my progress on things, see where I can tweak my workouts, spot trends if things come off the tracks etc. I read others' blogs to get new ideas or, many times, just to marvel at what other adult fitness fanatics are doing. Also, since many of us may never lay eyes on each other, they are a great way to get to know each other better.
I'm gonna blog my workout today and you can judge it all you want. I can't figure out for the life of my why you are so down on adults being into swimming. It's kinda weird, like you think you own all the rights to the sport. It's loco mcstupid.
Chris, this is what I have found, too. My number is 10 kicks for the 15m. I actually do that off each wall. I have tried doing 11 off the turns, but was told that I crossed the line when I did that.
Anyway, I have not witnessed this number changing when I change suits.
My number doesn't seem to change much with the B70 either. In fact, for awhile, the B70 made me pop up on backstroke more quickly, reducing my number of kicks. I think it helps me on top of the water. At least that's what I've noticed the most.
The nose clips effect my meterage as, ahem, noted above. That's way more of a PED than the suit for me WRT SDKs.
And, Mike, yes, I wear my B70 every meet. I'd probably benefit from using it in practice more often, especially to practice starts. Maybe I'll do that when my current suit (at 20+ swims) is done. I know Ande does.
A few posters have written that "the (suit) genie of the bottle" and there's no going back. I don't agree.
What is to prevent FINA. USAS, USMS, NCAA, etc from saying "from 01-01-10 forward, all suits must be made of lycra/nylon/polyester, and can have no coating or other material applied or attached. Suits may not extend above the waist or below the knee for me, and not below the knee for women. Men may not wear women's suits. All records recorded since Ian Thorpe showed up in his full-body condom will have an asterisk next to them."
Isn't competitive swimming about racing? Or is it about fooling myself into thinking that at 45 I'm as fast as I was at 22, no thanks to my trusty B70 wetsuit (that I love)? I want to race, and as long as everyone wears the same suit type, it's all good.
I think the problem here is that some don't like the idea that swimming has become like other sports where somebody will win based on superior equipment.
Yes, because swimming doesn't really require equipment as such. I could swim nude at a meet if I wasn't worried about getting arrested. On the other hand, it's mighty difficult to cycle without a bike or compete in a tennis match without a racquet. For this reason I don't think comparisons with sports that absolutely rely on equipment is valid.
