In college our coach always said do not shave the insides or your arm or tops of your feet. Is this truly any better than shaving it all? I guess its to grab more water, but I dont think shaving is to reduce drag, its more for the feel. So which one does everyone think is more beneficial?
I have always shaved my feet and arms,but it does make sense for all but breaststrokers to maybe not shave their arms,especially sprinters.Lots of people say that the increase in sensitivity is the primary result of shaving,but as far as I know there is no data to support this and the superiority of tech suits would seem to further dispute it.
I really doubt that hair gives grip on the arms or feet. Shave everywhere.
Your opinion on this matter would be much different if you had ever met Wookie.
Agree with Jazz- hair lets you know you're moving. Shaving is more important to me for drag reduction. I'd shave my feet and pits if you're doing everything else.
Shaving reduces drag. The "feel" is nonsense. I get more of a numb sensation in the water with no body hair.
I really doubt that hair gives grip on the arms or feet. Shave everywhere.
Shaving hair off your body reduces friction drag. This reduction in drag results in an increase in speed. The reduction in drag is slight, approximately 3-4%.
When you swim faster you can feel the water pressing on your body in a different, more significant way. This is one reason why swimmers claim to have an increased kinesthetic feel after shaving.
If you are shaving everything but your feet and forearms, I don't think you are going to be any faster or slower. I'm guessing the effect would be negligible.
I don't shave the insides of my arms. You don't want to reduce the drag on that surface. The phase of the stroke where you start pulling water is called the "catch" after all, not the "slip." :)
In all honesty, it probably doesn't make much difference, but I guess I'm old school.
I often wonder how much of a time drop I'd get if I shaved. I kept on saying I'd do it during the team's season, but now that's over and I'm still a forest. If you know me, you know shaving for me wouldn't exactly be anything less than a massive, epic endeavor. I'd be shaving long enough for environmentalists to pop up on the hairless areas of my skin crying about deforestation. I mean, I'm not saying if I shaved, I'd have like a "OH MY GOD IN HEAVEN A FIVE SECOND DROP" result, but I'm almost positive I'd cut a second or two. I'm half Italian, after all.
As for the tops of feet... why would the coach have said not to shave that area? I don't get what the benefit there is supposed to be. Looking at the tops of my feet, it looks like two cockroaches are using them to sunbathe. I'm pretty sure that doesn't help in the water.
a general rule of thumb suggests you can reasonably expect to drop 3-4% from your in season time after shaving.
for example, if you race a 100 freestyle in 60 seconds and then go into the locker room and shave come back out and race another 100, and everything goes approximately the same as the first race, statistics tell us that you will drop 1.8 - 2.4 seconds. In other words, you should go between 57.6 and 58.2.
I actually did a research experiment much the same way and these are the results I got. It is also supported by other similar research.
You sound pretty hairy. You might qualify for olympic trials if you shave.
