coach says, "stretch it out" .. but when i do my day+ beard ends up scratching my shoulders (hey, at least its symmetrical).
tried some Body Glide, but is was no match for the whiskers
hit that snooze one more time or get up and shave at 4:45?
:bed:
anyone else's delts pestered by whiskers? :oldman:
Former Member
I get this mostly on long open water swims. A good shave and some Vaseline on the chin or alternatively on the delt, cures it for me
pwolf had the most accurate answer. The abrasion is caused by breathing too late, leaving your head up and turned as the arm passes ear level.
I never had this problem when younger, but since starting training again last summer, my stroke is slightly screwed up, including late breathing on both sides. If I don't shave before swimming, the skin on the front of both shoulders gets pretty chewed up.
1. let your head roll a little. this will make your shoulder contact your ear instead of your jaw.
2. avoid steroids as they tend to make your jaw protrude
3. shave less often (nobody really cares anyway)
4. bag balm
I get the deltoid abrasion too sometimes. Recently I have been focusing on keeping my breathes low, one goggle in the water, and have not experienced the abrasions. There seems to be a connection.
Thanks Jim. It was a fun meet. Every heat had a start time published in the program and they were right on time!! Unbelievable!! All of my times were my best in 3, 5 or 7 years..........not bad for a GEEZER!
Having seen this thread yesterday, and swimming last night, I did notice just a little scratching...more off of turns when I took a breath too early. In the past I've noticed it more, but last night just once or twice, so I must be doing something better. When I swim in the morning, I shave at home before so don't notice it.
I realized that this wasn't happening as much to me any more so I tried to recreate the conditions of when it did happen.
Mine wasn't the breathing. Mine was during the stretch forward right before the catch when I wasn't breathing. I have since widened my stroke which has given me more power and stopped the abrasions.
I have to shave before my morning practice or I will get a bruise on my left shoulder. I still get when I do OW swims with the shaving. But, vaseline on the chin, good tip for next OW swim.
