I haven't used anything on my skin before i swim except maybe once or twice some icy hot. I was at a marathon a week or two ago and saw a lot of people putting body glide all over but they were not wearing wetsuits. Does BG off any benefits to swimming aside from getting wetsuits on/off easier?
I can't see that glide has any beneficial effect for swimming beyond reducing the potential for chafing (I'm not even sure it helps all that much with getting the wetsuit on and off either). I usually don't bother with it unless I'm wearing a wetsuit or swimming in salt water.
But of course chafing can be really painful and if you have to swim for a long time the chafing would eventually slow you down. Also, I've noticed that different people tend to have different problem areas. My main problem area is the back of my neck. I have friends who get chafing on their elbows and others who have it on their armpits. It wouldn't surprise me to find that some people get it in all of those locations or even some others. As PWB mentions, straps on women's suits can cause problems as well, or so I've heard. Not sure this really explains what you saw, but it's possible that the people you saw were just hitting all of their potential chafing spots.
I can't see that glide has any beneficial effect for swimming beyond reducing the potential for chafing (I'm not even sure it helps all that much with getting the wetsuit on and off either). I usually don't bother with it unless I'm wearing a wetsuit or swimming in salt water.
But of course chafing can be really painful and if you have to swim for a long time the chafing would eventually slow you down. Also, I've noticed that different people tend to have different problem areas. My main problem area is the back of my neck. I have friends who get chafing on their elbows and others who have it on their armpits. It wouldn't surprise me to find that some people get it in all of those locations or even some others. As PWB mentions, straps on women's suits can cause problems as well, or so I've heard. Not sure this really explains what you saw, but it's possible that the people you saw were just hitting all of their potential chafing spots.
