Since , swimsuit rules for competition have changed — several times, in fact. FINA, the international governing body for competitive swimming, banned, legalised, then banned again full body tech suits. Today, FINA-approved tech suits must not extend below the knee.
Men's jammers must not extend above the navel, while women's kneesuits must not cover the neck or extend past the shoulders. There are also strict rules on the types and thickness of material used, as well as surface treatment, seams and much more. For a more comprehensive look at FINA approved swimwear and the criteria they must meet, click the link to the right for our in-depth blog article.
It has been proven that tech suits make you faster. They have broken records, they've been developed in labs by professionals and they have had huge budgets poured into their creation. Scientific research into the effect of tech suits on drag and speed in the water has also returned positive results. This Brazilian report into the Effect of Wearing a Swimsuit on Hydrodynamic Drag of a Swimmer compared the in-water performance of swimmers wearing underwear, standard swimwear and technical swimwear.
The report found:. The absolute values of skin friction drag were quite similar in all the conditions. The most expensive suits are for competitive swimmers who need to shave precious time off their records, while maximizing their physical capabilities and supporting their muscles.
These features will allow the elite swimmer to perform to their very highest standard for the duration of their race. Today's most advanced racing tech suits have been engineered to enhance a swimmer's natural abilities in every way possible, within the confines of the strict criteria set out by FINA. When you're competing at a high level, every millisecond counts. It could be the difference between finishing first and second, or the difference between a new record or PB.
However, such is the wide variety of tech suits available these days, they are no longer considered to be for top-level competition only. With plenty of cost-effective alternatives to choose from, swimmers of all abilities can benefit from a tech swimsuit. Posted in Swimwear and Competitive. How does a tech suit make you swim faster? Compression also helps to improve circulation, which can boost performance. Personally, I really like the Arena Carbon Air suits, the Carbon Air 2 is the newer variation and has been upgraded for better features.
Most tech suits are manufactured by directly using water-repelling fabric combined with some other materials, whereas some slightly lower-end suits use a water-repelling coating. The fact of the matter is that the suits are designed in such a way to decrease water saturation. This will help the suits to stay light when you are in the water as well as decrease drag by creating a frictionless surface that slides through the water.
The fact that the suits are water-repellent will also keep them light and will stop them from creating additional drag that can weigh you down when swimming like a lot of training suits do.
You can easily test this by jumping into a pool while wearing your normal drag suit. When you get out the suit will be sopping wet and heavy because it absorbs water relatively fast. But if you jump into a pool wearing a tech suit it will still be relatively light and a lot of the time even dry when you get back out. You have most likely heard brands like Arena, Speedo, and TYR using terms like powerskin and second skin when referring to their tech suits. This is because these suits are so smooth and fit so tightly that they are almost like a second layer of technological skin.
They try to eliminate seams and any other part that may cause drag in the water. This will allow you to swim with less resistance, ultimately allowing you to swim faster. Now that we have covered how tech suits are designed to make a physical difference. We are going to look at another way they can help you to swim faster and it has to do with our psychology as humans. Believing that you have done everything you can to prepare for your race is an important aspect of swimming fast.
And if you believe that your tech suits can help you perform better, then it probably will, as crazy as that sounds. Tech suits can provide you with a sense of confidence, readiness, and belief. If you ask any swimmer who has worn a tech suit about how it made them feel they are most likely going to tell you that it made them feel faster and more confident in the water.
The fact of the matter is that tech suits will make you feel confident and ready to swim fast. But if you believe you can swim fast, then you will most likely swim a good time. On top of that, putting on a tech suit is like a mental trigger telling your body it is race time.
Now that you know that these suits can actually make a difference and allow you to swim faster, you might be wondering- Well, what is a good tech suit for me? For help with finding the right size for your tech suit, consider reading my tech suit sizing guide , where I cover all of the most popular swimming brands and their tech suits.
In my opinion, this is one of the best suits to go with since it is so versatile. You can swim practically any event with this suit, including sprints, middle-distance events, as well as long-distance events. Overall, definitely one of the best tech suits, especially for swimmers who swim a wide array of events. Features and benefits of the Arena Carbon Air 2 tech suit-. The TYR Venzo is one of the best and most innovative sprinting tech suits currently available. The compression on this suits is really good and so is the water repellency.
The suit can be used for any stroke and is designed for events in the 50 to range, including the IM. The TYR Venzo features a frictionless fiber construction allowing you to swim with minimal resistance and maximum speed while the endo compression cage keeps muscles primed to swim fast. All in all, definitely one of the best and coolest looking tech suits out there. I highly recommend this suit is you specialize in events ranging from 50 to Features and benefits of the TYR Venzo tech suit-.
This suit takes what Speedo has achieved with its popular Speedo LZR Racer X tech suit and improves on it to deliver a feature-packed racing suit. Like the Venzo this is a great tech suit for anyone specializing in the shorter events ranging from 50 to with the IM also included. This suit makes a great fit for all of the strokes and allows for unrestricted movement while providing great compression, drag reduction, and other great performance-enhancing features.
Overall, a great high-end tech suit for sprinters. Both the Venzo and Pure Intent are really good and I recommend going with whichever suit you like most.
Features and benefits of the Speedo Pure Intent tech suit-. A reduction was also notable in freestyle performance times. I think we all are eager to see how the swimmers in Beijing will utilize these suits to showcase their prowess and years of hard work and training. The site features ACSM expert commentary, news articles and sport-specific information and resources. The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world.
More than 20, international, national, and regional members are dedicated to advancing and integrating scientific research to provide educational and practical applications of exercise science and sports medicine.
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