What You Need to Know About Wet Suits
Wetsuits are a piece of the equipment that you may need as a triathlete. How dose one know it they need a wetsuit? The rules for most age grouper races out there is if the water is 78 Fahrenheit or higher then no wetsuits are allowed, if you want to be eligible to win the race or your age group. When the water is under 78 you can wear a wetsuit and be eligible to win.
I personally suggest waring a wetsuit any time you can for two reasons. The first reason being that you will stay warm. When the water is in the 70's its usually alright for most people to bare. However when the air temperature is cold and your just standing around waiting for the gun to go off it can be pretty chilly even if the water is in the 70's.
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When your body is cold you are not in optimal condition to take off to a strong pace and thus may get off to a slow start. It is especially important to wear a wet suit if you get cold easy as it will help you stay warm.
The second reason to wear a wetsuit is that you will be faster. Wetsuits allow you to be more buoyant in the water. This means you have to spend less energy in floating and can transfer this into more speed swimming. If you are a strong swimmer it will help you less than a weak swimmer. If every one is waring one you should too as you will be faster and will lesson the advantage others may gain by waring a wetsuit.
What type of wetsuit should you get? You want to get a triathlon or swim specific wetsuit. These suits are designed to swim in. Swim specific wetsuits are made to fit tight and are more flexible in areas allowing for more shoulder and body rotation.
Different brands will fit you better than others so try on a few different types to get a optimal fit. When getting a wetsuit get the tightest one you can. Baggy wetsuits will fill with water which will slow you down. Extra room in wetsuits can also chafe which is never a good time.
Lastly getting a wetsuit on and off can be a mission. Here are a few tips. Lube up your arms and legs from you knee down with Body Glide. The reason you want to use Body Glide is that products with petroleum or mineral oil will break down the wetsuit material and stitching. Put socks on your feet and then pull the suit on. Waring socks will make a huge difference in the ease of slipping on your wetsuit.
The lubricant on your arms and legs will make it easier to get your wet suit off too. Taking your wetsuit off fast is a skill that needs to be developed and is best done through practice.
There you have it you now know the basics of wetsuits and weather you need one.
Author: Kerry Sullivan
Kerry Sullivan is a certified USAT, USACII, CSCS, NLP Practitioner
He coaches triathletes and races competitively. He is in the process of becoming a pro triathlete Kerry has a blog and is often sought out for optimization in triathlon on both physical and mental aspects.
For more info from the best triathlon coaches in the world go to http://www.triathlonsummit.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kerry_Sullivan
Tagged with: child wetsuit • womens wetsuit
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