Wetsuits and Faster Swim Times

This is not an unusual question at all.

The first place I tried on my wetsuit was at my pool (just be confident, no one cares) and I swam a 500.  I was much faster...although I can't remember the exact amount.

The reduced friction was a huge reason, but I think the buoyancy factor in the legs played the biggest role.  Feels kinda like swimming with a pull bouy (almost).

I can only say that my best 1.2 miles in the pool is about 37 minutes flat (in a 25 yd pool, so a lot of benefit from pushing off on turns) and in a HIM in a wetsuit I've gone under 35.  About 7 sec. per 100 yds right there (1:45+ vs 1:38.7)...though the pool swim obviously wasn't under race conditions per se.

I asked myself that same question and decided to measure it a few weeks ago

During my vacation I measured it over 1200m and it improved by 1:30min. I swam the same 1200m course many times.

So it was the equivalent of about 2 minutes on a 1500m Olympic distance. 8 seconds per 100m.

I also counted about 10% less strokes.

Edited by marcag 2009-08-08 5:35 AM

When my wetsuit arrived I took it to the pool and swam 900 yards with it at a 1:45/100 pace.  Then I took it off, swam another 900 yards at the same RPE, and came in at 2:00/100.  That was all I needed to convince me that wetsuit = significantly faster, at least for me! 

Based solely on swim splits in races I'm anywhere from 5-10s faster per 100 yds with a wetsuit.

I noticed a big difference.  Routinely train at about 2:00/100 and can do one to two 1:45/100 at a time.  With just a trisuit shorty I was able to consistently do 1:45 and with a 3mm wetsuit my 100 time went down to 1:32/100 in a pool.  I used it in a race for the first time and if the course was marked right I swam 3:58/300  or 1:19/100. The buoyancy makes a big difference. 

I swim and race with a friend and we almost always have the same swim split, although sometimes I come out 30 seconds ahead if I push myself.  We were practising an OWS this week and she wanted to use her wetsuit in preparation for an upcoming ocean OWS.  I could BARELY keep up with her!  She finished easily 2 minutes ahead of me!  grrrrrr.

I tested it on .5 mile OWS course near us.  Swam with wetsuit first then took it off.  My times:

13:22 with wetsuit.
13:44 without

Bob

The swim coach told me a common problem in triathlon is the tendency to raise your head, partially due to sighting, raise the chest and drop the hips. This creates a position where you are pushing through the water.

The wet suit puts your body in a flatter position. This is only part of the improvement in time.

The better the swimmer, the better the body position the less the wetsuit helps for this particular issue.

He told me to be aware of this while swimming and try raising my hips. I try and it It does make a difference.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, for me, the wetsuit makes a 1 min difference per 750m. Until I improve transitions I would not wear one for a sprint because I am very bad at removing it.

I think pretty much everyone here has said the same thing - it will help to some degree. For those of us who don't have a great body position, technique etc.., there are bigger gains to be made over those of us who are much better swimmers. The suit will lift you up, and reduce the drag allowing more of your stroke to propel you forward.

My own experience of this was at a recent olympic race where wetsuits were banned for the 1st time due to the extremely warm temps in the week leading up to the race & the water temp was considered too warm for a wetsuit race.

It's the 1st time I've done 1500m with no wetsuit and my time was 3 minutes slower than I normally do. I usually come in around 29/30 minutes but this time round I was just over 33 minutes... not my greatest, but then at least everyone else was in the same situation and my overal position was not that much different to other races I've done. So it looks like we all suffered to a certain extent.

Thanks for all of the feedback!  I can't wait to get in the water this weekend to test it out! 

Similar results for me. My last tri was a 1/2 mile swim. During practice swims, my final swim was around 22 minutes. During my sprint tri, my swim time was slightly under 15 minutes. I went from a slightly over 2:00 min pace to just over 1:40 pace. HUGE difference for me. YMMVKevin