Its Not About the Suit

OK...look past the fact that I haven't posted anything since September. I'll spare you the "sorry I've neglected the blog" stuff. It is nice to see the number of people that keep checking back. I'll try to post more as we move forward.

So what is the reason for this post, the first in almost five months? Well, as the championship meets approach the various swim apparel companies send out their championship suit catalogs. If you tuned in to the Today Show this morning you would have seen the official release of the new Speedo LZR Racer which will be available this summer. Technical words that are not readily thrown around the pool deck (like "compression" and "repellency") are used to describe these suits which, seemingly, are there to take you to the next level. Unfortunately some see these catalogs or see (insert USA Swimming National Team Member's name here) swim fast wearing a certain suit and think "That's what I need to swim fast." However, in the end, its not about the suit. Its about the person that is wearing the suit.

We do have to talk about the fact that these suits are very expensive. Yet most of them are not meant to be worn constantly and really only last for a couple of meets. This is the compression factor working against you : every time you put that suit on it stretches out a little bit. The more you wear it the more it stretches out. Once the compression aspect of the suit has been compromised the suit has no "added edge" in a race. It is about assessing the value of the suit and using it at the right times. Since the suit is only meant to be used, at most, six times you have to save it for the six most important meets in the future.

Do you attend every dryland session offered? When you are at practice, are you working hard when you are asked to work hard and focusing on technique when told to do so? What is your practice attendance percentage? 70%? 80%? 90%? We have said before that the percentage of practices you attend is akin to the level your body will be able to perform at a meet. If you attend 85% percent of the workouts, you can expect to be at 85% of your best at the meet. There is absolutely no LEGAL substitute for these factors.

This sport, perhaps more than any other, is driven by science and technology. This is a great thing as it is the perfect combination of physical and mental abilities. There has been an amazing impact on this sport through the evolution and technology behind the swimsuit, especially since the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. But a swimsuit on its own can not move anywhere; there has to be a body in that suit to make it go...not the other way around.