Positive Things About Full-Body Swimming Suits

There is a stigma that full-body swim suits look silly and are old-fashioned. As the sport continues to gain more visibility, however, athletes all over the world may find themselves looking at the fact that there are positive things about a full-body swimming suit. Many of the suits are constructed with new materials, providing a distinct competitive advantage over the older one-piece suit.

  1. Chafing

    • Swimmers are in water often and this can cause the skin to soften. This softening of the skin produces the painful symptom of chafing. With a single suit, chafing can occur in sensitive areas including under the arm pits, around the neck, and around the legs and groin area. With men, this can sometimes occur around the hips. A positive feature of the full-body suit is that it takes away chafing points by covering most all of the body.

    Efficiency

    • A full-body suit can increase the speed of a competitive swimmer immensely. The suit can smooth out particular points of the body that would otherwise offer points of resistance. A full body suit also often is made of special materials that are less resistant to water than skin. This allows the swimmer to focus on speed and less on the effort involved in fighting resistance.

    Buoyancy

    • With today's full-body swim suit, the material oftentimes adds a small amount of buoyancy. Buoyancy is an object;s ability to float in a liquid. In this case, the ability to float is enhanced for swimmers who wear a full-body suit. If you are a competitive swimmer, be sure to check the certification of your suit. Many competitions have restrictions on the amount of buoyancy allowed in a suit.

    Shaving

    • For men who have a lot of body hair, a full-body swimming suit lessens the frequency needed for shaving. Competitive swimmers often shave their body to achieve less resistance and increase speed. Shaving can be irritating to the skin and time consuming. A full-body swimming suit allows more time in the pool and less time in the shower shaving.