Top Five Wetsuit Tips and Tricks

Happy Friday and welcome to the Friday Five! Triathlon season is in full swing now and I have my first big event next weekend: Rev 3 Quassy 70.3. I have been doing a lot of training, but I am still nervous about tackling this extremely hilly course. However, I have trained on a lot of hills and I did finally get in my first open water swim of the season last week to prepare for the event. As I was getting ready to get in the lake, I struggled with getting my wetsuit on and I realized I had haphazardly thrown all my swim stuff in my bag, but left out some of my favorite things to make donning a wetsuit and swimming in it easier. Here are my top 5 favorite tips and tricks:

1. Lubricant: Use some kind of lubricant on all exposed skin before putting on your wetsuit.  I love using Tri Slide, but there are several products out there, including Glide.  These products make it easier for you to don your wetsuit, as well as protect your skin from any chaffing.  A common spot I chaff is on the back of my neck where the velcro connects together.  I put an ample amount of Tri Slide or Glide in this particular spot.

2. Plastic Shopping Bags: Use plastic shopping bags to help you get it on!  Place small bags over your feet and when you slide your foot into the wetsuit, the plastic bag will help you be able to slide your wetsuit up into proper position without having to pull & tug on your suit.  It really works like a charm & then you can just pull the bags off your feet, or leave them on for a bit to keep your feet covered until it is time to get in the water and then pull them off!

4. Shoulder Up: Make sure your wetsuit is pulled up on your shoulders so that you have full range of motion with your arms.  If it is not in proper position, it will be harder to swim and increase your risk of injuring your shoulders while swimming.  The plastic shopping bag trick works on the hands as well, making it easier to slide the sleeves up your arms.

5. Tendency to get cold?: Wear wetsuit socks!  They are made of wetsuit material and keep your feet warm during the swim, as well as protect your feet while you run to transition.  They fit tightly so they do not cause much drag (if any) and they are great to run to transition in!  I always wear them, unless the water is really warm. Another benefit of the socks is that you don’t have to worry about cleaning your feet before putting on bike shoes.  I use the Blue Seventy Neoprene Socks.  I put them on first and pull my wetsuit up over them.  I have never had a problem with my timing chip under the socks, either!  In fact, it seems to protect it.

Open Water Swim Tips

Since we are talking Open Water Swimming,  I’m going to throw in 2 other Tips that don’t involve your wetusit :

1. Swim Caps: I wear 2 caps in cold water.  Silicone cap on the bottom, then put my goggles on, last put race cap over goggles.  It keeps my head warm and keeps my goggles in place if the open water swim is

hectic!

2. Swim Buoys: I love the New Wave Swim Buoy/Dry Bag! Use one during training and encourage everyone you swim with to use one! It is a buoy that attaches to your waist and bobs along the water as you swim.  It makes you more visible to boat traffic and also allows everyone in your group to see you. Almost all of the women in the group I swim with have them. So when we swim, it is hard for anyone to not see a group of 5 or 6 brightly colored buoys floating on the water.  The Buoy also serves as a dry bag for an added bonus!

I hope that you find these tips helpful for your next open water swim. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!