The main reason for triathletes to shave their legs is vanity. A chest is no different. So shave away!

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"Rock and roll, dude." -- Dave Z., on winning TTs in all 3 Grand Tours.

Dude. I swam competitively for 17+ years and I NEVER shaved the package.

John

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Top notch coaching: Francois and Accelerate3 | Follow on Twitter: LifetimeAthlete |

what are you doing looking at their packages???

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blood, sweat...and big gears

I hated every minute of training, but I said, ''Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.''
- Muhammad Ali

I'm not looking, but rather am referring to someone on ST who uses the tag line "that a shaved package does not look right without shaved legs" I don't recall who they are. But I would expect that they'll show up any day now.

I ask again. Why do those of you who shave your chest do it?

just like guywithabike says: vanity. I decided not to shave my chest, nor my arms this year. Arms get really itchy and the hair grows back weird. Chest always gets razor burn, which negates any cool factor that the lack of hair brings. My fiance likes my chest hair, anyway. I'm definitely going to continue shaving my legs and using fake tanner on them before races. But only on my legs. I know, it's weird, but at least I don't shave my chest anymore, right?

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"Wichtig ist, dass man nicht aufhört zu fragen." -Albert Einstein

I'd never shave my bushy 3 chest hairs! :)

If you're gonna do it, waxing is the only way to go. I visit the salon once a month and that's it. Shaving and the rest is far too much maintenance.

For you info the following reasons have been put forward here on ST (and by the way we're quite late into the season for the first shaving post of the year).
These reason are in no particular order (except #1)
Some of these reasons may not be definitively true (#6 and #9), but they have been argued as reason for.

1. Chicks dig it
2. You feel like an athlete
3. Easier for massages
4. Avoid potential pain exiting wetsuits (and zipping up tri suits)
5. Road rash (heals quicker and lessens risk of infection)
6. It's faster aerodynamically (and hydrodynamically for non wetsuit swims.... assuming you're not wearing a speedsuit)
7. Dry quicker after a shower
8. You get less caked in sweat and goo during a long race
9. Your body dissipates heat quicker during a race
10. The pros do it
11. Most other Age Groupers do it
12. Having done it, I prefer it myself aesthetically

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TriRaceBook.com
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Hawaii Qualification Analysis

how often do people get chest massages? :P

some chicks seem to like the hairy chest...

Not so true. I live in a very warm climate and I take off all hair from legs, arms and chest specifically as a heat regulation measure (always did legs based on vanity reasons). It is so successful that I have to wear a T shirt under my normal work clothes as I get very very cold since starting it in the air conditioning. I train with one guy who does it prior to race day for chaffing issues.

Ever gone down in a crash and had the medical staff wratp your wonded legs in bandages and tape?????? didn't think so, other wise you would have never said that.

Have you ever let the leg hair grow out...then go for a bike ride? Awful ...just plain awful....You feel like a Woolly Mammoth!

LIES! ALL LIES!

(Serious answer, yes, and that's why I started shaving. Suprise! But as a triathlete, I do almost all of riding by myself and I haven't crashed and burned in over two years now. I keep shaving, though, for two primary reasons: 1. Easy to clean, add sunscreen, lotion to skin dried out by the pool, etc. and 2. Vanity! :)

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"Rock and roll, dude." -- Dave Z., on winning TTs in all 3 Grand Tours.

I don't shave my legs, but I do shave my chest. For me it's a heat control thing since I do sweat a lot. I use a barbers kit and take it down to a #2. It does not itch and I only have to do it every 8 weeks or so. I know quite a few guys who do this as well.

Here's what I started shaving/trimming and why...

Chest - It started growing in weirdly and patchy so I shaved it and just kept up with it because it itches when it comes back in. Also aerodynamics

Armpits - Chaffed something awful when I started swimming again

Legs - Right before my first triathlon and I've kept it up since.

"Down there" - For Caffage reasons and otherwise it looks like a jungle down there...no good.

I don't shave my arms because my arm hair is really thin... but if I was a hardcore swimmer in a big meet... then I'd shave my arms.

me too..
don't shave it but take it down to a no.2 with a trimmer.
why do it do it?.. vanity and also it feels nicer

i do shave my legs.. i used to get regular massages and the pain difference between shaved and not shaved was huge.
but now i just do it for the healing (i do fall off regularly - dutch tram lines), and makes me feel more like an athlete.

I can't speak for those guys, but I shave my chest because the hair on my chest doesn't grow in fully...it's patchy. I don't like it, so if I can't look like Magnum PI, then I'd rather have a freshly shaven chest.

Vanity.

My dad does that too. Takes all his body hair down short with a trimmer, for heat reasons.

John

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Top notch coaching: Francois and Accelerate3 | Follow on Twitter: LifetimeAthlete |

I guess a better question is how weird does the guy look with the hairy boxer shorts if he shaves his chest and legs but not the nether regions or the a$$? (never shave the a$$ - do a search here and you will find out why)

I shave the legs in the summer and keep the chest trimmed down a little ala Ferris - he's my hero ;-)

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This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time. - Fight Club
Industry Brat.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

The only time I have ever shaved my chest is for Masters State meet last year. I'll be doing it again in about 3 weeks.

Does it make me swim faster, I don't know for sure but I set 6 PR's at that time.

I allways keep my legs and pits shaved. It's just simple maintenance now.

jaretj

Is that you in the center, Tom?

Funny picture :)



Btw, I tried waxing my back a month ago, and would not recommend that very much at all! I broke out within 48 hours and the little hair I have was back in two weeks! I wouldn't think that waxing would feel too good on the legs, especially when shaving is painless.

Im lucky I dont have to think abou this but it isnt going to help you swim faster.

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C Brown

What can Brown do for you?

You've never whacked a chunk out of your ankle or the back of your knee, have you? Add to that the nice little zing when you jump in a chlorinated pool with fresh shaving cuts...

John

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Top notch coaching: Francois and Accelerate3 | Follow on Twitter: LifetimeAthlete |

No John, I have not done that. I have crashed my road and mtn. bikes more times than I care to recount since last year, making the leg shaving important!

First, let me apologize for resurrecting a thread from 2008, but it seemed to be the most appropriate thread I found using the Search function.

Last year, I tried using a trimmer to lessen the amount of hair on my chest to get more comfortable in the heat. Well, worked pretty well for getting more comfortable in the heat except for one annoying problem. The way the electric trimmer cuts the hairs leaves them with blunt, chopped off ends that stick through most of the shirts that I have, especially any sort of breathable athletic wear.

I know I could just shave it all off, but my wife isn't too crazy about that and I don't want to have to keep shaving every week anyway to stay smooth. So, I am trying to find a method for shortening the hairs that doesn't leave you with a bunch of blunt, prickly ends. Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks

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If you are a Canuck that engages in gratuitous bashing of the US, you are probably on my Iggy List. So, save your self a bunch of typing a response unless you also feel the need to gratuitously bash me. If so, have fun.
"Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f___ things up" - Barack Obama, 2020

your only choice that I can think of is to use a clipper guard that leaves them long enough so that they "lay down" as opposed to standing up. But that probally defeats the purpose of shaving them in the first place.

Well, I did that and left them about an inch long when I trimmed them last summer. Still didn't lay down.

Thanks for the quick response.

Greg

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If you are a Canuck that engages in gratuitous bashing of the US, you are probably on my Iggy List. So, save your self a bunch of typing a response unless you also feel the need to gratuitously bash me. If so, have fun.
"Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f___ things up" - Barack Obama, 2020

Don't know where you got that one but you may have to re-think your opinion on this. There are a few important reasons to shave legs outside the mirror - for one massaging hairless legs is always much easier especially when you use lotions and creams. More importantly, however, wounds are easier to treat and heal much faster without hair. The presence of hair increases the possibility of infection in an open wound. Ever wonder why surgeons shave the wounded area before surgery?

Now the chest is another matter altogether....

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.....~_.o^,....(...)./.(...)......._/\...

You are just lucky enough not to have had a bad crash. Try sitting in the ER having debris picked out of your arms and legs and getting bandaged up.

I'm 26 years old and still don't have any hair to speak of on my legs, face or much of anywhere else, but I will keep this thread in mind if I hit puberty in the near future.

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Hunter Robinson
http://www.twitter.com/el_slice
http://www.elslicerideco.com
Sponsored by: http://www.92fifty.com

When I shave my winter coat, I see a 30-45 sec (per 500y) improvement in my swim times.

just an FYI...it is NOT recommended to shave an area immediately before surgery, as that INCREASES the chance of infection...but, clippers are fine and if it is already shaved (ie days before, not minutes before) it is fine.

so, for those who shave, keep it smooth to heal better with less infections. for those who don't shave, fine, but be sure not to shave right after an injury!

From a woman's perspective, I prefer hair over no hair. I realize that for vanity sake you're legs, chest, etc look better shaved. However, men look better w/ hair. . . you are men as we all know. My husband tried the shaving legs thing for one season. I hated it. Requested that he never do that again. He has pleasantly complied. :). Happy wife.

I've shaved my legs for several years now for all the standard reasons

Last year I had to wear a medical HRM for a week. The first time, I didn't shave my chest and holy freakin' moly did it hurt taking off the sticky patches every day! So, for the second time I shaved my chest. My daughter (age 22 at the time) said I looked retarded with bare chest and legs but still belly hair, so it had to go to.

Well, not really shaving. I use diplilatory cream and wash it off in the shower. EVery 10 days in summer and 3 weeks in winter. Too easy.

TriSpouse likes the shaved look and feel (except for the few days of prickly chest) so I keep doing it.

To follow on from a previous post, the big question really is the in between bit or "package" area. How much to leave, if any? I remember an episode of "Queer Eye..." and one of the guys mentioned shaving the shaft only, to make it look bigger! I laughed at the time (hell, I'm married 30 years so the Mrs know exactly how big/small I am so won't fall for any optical illusion or trickery) but have experimented in several areas on a few ocassions, but not divulging any secrets here.

Any candidates for my next wife can apply in writing for clarification and their preferences will be considered. hehehe

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

They are called "bear-skin leg warmers" around here LOL

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

So, are you admitting you are one of the "sickies" Elaine identified? ;-)

Jerry, [seeing Elaine enter Monk's]: "Oh, great. Elaine. What is wrong with
my body?"
Elaine: "Chicken wing shoulder blades."
Jerry: "That's it?"
Elaine: "No, but that's one problem. Why?"
Jerry: "Well, I was walking around naked in front of Melissa the other day--"
Elaine: "Whoa! Walking around naked? Ahh... that is not a good look for a
man."
George: "Why not? It's a good look for a woman."
Elaine: "Well, the female body is a... work of art. The male body is
utilitarian, it's for gettin' around, like a jeep."
Jerry: "So you don't think it's attractive?"
Elaine: "It's hideous. The hair, the... the lumpiness. It's simian."
George: "Well, some women like it."
Elaine: "Hmm. Sickies."

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

It is about hydrodynamics. Hairless body has less drag in the water. Look at boats and ships. They all have smooth underwater hull. When algaes grow too much on the underwater part, the ship has to go to a drydock to be cleaned. More drag means more power and more fuell needs to be used to propell the ship. Same with human bodies.

I use the trimmer too. Two or three times a year. I am scared to do it more as I think it might promote more growth. I am hairy enough.

Men shave their chests when they dont want to look like Bears.

Being 150lbs and hairy as hell is gross imo. Its all vanity.

-Well maybe the HR monitor will work better, but whatever.

Corollary: you get dehydrated faster.

Im sorry but you have to be taking the piss? How much difference does a hairless chest make over a smooth one in sea water surrounded by a bunch of other swimmers? Same as those who said its more aero. How often have you ridden a bike (when having to consider aero) without a shirt?

I call bullshit. Its vanity, plain and simple

I think that if you are an olympic level swimmer, or track cyclists, and the difference between winning and not is measured in units smaller than seconds, then maybe performance justifies shaving (legs,arms whatever)

Where are the drag numbers????

I do shave, all sorts, and can say without any hesitation, as I am honest to myself and others, that vanity is the only reason.

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bikemessengersrepresent

Sheesh. And all I wanted was a solution to the 'hairs sticking out of my shirt' problem...

There is some funny sh!t here, though.

Thanks for all of the entertainment in the meantime. Looks like the best solution so far is to just shave clean and just keep it that way. Don't think the wife is going to be too crazy about the look, but maybe she will get used to it and learn to like it.

Thanks,
Greg

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If you are a Canuck that engages in gratuitous bashing of the US, you are probably on my Iggy List. So, save your self a bunch of typing a response unless you also feel the need to gratuitously bash me. If so, have fun.
"Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f___ things up" - Barack Obama, 2020

Yeah, guess I am. I prefer my man to look like a man rather than a vain ***. Shaving is pure vanity. I get it, you train hard and want to show the goods. I prefer to chase his tail on the bike and run (the chase is the fun part!) w/ hair please. Sexy is sexy, the hair removal doesn't make that much of a difference. If you have an injury that requires surgical tape (I've been there) you get the tape WET before removing the tape. If you have a cast or IV port, yes been there too, you work around those issues. Shaving is not required. Just wanted to add my 2 cents. Good luck. Clippers works the best, then a razor.

I think public display of a shaved chest is against the law in my State. I saw it on one of those lists of silly laws.

As regards to your problem with chest hair sticking up:

If you don't want to shave it down, stink like a skunk (chemicals) or want to buy quality shirts:

There always is the option of duct tape.

The scene in 40 year old virgin comes to mind...

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http://www.fuelforendurance.com

"Piss"?? "Bullshit"??? Geez mano, what a foul language.... :( Hairless legs don't make any difference to a cycleist. It doesn't make any difference to a swimmer in a pack. But to a swimmer alone in a lane it does, there is no "maybe". You want a drag numbers? Haven't got a clue, chief. I work with ships, not human bodies. So maybe you can be the first human we throw into the test pool and test :D. Eithe way, the hydrodynamic priciple is the same: smooth is fast, hairy is slower.
Look at the competitive swimmers...all smooth bodies, not one with hairy chest or legs. They may save half a second over 100m but it adds up.
All this may be irelevant to cycleist and triathletes but it is not irelevant to everybody.
Yeah, vanity is a major reason for most people, I agree with that.

Really? thats barely swearing.

:-)

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bikemessengersrepresent

I shave my chest because the hair grows in patches ever since I was severely sunburnt on the top of the chest, shoulders and top of back. It also itches it I let it grow long. I do not like shaving it but dislike it even more when it gets hairy.

If you decide to do it use nare hair removel. It is the best.

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Official Polar Ambassador
http://www.google.com/...P7RiWyEVwpunlsc2JtQQ

"Down there" - For Caffage reasons and otherwise it looks like a jungle down there...no good.

So trimming the bushes to make the tree look taller?

Rookie question in this area: what is the best method to shave legs? I've tried waxing before my first HIM and it hurt more than doing the whole HIM...

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Miguel Andrade
http://mitano.blogspot.com

everyone has their own methods that work best for them. for me, I buzz it down with clippers (coming out of winter or haven't shaved in a couple weeks) and then use a straight razor.

arms and "package": same
chest and armpits: buzz only

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"It's too bad stupidity isn't painful."
-Anton LaVey

It depends on how your hair grows. I just use a regular razor, but I have to shave with the grain because I'm almost guaranteed to get ingrowns otherwise.

So here's another girl's perspective on the matter: My guy says his chest hair is too hot and itchy in the summer. So when he Nairs his chest (Nair = no razor burn or ingrown hairs) it takes me a bit to get used to it and i miss the big bushy hairy man chest that I like. But after a couple days I like the smooth chest too as you can see more definition. The 'package' however I don't like shaved one bit! Nicely trimmed is just fine but all smooth, no way.
So Nair the chest/back if you want and if it feels better.
Leave the package alone.
And muscular legs must be shaved. Very sexy. He gets made fun of shaved legs a bit by buddies, but thats just a thing guys do and in my opinion all guys should shave their legs.
I have waxed my legs and it just takes too long, is too expensive/painful, and I get ingrown hairs when it grows back. Shaving legs is easy and takes a bit but you will get super quick at it. A good foamy soap is a must as well as hot water in the shower. Shave at the end of the shower so the hair has softened and will shave smoother. After, use lotion to make your skin soft and shiny and give your legs a nice look - the pro male cyclists do it so its okay :) Don't shave every day but more like every 3-4 and time it so you can get a nice shave right before a race.