When you have it on, can you raise your arms straight up over your head (like a swimmer pushing off a wall streamlined) without feeling restriction? If not, spend more time pulling it up on your shoulders (and torso, and legs etc.). It takes me a good 10+ minutes to get mine on slowly pulling it up. My test to know when it's ready is when I can get my arms up completely unrestricted.

A couple of points...

- Wetsuits don't really ever feel fast IMHO. They are only fast if you look at the clock swimming and realize you are significantly faster. They don't feel fast as they don't feel natural

- Go sleeveless. As long as the water is warm enough to keep your body temp up, I'll go down to sleeveless in as low as 64-65 but I generate a ton of body heat in the first 400 of a race trying to swim as fast as I can. I love the feel of a sleeveless, and they can often be faster for me if I generate too much body heat in a sleeved suit. The penalty for a sleeveless is very small but I have not never properly tested, just test N1 in a weekly open water worlds session we do every week. I have never felt slow in a sleeveless compared to my peers.

- Wetsuits have a changed a bit in the shoulders since 8 years ago. I highly recommend you check out BS Helix for maximum range of motion without that feeling of restriction. They have a excellent return policy. You can always save 25% here too which is as good of a sale as they do.

- Wetsuit do sort of shrink with age. It helps to get the wetsuit wet by letting it soak a few days before you plan to use it. This will help loosen it back up.

---

---

Save: $50 on Speed Hound Recovery Boots | $20 on Air Relax| $100 on Normatec| 15% on Most Absorbable Magnesium

Blogs: Best CHEAP Zwift / Bike Trainer Desk | Theragun G3 vs $140 Bivi Percussive Massager | Normatec Pulse 2.0 vs Normatec Pulse | Speed Hound vs Normatec | Air Relax vs Normatec | Q1 2018 Blood Test Results | | Why HED JET+ Is The BEST value wheelset

My problem is not shoulder area. It's chest. It's so tight. I can't even breathe well. I feel like I'm going to suffocate. I do feel I float better and swim faster when I get me going though.

Great tip and also Thomas that is also a good point. Soak the wetsuit days prior. I do feel that mine has gotten smaller. Also Thomas your link does not work but I saw it's blue seventy? They are offering rentals at Challenge Daytona with option to buy so I might rent if I am having issues in the weeks leading up to that race. I will be testing my wetsuit out several times a week for the next 2 weeks and then decide whether to rent or buy a new one.

---

Strava:https://www.strava.com/athletes/20890878

After a bunch of annoying 'can't breath well' and 'arm restriction' races with my fullsuit, I took it to the pool a few times before the race.

Yeah, I became 'that guy' who's a tool using a wetsuit in a perfectly warm pool, but I was the most comfortable I've been on race day, ever. (I also practiced sighting a lot which helped a lot, but no arm/torso restriction at all on race day.)

It's also mentally a good move to see the real speed bump you get with the fullsuit in the pool. I used to believe I swam exactly the same speed with/without wetsuit, but I think I wasn't testing well and may have altered my efforts in the past with the suit. This last time around, I got a full 7sec/100 reliably with the fullsuit, at all paces. I was crushing it! LOLLLL

Same here. I go to the pool 5AM in the morning and swim with a wetsuit on. I have no problem with arms, but I just can't breathe well. It really irritates me and I think I've developed wetsuit phobia. I have to stop several times to catch my breathes in the beginning. Once I get into the rhythm, I'm ok.

after you get in water and before you swim, do you let enough water to get in the suit, completely.