So I’m a new swimmer - still learning a lot. I picked up a wetsuit and have been using it for my open water swims. I really like the confidence it gives me in open water - I can push a bit more without worrying so much about getting tired and drowning.
However, I can’t help but wonder if I’m cheating myself in training by using the wetsuit. It’s almost like ‘training wheels’. Is using the wetsuit going to screw up what little form I have? Or is the simple fact that the wetsuit encourages me to swim more often, harder and in open water enough to offset any ‘cheat’ I get from the suit?
If your race(s) are going to be in a wetsuit, then I would say it’s good rather than bad…If there’s a chance one or more races are going to be without wetsuit (warm water) then I would recommend training as well without it - either in the pool or open water.
If you’re a new swimmer and (like me) slow, you may want to work on your technique by doing drills in the pool, without a wetsuit of course - I think it would be more difficult to do drills with a wetsuit in open water…
In open water it’s much safer to be in a wetsuit. Work on body position in the pool. Better safe then dead
you can extract huge gains from the use of wetsuits, but only if you know how to use the ride to your advantage; the only way to gain this sense is to train with one.
That said, if you end up having to race without one, you will feel like a donkey.
Make sure that you know the likely water temps leading up to a race, and prepare accordingly.