Does a pull buoy give you roughly the same buoyancy benefit as a wetsuit?
The reason for the question is I am a re-beginning AOS trying to assess my ability to complete the swim of a wetsuit-legal Olympic distance race. I don’t need to break any speed records, but just want to be confident in the water (i.e., not panic) and get the thing done. A logical test would be to swim the distance with a wetsuit on, but I don’t have one, yet. So, would a test with a pull buoy tell me what I need to know?
A standard pull buoy is 15-17 newtons of buoyancy where a wetsuit is over 30 newtons depending on the make and size
HUUB makes a pull buoy that has 34 newtons but I’ve only seen pictures of it
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Does a pull buoy give you roughly the same buoyancy benefit as a wetsuit?
The reason for the question is I am a re-beginning AOS trying to assess my ability to complete the swim of a wetsuit-legal Olympic distance race. I don’t need to break any speed records, but just want to be confident in the water (i.e., not panic) and get the thing done. A logical test would be to swim the distance with a wetsuit on, but I don’t have one, yet. So, would a test with a pull buoy tell me what I need to know?
A more logical test to me would be to swim the distance in a pool without a pull buoy. If you can do that with no problem, you will have no problem.
yes. just make sure you could swim the distance without a wetsuit.
Does a pull buoy give you roughly the same buoyancy benefit as a wetsuit?
The reason for the question is I am a re-beginning AOS trying to assess my ability to complete the swim of a wetsuit-legal Olympic distance race. I don’t need to break any speed records, but just want to be confident in the water (i.e., not panic) and get the thing done. A logical test would be to swim the distance with a wetsuit on, but I don’t have one, yet. So, would a test with a pull buoy tell me what I need to know?
A more logical test to me would be to swim the distance in a pool without a pull buoy. If you can do that with no problem, you will have no problem.
It gives you the FITNESS to complete the swim. But for alot of people starting out in triathlon, they find out the hard way that swimming OW is completely different than swimming in a pool, they panick, seize up, and potentially quit. A wetsuit is not going to make that any easier because they are tight and somewhat restricting, but yeah they also keep you afloat that’s true.
To the OP: there’s no real substitute for OW swimming than to actually swim OW. It really is a skill. I’d try not to use the pullbuoy as much as it will just make you a more lazy swimmer. It should also be noted that your attitude of “just getting the thing done” does not help your plight, in fact it probably is a detriment.
their are other considerations when swimming in a wetsuit besides just buoyancy. your entire body is going to be encased in rubber, and it’ll be difficult to move, and to breathe!!
the downside of using a pull buoy to simulate the buoyancy is that it greatly restricts the use of your legs. personally i have noticed that when i swim in my wetsuit in the open water on race day i actually don’t kick as much as i do as when i’m in the pool, but i’m definitely kicking more than when i’m doing pull drills.
just keep getting the distance and more in the pool. when you eventually get a wetsuit, you should find the nearest body of open water and get used to wearing it and swimming in it. it kinda takes time.
Even though a wetsuit may help me float as much as the buoy I find the buoy much more beneficial. The buoy helps keep my legs up better. With the wetsuit I tend to drop my feet and that obviously slows me down.
To answer your question, no a pull buoy isn’t going to be the same. You’ve got a piece of foam between your thighs vs. a suit that is tight fitting and provides buoyancy throughout your body. To complicate things, suits aren’t created equal either, some float you more all over, some have more in the legs, chest panels, etc.
Summary to get used to swimming with a wetsuit, swim in a wetsuit. I don’t like wetsuits because I tend to freak out in them because of unfamiliarity and not a great fit. I’ve finally resolved that by finding a suit that fits well and spending some time swimming in it.
That said, if you can swim it without a wetsuit… the question becomes can you swim it with one? The suit as I mentioned can create its own challenges in spite of it making you float better.
As someone else said, swimming OW is the biggest hurdle here, not a wetsuit (in my opinion at least). I locked solid in my first OW race despite have the fitness to swim 3x the distance in the pool. It didn’t take much to figure it out, swimming OW 3-4x before my next race was all it took.
A test with a pull buoy will answer part of the question.
Can you swim 1500m with increased buoyancy provided by the pull buoy, which quite closely mimics the effect of a wetsuit.
That is one of three questions you might need to answer.
Can you swim in a group of people who might bump into you along the way and cause anxiety.
As a lifelong pool swimmer, that caused me some grief.
Go play a little water polo for that answer (and solution)
Will the wetsuit cause any problems.
Constriction and Adrenalin can make a dangerous combination.
Still causes me grief and I have been doing Tri for 25 years.
You need to get in a lake somewhere to find out.
(go with others…repeat, go with others)
The rest of all the questions you will have to consider as you go along are…
Not being able to see the bottom, follow a line, sight properly, sunglare issues, waves and breathing.
These are not affected by the wetsuit or fitness, quite so much, although they can affect the result.
Last but not least, if this is a challenge you relish, go for it, otherwise nearly every event has a bunch of choices for racing.
Swim-bike, Bike-run, Swim-run, Duathlon,
Spectating. :0)
At the very least go watch a race first.
ps My local bike shop rents wetsuits cheap, go rent a suit.
ps My local bike shop rents wetsuits cheap, go rent a suit.
Lots of great advice, here. This tidbit probably sums it up, best.
As we all know, it is difficult to communicate the nuances of my situation in a few short lines. I’ll take a stab.
I did a couple of Sprints 6 years ago, and, yes, that first one completely freaked me out. I had planned to swim sans wetsuit, that day; totally panicked in the warm-up; borrowed a wetsuit, and that made the difference. The bike and run were no problem. The second Sprint was without a wetsuit, and was no problem. Those two were 400M swims.
Until Feb of this year, due to a traveling job, I hit the pool since 2010. My current goal for 2016 is to work up to an Oly by the Fall, but I recently learned about this relatively local race falling at the end of April. After finding a comfortable groove in the pool (albeit a relatively slow one) I’m thinking about giving it a go this Spring.
I am sure there will be some recurrence of the panic, but, from my previous experience, believe a wetsuit will give me the necessary level of comfort. The big question is, “Can I confidently make the distance?” If so, that race will be my Spring goal. The bike and run will be no problem; the swim is the question (and the challenge)
I’ll look for a wetsuit rental and go from there.
Thanks all.