Is there anything besides swim skin and technically wetsuit I can wear in sunny weather in an outdoor pool? (obvious reasons not to wear either of these in the pool every time I swim…) Maybe some kind of surfer shirt that doesn’t restrict movement too much and is generally not going to make swimming miserable?
Waterproof sunscreen lotion comes to mind. If that dont work for you, train indoors, move to a colder climate. A t-shirt, certainly won’t do anything good for your swim times
Rash guards are pretty close-fitting, and they’re long sleeved. Short of that, really good sunscreen- zinc oxide is your friend.
Last summer I had a squamous cell carcinoma removed from my back so I wanted to step up my protection from the sun.
I just started swimming with a shirt for outdoor midday swims. Rarely swim in the morning and won’t wear a shirt if it’s after 5pm.
I’ve been using an Underarmor skin tight shirt that works pretty well (very little drag). BUT I have noticed that I get chaffing around my arm pits if the swim is longer than ~2,000 yds. So for my longer swims I put on waterproof sunscreen AND the shirt. For a 4,000yd swim, I will swim shirtless for the 1st 2,000 and then put on the shirt for the 2nd 2,000 figuring shirtless first while the sunscreen is providing better protection.
I am interested in seeing what recommendations others have.
Waterproof sunscreen lotion comes to mind. If that dont work for you, train indoors, move to a colder climate. A t-shirt, certainly won’t do anything good for your swim times
I tested a loose-fitting short-sleeve polyester T-shirt as a sun guard for outdoor pool swimming. For me, it was about a 6-7sec/100 penalty - which was a lot less than I expected! Also interestingly, the penalty was very consistent, which is helpful because you can just subtract the penalty, it’s not like sometimes it was 2sec/100 and sometimes it was 10sec/100. In addition, I noticed zero impact on my stroke mechanics, in fact you just don’t notice the shirt after the first 200.
Of course, wearing a tight fitting rashguard/swimshirt will yield times much closer to no-shirt, but the tradeoff is the cost of having several of them as well as the mild annoyance of putting them on and taking them off (which is admittedly not that hard.)
Surf companies like Oneill make a range of surf/swim shirts from tight to loose, so you can find one that will work for you. Or you can just swim in the T-shirt, it’s actually nowhere near as bad as it sounds for training, I would do it in a heartbeat if I didn’t have a swimshirt available.
Waterproof sunscreen lotion comes to mind. If that dont work for you, train indoors, move to a colder climate. A t-shirt, certainly won’t do anything good for your swim times
I tested a loose-fitting short-sleeve polyester T-shirt as a sun guard for outdoor pool swimming. For me, it was about a 6-7sec/100 penalty - which was a lot less than I expected! Also interestingly, the penalty was very consistent, which is helpful because you can just subtract the penalty, it’s not like sometimes it was 2sec/100 and sometimes it was 10sec/100. In addition, I noticed zero impact on my stroke mechanics, in fact you just don’t notice the shirt after the first 200.
Of course, wearing a tight fitting rashguard/swimshirt will yield times much closer to no-shirt, but the tradeoff is the cost of having several of them as well as the mild annoyance of putting them on and taking them off (which is admittedly not that hard.)
Surf companies like Oneill make a range of surf/swim shirts from tight to loose, so you can find one that will work for you. Or you can just swim in the T-shirt, it’s actually nowhere near as bad as it sounds for training, I would do it in a heartbeat if I didn’t have a swimshirt available.
I’ve tried swimming in t-shirts of various fabrics. Cotton being the worst (wool would probably be even worse), running shirt, cycling Jersey was beat, probably due to the tight fit. However, aside from cycling Jersey, my swimming felt wrong.
Best Bet is to go with a very tight fitting t-shirt, if you have to. Otherwise the swimming form/technique gets all weird
Weird- I paid close attention to form impact and there was none for me. May be person specific. Like I said I don’t even notice the shirt after 200. Swam many times outdoors with it.
Weird- I paid close attention to form impact and there was none for me. May be person specific. Like I said I don’t even notice the shirt after 200. Swam many times outdoors with it.
Different experiences I guess. Only did it for holidays in a hot place in spain, But felt weird. In the long run, I’d be worried about the technique, But not on a few swims.
Still, worth to keep in mind if race outfit is different. Ideally, I’d train in my wetsuit all year long
Last summer I had a squamous cell carcinoma removed from my back so I wanted to step up my protection from the sun.
I just started swimming with a shirt for outdoor midday swims. Rarely swim in the morning and won’t wear a shirt if it’s after 5pm.
I’ve been using an Underarmor skin tight shirt that works pretty well (very little drag). BUT I have noticed that I get chaffing around my arm pits if the swim is longer than ~2,000 yds. So for my longer swims I put on waterproof sunscreen AND the shirt. For a 4,000yd swim, I will swim shirtless for the 1st 2,000 and then put on the shirt for the 2nd 2,000 figuring shirtless first while the sunscreen is providing better protection.
I am interested in seeing what recommendations others have.
+1 on one of the Under Armour HeatGear longsleeves. They claim UPF50, though I’d go with a darker color since it’s going to be soaked through. Size down to reduce wrinkles. The chlorine will eventually kill the lycra (just like with a swimsuit), but they are relatively cheap to replace.
I try to swim early in the morning but when I need to go to a noon swim, I wear a rash guard and have had good luck with Dakine.
My strategy has been to go as small as I can fit into to minimize drag. Most of my work shirts are medium sized I get a small rash guard. Eventually they stretch out and that means it’s time for a new one.
I like short sleeve ones.
The first one I got had a tight neck and I felt like my breathing was restricted. That’s something to consider as you evaluate them.
Surprisingly, sun still gets through. The best bet would be sun screen and a rash guard.
I saw someone at the pool who had a back applicator. It looks like a shower brush but instead of bristles, it had a smooth surface you put sunscreen on.
I also wear a swim cap to project as much of my ears and forehead as possible.
After having a skin cancer removed from my back a few years ago I started doing my swim training in an inexpensive tri suit. It’s sleeveless so still need sunscreen on arms & legs but provides alot more coverage than a speedo.
I use Patagonia & DaKine long sleeve and hooded rash guards for surfing. You can swim in them without issue.
I use this for long days at the beach. I’ve also used it for outdoor training sessions. It’s skin-tight and not very water absorbent. Dries quickly, too.
It’s not like swimming with nothing, but it’s not more restrictive than a wetsuit.
https://www.isnorkel.com/oneill-mens-basic-skins-long-sleeve-rashguard/
I saw someone at the pool who had a back applicator. It looks like a shower brush but instead of bristles, it had a smooth surface you put sunscreen on.
Possibly one of the greatest single panels in cartoon history
I’ve had pre-cancer and “mildly atypical” cells removed from my back and shoulders, so I always try to minimize my exposure at an outdoor pool.
I look for cheap tri-tops on eBay. Usually find them for $10 to $25.
Since I’m just using them for pool swimming, I don’t care about colors, etc. They usually last a couple of years before they’re faded and stretched.
I still have to apply water resistant sunscreen, but the tops definitely help.
At my local pool there are several daily swimmers that wear full sleave tops, they are very tight but seem to do the trick.
From my time in Maui, most of the daily swimmers wear full armed rashies and full length swim suit (jammers).
The rest gets covered by 50 SPF suncreen applied 30min before swimming.
For all my short swims under 45min I risked it without sunscreen, but for everything else I covered/lathered up.
When I lived in Australia I swam at sun up to avoid the worst of it.
Swim at night?
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Based on some recommendations here got this short sleeved rash guard . Feels a little odd, but so far it’s been fine to swim in. Don’t notice much of a penalty either, maybe 1s per 100 but hard to tell with that little difference. I’m sure there will be a penalty once the shirt gets looser.
Anyone out there using a sleeved swimskin for sun protection? Would be on the expensive side and I’m not sure how long it would hold up with near daily use, but I think it might be a good option