I have searched for this and read about 200 posts on the topic, but need additional information. Doing my first Ironman this summer (LP). I am a BOP swimmer that hopes to be out of the water around 1:30 in LP. I have a Blue Seventy Reaction LJ suit. I am looking at the Helix full suit. I have tried one on in an endless pool and loved the buoyancy in the legs, but shoulders felt fatigued around 20 minutes. Not unbearable, but noticeable. Is this fatigue normal and would I just need to get used to it? Also, I am 6’ 0" and weigh 155. I have that sinking problem and have been told by swim coaches that my form is pretty solid, it is just the make-up of my body that makes me sink (very little fat). In one of the posts, someone was talking about the Helix having 5 mm on the front of the legs and 3 mm on the back and another company having 5 mm throughout the legs. Would this extra help with getting me in the downhill swimming position? If so, what suit has 5 mm throughout the legs. Finally, the shop that carries the Helix I have a $100 gift certificate to, so if the Helix is close to the best, that could save me $100. I guess I should come right out and say it, I need buoyancy! Any help would be appreciated.
I have searched for this and read about 200 posts on the topic, but need additional information. Doing my first Ironman this summer (LP). I am a BOP swimmer that hopes to be out of the water around 1:30 in LP. I have a Blue Seventy Reaction LJ suit. I am looking at the Helix full suit. I have tried one on in an endless pool and loved the buoyancy in the legs, but shoulders felt fatigued around 20 minutes. Not unbearable, but noticeable. Is this fatigue normal and would I just need to get used to it? Also, I am 6’ 0" and weigh 155. I have that sinking problem and have been told by swim coaches that my form is pretty solid, it is just the make-up of my body that makes me sink (very little fat). In one of the posts, someone was talking about the Helix having 5 mm on the front of the legs and 3 mm on the back and another company having 5 mm throughout the legs. Would this extra help with getting me in the downhill swimming position? If so, what suit has 5 mm throughout the legs. Finally, the shop that carries the Helix I have a $100 gift certificate to, so if the Helix is close to the best, that could save me $100. I guess I should come right out and say it, I need buoyancy! Any help would be appreciated.
I own a Helix and raced in it about four times this year. I sell Blue 70 wetsuits here in the store too after buying one and trying it.
The Helix is one of two of the very finest, most flexible suits I have tried. Now, one caveat, suit performance is contingent first and foremost on how well you don the suit- you have to have it on right and most people don’t- and the thing has to fit in the first place.
With those things in place the Helix has one of the most flexible torsos in the industry in my opinion, and I have swam in a lot of suits. Another top pick is Quintana Roo’s Super Full.
Now, I wager the Helix you tried may not have been donned correctly. Also, swimming in an Endless Pool may create some different circumstances than really being able to stretch out in calm water in a the real world. The Helix is so darn flexible in the torso I have a tough time picturing anyone being constricted by it.
Now, that said, let’s say that isn;t the suit for you. You have to have a “Plan B”.
One of the things that inhernetly creates a constricting sensation in full suits is that the top of the suit is connected to the bottom- it is one piece. The top of the suit cannot operate or fit independantly from the bottom. You see where I’m going with this…
If you get a two piece suit then the top can operate and rotate independantly from the bottom. I’ve used DeSoto’s T1 two piece suit and it is one of the fastest and most “swimmable” suits I’ve ever tried. It is also the easiest to get on correctly in the first place, and one of the most tolerant of being put on a little incorrectly.
I would say your “Plan A” of the Helix is a good one. If you still can’t get the sensation you’re looking for you probably will in the DeSoto two piece suit.
sam,
any fullsuit does require some extra shoulder strength, so you will notice the difference from a sleeveless. i think the most important thing to do is train in the suit regularly to gain the extra strength and train the tiny muscles you may not use otherwise. also once you get in the water, try and reach up with each hand individually as far as you can to help give you the extra little bit of room in the shoulders. basically a side bend (half moon if your into yoga)
on the 5mm leg thing, i would be careful. too much of an elevated leg position from your norm puts you in an unnatural position and can cause low back or neck pain from having to work harder to sight. again training in the suit can help, but i have had severe cramping in a QR, becuase for me personally the 5mm all the way to the ankle was just too much.
I have always been 10% faster in a wetsuit. So, in an IM distance, he might save 5 to 10 minutes. Let alone the mental security that if one cramps or something, the wet suit is my life saver.
I own a tri shop in NYC. Over 80% of the wetsuits we sell are the “entry level” wetsuits from manufacturers like Blue Seventy, Zoot, and Orca. Only part of the reason is that there are meny people who are new to triathlon. The simple truth is that while you gain a lot by wearing a wetsuit vs not wearing a wetsuit, you don’t gain much more by wearing a “better” wetsuit.
Almost all of the one-piece wetsuits manufactured these days have multiple panels, with thicker rubber in the legs and thinner rubber in the torso and shoulders. (Zoot actually had a problem this past year that the extra rubber in the legs made it hard to get the suit on!). In the mid-range wetsuits, almost all manufacturers add some additional panels that increase the shoulder flexibility and lower the collar a little. The high end suits do more of the same, with additions like “grippers” on the forearms to help you catch more water which might gain you 30 seconds out of an hour on the swim.
If you’re expecting to complete the swim in 90 minutes, I would agree with previous posters that while you’ll definetly benefit from wearing a wetsuit, you won’t benefit much from the high end suit like the Helix. The Energie will probably do you fine.
As Tom suggested, you have to make sure you have any wetsuit on correctly. After you have it on, work the legs up a little so there’s no downward pull from the legs, then work the material up your torso so you have more space near your shoulders.
Tom’s suggestion of the T1 is also a good one – it’s the only wetsuit with different construction. We didn’t sell many of them but I liked the one I used.
Lots of good advice on this thread. I’m more or less echoing what’s been said already, but make sure that the suit is on properly. When the Blue Seventy guys are fitting people in demo suits, they make sure the sleeves are on your arms straight and then pull them down your arm to make sure they are not bunched up anywhere. Then, I usually pull mine up a little at the armpit to make sure I have some room to move in the shoulders.
My arms are really small. I have both a full and a sleeveless Helix. When I have the full sleeve suit on properly, it does not fatigue my shoulders. If the arms are twisted or bunched up, I do tire out faster. In fact, I think the Helix is more flexible in the shoulders than previous suits I have tried.
Thank you to both yourself and Tom Demerly, for helping out the OP looking for a wetsuit. Both of you have hit on all the key bases.
It’s a little like bike fitting in that some wetsuits don’t work for some people( and others do). This is particularly so when it comes to shoulder flexibility and mobility in a given suit. How it fits and how it is fitted is going to have a BIG impact on the ease at wich that person will be able to swim. A great fitting wetsuit should feel like you are swimming with no wetsuit on at all!
As to the buoyancy issue and where it is best put - like most sports body movements, the hips are key in swimming. It’s the center of your body and your center of gravity. At Nineteen we believe that hip positioning in the water is critical, that’s why we use features like our 5mm PT Buoyancy Panel in our Frequency suit to put as much 5mm neoprene as we can in this critical area. Why: Keeps the hips elevated. Keeps the body position streamline. Puts the body in the most efficient postion for freestyle swimming.
“Also, I am 6’ 0” and weigh 155. I have that sinking problem and have been told by swim coaches that my form is pretty solid, it is just the make-up of my body that makes me sink (very little fat)"
It’s a common problem with lean athletes like yourself. I am the same. The key is getting the hips elevated and as high in the water as possible. A good wetsuit should do this for you. It not only makes you more styreamline in the water, it also puts you in a better postion to maximise the efficiency of the arm action of the front crawl swim stroke.