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speedos

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General fitness, health and nutrition
Published
3 October 2007
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20 October 2007
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bob calkins
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  1. I have to wear speedos the coach says so. I do not want to. Any
    sugestions

  2. bob calkins said:

    I have to wear speedos the coach says so. I do not want to. Any
    sugestions

    Swim across one of the Great Lakes. Not Lake Superior, though. You might
    cut your knee on the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

  3. bob calkins said:

    I have to wear speedos the coach says so. I do not want to. Any
    sugestions


    Regard it as a working uniform and forget about it and focus on your work.

  4. "bob calkins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    I have to wear speedos the coach says so. I do not want to. Any
    sugestions

    They had a saying on my basic training for the military -- "Suck it up,
    buttercup."

    If you were on a football team, and you didnt want to wear a helmet, they
    would say bye.

    Micheal

  5. bob calkins said:

    I have to wear speedos the coach says so. I do not want to. Any
    sugestions

    You might try sleeping in them to get used to how it feels to wear them.

    But, while you may be a little self-conscious the first time you wear
    them to practice, there's a good chance that by the end of the practice,
    you won't even be thinking about it anymore.

    Bob

  6. "bob calkins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    I have to wear speedos the coach says so. I do not want to. Any
    sugestions


    Join a naturist swimming club.

  7. "bob calkins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    I have to wear speedos the coach says so. I do not want to. Any
    sugestions


    The first and most fundamental question the swimming philosopher asks is why
    bother with a costume at all? It can't be any sense of modesty (whatever
    that means) as today's costumes are so small and body hugging, that they don't
    actually conceal anything except perhaps the colour of a tiny portion of
    your skin. This was not so when I was a lad, before the days of lycra etc. I
    was nurtured on woollen swimming trunks. Don't laugh, we all were then. I
    recall my mother knitting my earliest costumes. Apparently derived from the
    under-wardrobe of Scott of the Antarctic, they were a sort of chain mail
    creation held up by a doughty girdle spliced out of industrial strength
    knicker elastic. Because this aquatic corset was so heavy (especially when
    wet) the elastic had to be so strong Bernard Manning could have bungee
    jumped quite safely with it. Consequently, the red marks around my middle
    used to have only just begun to fade after one week's school swimming lesson
    before the next came along. The trunks would instantly water-log and create
    more drag than Lilly Savage on a hen night. This made swimming impossible
    and, upon hauling the immense gushing weight from the pool, it would hang
    down below my knees like an overdue nappy. At such times I wished our family
    could have been more close knit. The girls had similar contraptions but with
    shoulder straps to take the weight. Unfortunately the sodden wool was very
    stretchy, so it was not unusual to see glum looking girls with their wet
    costumes below navel level, suspended on what looked like braces made of
    well chewed bubble gum.
    When I was a little older I was allowed to have shop bought trunks. Being a
    finer yarn these were a slight improvement when dry, but they were still
    made of wool and retained gallons of water, which dripped for hours after
    you had left the water. It was a toss up whether you got nappy rash or
    trench foot when you had a day at the beach. It was on one such excursion
    that I discovered the purpose of the frilly little skirt that all girls
    seemed to have around the bums of their costumes in those days. Clearly it
    was to dry your feet on, so I did. Though I saved myself from trench foot, I
    got a sore behind from the girl's mother for my trouble. The manufacturers
    did not however have my mother's over-engineered view of knicker elastic
    and, though they were more comfortable on dry land, it was quite common to
    see swimmer and costume part company after a dive-in.
    Cotton seemed quite common in those times to construct girls' cozzies.
    Lovely and light when dry, and transparent when wet. Later that stretchy
    stuff came along and at last costumes started to be made which retained some
    semblance of shape, albeit the cozzy's shape rather than that of the
    swimmer. For most of my teen years however, I assumed that any material
    which wasn't black didn't float, as you could not buy a costume in any other
    colour, unless you were a body-builder, in which case they were gold lamé.
    The modern materials we have now changed all that. Now there are colours and
    styles for all. All women that is. Not all men. Look in any catalogue and
    you will notice that there are no men over a 38" waist. Well there can't be,
    can there? Otherwise there would be costumes for them, and there aren't. The
    downsizing of modern styles coincided with the upsizing of my body, and some
    while ago I started having trouble finding swimming trunks which did not cut
    off the circulation in the matrimonial department. The tiny, hip hugging
    slips which look OK on the top dogs of our sport sadly make me look like
    Billy Bunter in a posing pouch. Utility outweighs vanity in my thinking, and
    I refuse to retreat in to wearing the kind of baggy shorts which adorn the
    nether regions of so many pool users now. Women had the good sense to stop
    trying to swim in divided skirts some hundred years ago, but men seem to
    have re-discovered them in recent times. The voluminous folds of these silly
    garments surround the wearer in the water like the trailing tentacles of a
    Portuguese Man-O-War. Swimming in 'It-Ain't-Half-Hot-Mum' shorts is about as
    easy as getting a Committee meeting over with quickly. Ten steps out of the
    pool or sea and you're back to the days of nappy rash. What's more they trap
    air bubbles in their folds, making it look like you are suffering from
    underwater wind even when you're innocent.
    The latest craze for top competitors with more money than sense is the whole
    body suit. This makes you look as if you have been caught trying on Grandad's
    winter combinations. I gather they are so far only used in high class
    competitions but, as badges of The Great, I predict that pester power among
    the young will bring them down to club level galas soon. Imagine though, the
    ignominy of loosing, having spent six months of Dad's beer money on one of
    these body-condoms! Anyway, if such equipment gimmicks are allowed, why stop
    there? Why not allow fins and paddles? No doubt an outboard motor strapped
    to the backside would make you go faster too. However, even if they do work
    (which I doubt) I don't think whole body suits will actually re-introduce
    the Victorian madness of swimming fully dressed, as they could only be of
    any use to swimmers who are good enough to not really need them anyway.
    Finally, a word on the proper care of swimming costumes. As any mother will
    know, the care of girls' costumes is fundamentally different from boys'.
    Girls' costumes must be washed after every outing, dried, scented, ironed if
    possible, aired and hung on a hanger among at least a dozen other costumes.
    Boys trunks should be screwed up in to a tiny wet ball and hidden
    indefinitely under a pair of muddy football boots in a bag, together with a
    towel which can be either similarly treated, or more usually lost. The
    advantage of the boys' costume care programme is that it makes the sports
    bag impossible to loose, as it is always instantly located by the pungent
    smell of mildew it exudes.
    However, I see more enlightened times ahead. As more people take continental
    holidays they will discover, as I have, that on most French, Dutch, Danish
    and German beaches, once you get a couple of hundred metres away from the
    end of the prom., most people swim in the most comfortable costumes of all -
    their birthday suits. Once you have overcome the head rush of your first
    skinny dip, you will quickly come to realise that nakedness and sex are not
    the same thing, and you have actually been expensively conned all your life.
    The truth is, you don't actually need a costume to swim at all.

  8. I officiate a lot meets and I've noticed there seems to be more boys
    going back to the brief-style suits from the jammers. So hang in
    there--they may be on their way to being ......... (insert current
    slang meaning socially acceptable to your peers).

    --
    Dave Clary/Corpus Christi, TX
    http://davidclary.com

  9. Quoted message said:

    I officiate a lot meets and I've noticed there seems to be more boys
    going back to the brief-style suits from the jammers. So hang in
    there--they may be on their way to being ......... (insert current
    slang meaning socially acceptable to your peers).

    They are cheaper, faster to dry, and cheaper.

  10. "mwsmith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    I officiate a lot meets and I've noticed there seems to be more boys
    going back to the brief-style suits from the jammers. So hang in
    there--they may be on their way to being ......... (insert current
    slang meaning socially acceptable to your peers).

    They are cheaper, faster to dry, and cheaper.

    And for those to whom it matters, they don't look so silly.

  11. Duncan Heenan said:


    "mwsmith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    I officiate a lot meets and I've noticed there seems to be more boys
    going back to the brief-style suits from the jammers. So hang in
    there--they may be on their way to being ......... (insert current
    slang meaning socially acceptable to your peers).

    They are cheaper, faster to dry, and cheaper.

    And for those to whom it matters, they don't look so silly.

    If you get one that is too small or too big, there is a silliness
    factor. And in the old days, if you wore them too long, the pool
    chemicals would leach out the color and they became see-through.

    I think these are the guidelines for whether a male will look silly in a
    speedo:

    1. If your legs are so skinny that the leg holes are actually bigger
    around than your legs, please don't wear a speedo.

    2. If you are so fat that when you put the speedo on, it disappears
    completely, please don't wear a speedo.

    3. If you are one of those guys who is worried that your suit will come
    off while swimming so that you pull it up way too high and then cinch it
    tightly, please don't wear a speedo.

  12. "mwsmith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Duncan Heenan said:


    "mwsmith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    [email hidden] wrote:
    > I officiate a lot meets and I've noticed there seems to be more boys
    > going back to the brief-style suits from the jammers. So hang in
    > there--they may be on their way to being ......... (insert current
    > slang meaning socially acceptable to your peers).
    >

    They are cheaper, faster to dry, and cheaper.

    And for those to whom it matters, they don't look so silly.

    If you get one that is too small or too big, there is a silliness factor.
    And in the old days, if you wore them too long, the pool chemicals would
    leach out the color and they became see-through.

    I think these are the guidelines for whether a male will look silly in a
    speedo:

    1. If your legs are so skinny that the leg holes are actually bigger
    around than your legs, please don't wear a speedo.

    2. If you are so fat that when you put the speedo on, it disappears
    completely, please don't wear a speedo.

    All of which applies to jammers too.
    The answer is to buy a costume which fits and is not too old.

    Quoted message said:


    3. If you are one of those guys who is worried that your suit will come
    off while swimming so that you pull it up way too high and then cinch it
    tightly, please don't wear a speedo.

  13. Duncan Heenan said:


    "mwsmith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Duncan Heenan said:


    "mwsmith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...
    > [email hidden] wrote:
    >> I officiate a lot meets and I've noticed there seems to be more boys
    >> going back to the brief-style suits from the jammers. So hang in
    >> there--they may be on their way to being ......... (insert current
    >> slang meaning socially acceptable to your peers).
    >>
    >
    > They are cheaper, faster to dry, and cheaper.

    And for those to whom it matters, they don't look so silly.

    If you get one that is too small or too big, there is a silliness
    factor. And in the old days, if you wore them too long, the pool
    chemicals would leach out the color and they became see-through.

    I think these are the guidelines for whether a male will look silly in
    a speedo:

    1. If your legs are so skinny that the leg holes are actually bigger
    around than your legs, please don't wear a speedo.

    2. If you are so fat that when you put the speedo on, it disappears
    completely, please don't wear a speedo.

    All of which applies to jammers too.

    Well, at least if you're too skinny for jammers, your jtailor doesn't
    hang out.

    Quoted message said:

    The answer is to buy a costume which fits and is not too old.

    Quoted message said:


    3. If you are one of those guys who is worried that your suit will
    come off while swimming so that you pull it up way too high and then
    cinch it tightly, please don't wear a speedo.


  14. "mwsmith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:


    Well, at least if you're too skinny for jammers, your jtailor doesn't
    hang out.

    Speak for yourself

  15. LouF said:

    "mwsmith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Well, at least if you're too skinny for jammers, your jtailor doesn't
    hang out.

    Speak for yourself

    Ok, maybe if you're a dwarf, but that would be an artindale.

  16. "mwsmith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    LouF said:

    "mwsmith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Well, at least if you're too skinny for jammers, your jtailor doesn't
    hang out.

    Speak for yourself

    Ok, maybe if you're a dwarf, but that would be an artindale.

    I am not a dwarf, I am 5'11" or 180CM tall.

    What is a jtailor?

    Micheal

  17. (bob calkins) said:

    I have to wear speedos the coach says so. I do not want to. Any
    sugestions

    Think about it, why does you coach say so? When you work that out,
    you'll have worked out that you're also the one who wants to wear them
    too.

    Unless off course the coach is asking you to wear them, say, only over
    your head and nothing elsewhere.

  18. aquachimp said:
    (bob calkins) said:

    I have to wear speedos the coach says so. I do not want to. Any
    sugestions

    Think about it, why does you coach say so? When you work that out,
    you'll have worked out that you're also the one who wants to wear them
    too.

    Unless off course the coach is asking you to wear them, say, only over
    your head and nothing elsewhere.

    The only reason a coach would require a team member to wear a certain
    suit is because it is the team uniform. If you can't even wear the team
    uniform, then get off the team.

  19. mwsmith said:
    aquachimp said:
    (bob calkins) said:

    I have to wear speedos the coach says so. I do not want to. Any
    sugestions

    Quoted message said:

    Think about it, why does you coach say so? When you work that out,
    you'll have worked out that you're also the one who wants to wear them
    too.

    Quoted message said:

    Unless off course the coach is asking you to wear them, say, only over
    your head and nothing elsewhere.

    The only reason a coach would require a team member to wear a certain
    suit is because it is the team uniform. If you can't even wear the team
    uniform, then get off the team.

    Well, I'd say that argument might apply in the case of custom designed
    swim wear, but the OP didn't mention that clause. So, as it stands,
    one team member might have a pink speedo with a floral design, whilst
    another, a dark blue with an Action Man motif, yet both comply as
    having the 'team uniform'

    In the case as you present, the purpose of insisting on a custom
    designed 'team suit' might (other than team building, recognition
    bonding) also be to have a team devoid of financially deprived members
    who might be less able to pay for a custom designed suit, which, might
    also be only available at specially selected stores doing a deal with
    said coach/school and more likely entirely made up of wealthy team
    members for the obvious advantages that might bring to the coach/
    school.

    Other than that, I'd suggest that a coach might want speedos so that
    the swimmers aren't jumping into the water whilst wearing half a tent
    that still has large quantities of soap products from the pre-swim
    shower.

  20. aquachimp said:
    mwsmith said:
    aquachimp said:

    On Oct 3, 10:08 pm, [email hidden] (bob calkins) wrote:
    > I have to wear speedos the coach says so. I do not want to. Any
    > sugestions
    Think about it, why does you coach say so? When you work that out,
    you'll have worked out that you're also the one who wants to wear them
    too.
    Unless off course the coach is asking you to wear them, say, only over
    your head and nothing elsewhere.


    The only reason a coach would require a team member to wear a certain
    suit is because it is the team uniform. If you can't even wear the team
    uniform, then get off the team.

    Well, I'd say that argument might apply in the case of custom designed
    swim wear, but the OP didn't mention that clause. So, as it stands,
    one team member might have a pink speedo with a floral design, whilst
    another, a dark blue with an Action Man motif, yet both comply as
    having the 'team uniform'

    In the case as you present, the purpose of insisting on a custom
    designed 'team suit' might (other than team building, recognition
    bonding) also be to have a team devoid of financially deprived members
    who might be less able to pay for a custom designed suit, which, might
    also be only available at specially selected stores doing a deal with
    said coach/school and more likely entirely made up of wealthy team
    members for the obvious advantages that might bring to the coach/
    school.

    Other than that, I'd suggest that a coach might want speedos so that
    the swimmers aren't jumping into the water whilst wearing half a tent
    that still has large quantities of soap products from the pre-swim
    shower.

    Competitive swimmers generally don't take soap showers before swimming.
    If the requirement is not the team uniform one, then there is no valid
    requirement. In my own experience, I've never had a coach that required
    a speedo for any reason other than to present a team image.

    By the way, if you're going to take a soap shower, you are supposed to
    take the suit off.

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