any shaving articles......?

when this subject was brought up just recently, i promised some literature,
and here it is:

Sharp and Costill (1989) is a seminal study on this topic and provides the most 'bang for its buck'
in terms of its findings. they investigated two aspects of shaving down and its benefits, if any.
The first involved frictional drag, and the second improved kinaesthtic feedback. the swimmers swam
breaststroke in the study.

they tested a group of swimmers with identically paced submaximal swims before and after shaving in
the experimental condition, and the control group that did not shave down. when shaved, the swimmers
produced significantly lower lactate levels and increased mean stroke lengths compared to post-
condition, indicating that they exerted less effort. pre values for these variables were 8.48 mmol/l
and 2.07m/stroke vs. 6.74 mmol/l and 2.31m/stroke in the post. the control group didn't improve in
either measure.

they also had the swimmers perform a tethered step-test measuring VO2, to examine the result of
shaving on kinaesthtic effects (there would be no frictional drag effects as the swimmer isn't
moving through the water). here, no improvement was shown in either the control or experimental
group, indicating that shaving did not improve a feel for the water.

finally they examined frictional drag in a streamlined push off using a velocity meter. their rate
of deceleration between 2m/s and 1m/s was measured. the experimental group demonstrated a slower
rate of deceleration in the post condition, and the control group demonstrated no change.

it was concluded that this study lends significant support to the physiological benefits of shaving
body hair. for those wishing to read the study, the citation is as follows:

Sharp, R.L. & Costill, D.L. (1989) Influence of body hair removal on physiological response during
breaststroke swimming, Med Sci Sp Ex, 21 (5), 576-580.

you may also wish to read the following:

Sharp, R.L., Hackney, A.C., Cain, S.M. & Ness, R.J. (1988) The effect of shaving down on the
physiologic cost of freestyle swimming. J Swim Res, 4
(1), 9-13.

Hope that goes some way towards helping you, and others who seemed sceptical on the topic.

Steve

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

Quoted message said:

looking for any articles on the benefits of shaving..online/elsewhere.

any help will be greatly appreciated, thanks

--bc