Lava Pants

[sk9hockey]

Hello, new to TI and new to Triathlons. Has anyone tried the Xterra Lava Pants? I started swimming in November 2012 and started to embrace TI in April 2013 and while I am happy with my progress, I am concerned that Lava Pants will effect my progress by aiding me too much and hindering my natural balance but since I've only competed in triathlons that require wetsuits should I make them part of my happy laps?

[kentakirk]

I recently competed in an open water swim that was too warm for a full wet suit. I wore my new lava pants that I purchased from xterra wetsuits. Literally the first time I put them on and I felt like a rocket in them. I do have a problem with balance and my legs tend to sink a bit when I tire so the lava pants corrected that problem. They are really a lot like a pull bouy but you can do the 2 beat kick in them. What I need to do is correct my balance. I do not think that using them on a regular basis is a good idea because they give you a false sense of balance but they sure made a difference in my 3 mile open water swim.

[sk9hockey]

Thank you for your reply and for the valuable input. I was thinking that because my intended use for them would be for Triathlons (I'm moving up from Sprint to Olympic & Half Ironman in 2014 with the ultimate goal of an Ironman in 2015) that I should use them even though I believe in not using any aides. I'm very bottom heavy (5'9" 214lbs) how long did it take you to get used to them?

[kentakirk]

I did a 500 m practice swim in the pool prior to wearing them in my open water swim. I didn't feel that there was any learning curve.

[CoachSuzanne]

Originally Posted by sk9hockey

Thank you for your reply and for the valuable input. I was thinking that because my intended use for them would be for Triathlons (I'm moving up from Sprint to Olympic & Half Ironman in 2014 with the ultimate goal of an Ironman in 2015) that I should use them even though I believe in not using any aides. I'm very bottom heavy (5'9" 214lbs) how long did it take you to get used to them?

Training in them will not help you learn how to swim without them, learning how to balance as a "bottom heavy" triathlete is of paramount importance. When you learn how to do that, even WITH a wetsuit, your legs are freed up to be much more effective. The wetsuit changes how you swim so it's still valuable to train in your wetsuit maybe 1x a week for 2-3 weeks prior to your race, or race often enough that you know what it feels like, but I don't think you should be doing very much training in the lava pants. I discourage my athletes from purchasing them.

[sk9hockey]

Thank you Coach Suzanne...sorry to admit that I have been training in them and I will ween myself. They did help me learn the 2 beat kick so I'm not going to get down on myself....with me, I try to practice Kaizen in every aspect of my life now so there's always opportunity to improve. I am asking Santa to bring me lessons with Joe Petrush and I've been good all year! I'll update you with my progress.

[Grizz422]

Hi Sk9hockey, are you an ice hockey player or field hockey player? I ask because I would like to find out more about the transition from sport to sport. I see that this post is from last year but is there any way I can contact you via email or someway to get in touch to ask a few questions?

Thanks!

[PanamaRed]

Originally Posted by sk9hockey

Hello, new to TI and new to Triathlons. Has anyone tried the Xterra Lava Pants? I started swimming in November 2012 and started to embrace TI in April 2013 and while I am happy with my progress, I am concerned that Lava Pants will effect my progress by aiding me too much and hindering my natural balance but since I've only competed in triathlons that require wetsuits should I make them part of my happy laps?

For me, a wet suit saves me about 5 minutes in a 1500m swim. In a triathlon race if it is wetsuit legal, who wants to give up 5 minutes. I use DeSoto two piece and sometimes I just use the Speedtube pants.

To do well in a triathlon you need to train as you will race (not every day, but often). So learning how to swim with a wetsuit or lava pants is important.

I have an indoor pool, in the winter I swim with wetsuit at pool temps of 68 degrees, in summer I swim without in pool temps of 72 degrees.

If you swim enough you will learn how to balance properly either way.

Whatever you decide "Just Keep Swimming."

[sk9hockey]

Thank you for the feedback kentakirk and PanamaRed and I agree, if every race I do requires a wetsuit, why not learn in them....besides, I needed a new bathing suit anyway. Happy Laps!