Jogging Suits for Watersports

Not just for sofa surfers, jogging suits are getting serious with designer joggers and contemporary fabrics. Don't trade in your jersey sweats just yet, they are your new swimwear.

Suit up for a great workout. Stylish, comfortable men’s jogging suits are must-haves in any complete active wear collection.

Whether you’re hitting the pool or chilling with your mates, you’ll be sure to look perfect in cool jogging suits from brands such as Adidas or Nike. Don’t compromise on your style, get the best of the best.

Strive for comfort and flexibility no matter what activity you're doing. This suit wicks sweat so you feel fresher. Some have zippered leg openings for easy removal and performance that lasts.

First and foremost, you must be sure what type of jogging suit you require. There are two types of jogging suits that you could opt for: (1) Athletic jogging suits and (2) fashion jogging suits.

Athletic jogging suits are pure exercise clothes, are high on comfort and ease which could be the perfect option for water sports. They are more robust for when you go in and out of the water a lot.

Fashion jogging suits concentrate on style and fit, so you look great even when you relax on the beach or go to a pool party.

Cotton

Most jogging suits are made from thick and heavy cotton for warmth and take a while to dry. This may be cool in hot weather where you may want to stay cool. They get very heavy when wet, which is useful for resistance swimming and aquatic weight training. Swimming in a jogging suit almost doubles your VO₂Max, and thus your training effort.

Choose a stretchable fabric and a size which is comfortable for your exercise or water sport. Cotton jogging suits are bound to shrink a bit when they've gone for wash and come out from the dryer. So buy a fit that is wearable after several swims.

Swimming

Wet cotton gets very heavy. It soaks up a lot of water which you have to move up and down the pool. This gives you a good strength workout. If you add socks and flippers, your legs have to work extra hard as the resistance of your jogging suit increases with speed.

Sailing

Some clever catamaran and dinghy sailors use this to their competitive advantage. To assess their handicap they are weighed while still dry. When riding the trapeze later, they often dip into the water until their cotton jogging suit is fully soaked, to give them the weight they need to ride the trapeze more efficiently.

Nylon or Polyester

Many suits often come in nylon or polyester fabrics of different weights, like fleece. They are better for pool use, as they don't shed any fluff to clog the filters. If you do a lot of resistance swim training, a nylon or polyester swimsuit like this is the right choice. They soak up a lot of water, but dry much faster as they don't hold the water for long. This is useful for adventure sports where you go into the water often but want to stay warm.

Unlined Jogging Suits

Use unlined suits, or those with a mesh lining all the way to the bottom. Pants with a solid nylon lining at the bottom of the legs trap air leaving you floating upside down after diving in a pool or fill up with sand if you wear them in the sea. Then when you come out of the pool or sea you have lots of water in each leg.

Some suits are thin, like hooded T-shirts and matching pants or tights. They are easy to swim in and dry fairly quickly. Some are made from swimwear fabric that is specially designed for swimming. These swimsuits are intended for comfy sun protection.

Reader Comments

My Fitness Training

By Boris from Weymouth, England

As part of my intense fitness training I enjoy running on the sandy beach near my home. Dressed in a T-shirt and a jogging suit, I run in the shallow water, splashing a lot. The refreshing spray soaks my clothes over time and so my workout gets tougher as they get wet and heavier. This is why I wear a jogging suit in the water, to build the level of strength I want.

When rockhopping, my jogging suit protects me from injury and sunburn. As I slip and slide around the rocks and puddles I get wet every now and then, but I don't care as long as I stay warm.

After one length run on the beach, or a good scramble over the rocks, I'm fairly soaked, so I go for a swim in my jogging clothes. This is the relaxing bit I enjoy the most.

Between swims I do push-ups, sit-ups, crunch-ups and and more. That's hard work in heavy wet clothes. Once most of the water drained off I go for another swim. Good fun, great workout.

When I come out of the water my clothes are really heavy which is quite a challenge as I run back home. Then I rinse them all while enjoying the shower or bath, and finally put them in my dryer.

My Water Fitness Training Kit

These clothes work best for me on the beach and in the water. They feel soft both wet or dry, and get very heavy when soaked with water. Just right for my training.

Jogging Suits as Strength Building Swimwear

by Craig student from Bangkok, Thailand

Jogging suits are the ultimate in strength training, especially in the water. My swim coach suggested swimming in them because they get really heavy when wet. I was told to jump into the pool wearing a hooded jogging suit over shirt and shorts. I thought I couldn't swim anymore, so much did it slow me down. But it felt really good in the water, so I follow the advice of my coach and always swim in a jogging suit.

Now I have several jogging suits in different thickness, from thin like a T-shirt to thick and heavy, so I can fine tune my training effort. I can layer them to get the right weight for my training. Sometimes I wear a thin hoodie under a heavy one, always with a baggy T-shirt underneath.

The pool where I practice has a large indoor pool with wide lawns around. After a warm up swim, I go for a run around the garden, no matter what weather. My cotton clothes cool out a bit, but that is fine as long as I keep running. Then I return to the warm pool for more lengths, poolside push-ups and squats.

Durning the breaks I relax in the jacuzzi or sauna. Sometimes I get funny looks, but often people just ask what kind of training I do. A few of the fit lads there have joined me. We are now a small group of wet joggers and fully clothed swimmers.