What are buoyancy shorts?

Neoprene swim shorts are the hottest training tool to hit the pool deck since the pull buoy and are exploding in popularity, especially among triathletes. Every major wetsuit brand has a selection of these buoyancy shorts – HUUB have a couple to choose from as do Orca, Zoot, Head, Zone3 and Blueseventy. So what are they?

Buoyancy shorts are a great tool for developing your swimming technique ahead of a triathlon, particularly for beginners who are also looking to perfect their running and cycling techniques too. These shorts mimic the effect of wearing a wetsuit, adding buoyancy to the hips and allowing a higher position in the water. It’s a bit like using a pull buoy but allowing a more natural kicking motion.

Like a pull buoy, the buoyancy of the shorts lifts your hips up, which frees you up to find a better angle of attack during the pull phase of your stroke. The slicker fabric also reduces drag, but the primary speed advantage comes from the extra buoyancy.

The good thing about these shorts is that they more closely mimic the benefits of a wetsuit for your body position than you will get from a pull buoy.

Buoyancy shorts are a massive gain for any swimmer, especially those of us who like to swim outdoors when the lakes and rivers have thawed out!

These shorts are great to wear if you are planning a long warm up set as they allow you to find a better position in the water, enabling you to concentrate on technique more easily. When you take them off for the hard work, you feel more in tune to that position and it transfers across to the session. 

We have a wide range of buoyancy shorts available at ProSwimwear. Shop them here.