Dayton Raiders Swim Club
Vol. 8, No. 5
Shaving Down
The Competitive Swimmer's Edge
By:
Donald R. Megerle
Men's Swimming Coach - Tufts University
Reprinted in: The Poolside Journal, 1997
College Swimming Coaches Association of America
Edited: 2004
I will always remember the day when Coach Tom Grall gathered his swimming team
for a brief meeting, and explained a new technique that several swimmers were
experimenting with.
It was in the fall of 1963, during my junior year of swimming at Irondequoit High School in Rochester, New York. He explained that a few college swimmers had been shaving the hair from their legs and arms in order to improve their speed in the water. We were scheduled to compete against our town rival the following day. Coach Grall told us that shaving was an option, however, everyone left practice knowing they would ‘try’ this new experiment. I can recall how confused my mother was when I told her what I was going to do. After shaving I remember going to bed that evening with the oddest feeling ….everything that touched my skin, from bed sheets to the clothing I was wearing made me seem so ‘alive.’
The
next morning I met several swimmers in the school hallways and we all had the
same reaction! The team was looking forward to the meet without any notion of
what we were going to experience …. until we dove in the water! I will always
remember the sensation of feeling extraordinary power after diving into the deep
end of the Irondequoit High School pool. I had never experienced anything like
this before. Needless to say, we won the meet with everyone performing beyond
their wildest expectations. What was this ‘shaving thing’ all about? At the time
I had so many unanswered questions about shaving. How could shaving the hair and
skin make such a difference with our swimming???
At the completion of my junior year Coach Grall thought it would be a good idea for me to attend Pine Knoll Swim School (Springfield, MA) for a summer of internship, where I could train and teach swimming. Upon my arrival at PKSS I was introduced to Coach Charles E. Silvia. Under his tutelage I began an enlightening experience at Pine Knoll.
After my seven week internship I returned home to Rochester, NY, where I did not train for approximately six weeks. At the end of that summer I decided to enter an AAU ‘time final meet’ in Webster, NY. I arrived late for the meet but remembered to bring my razor and shaving cream. I had the notion that since shaving worked so well in the fall, why wouldn’t it work again!?!? There was little time to do anything except take a hot shower and shave down! I had no idea how I was going to perform, but the results proved interesting. I ‘felt’ great and won two timed-final events. Can you imagine a swimmer in 2004 being prepared for competition by not training for six weeks, arriving late for a meet, and then to top it off by not without a warm-up????
Unfortunately, Coach Grall left Irondequoit High School during my senior year and was appointed as the men’s swimming coach at Bethany College in West Virginia. Our team was left with a new and inexperienced coach. At the beginning of my senior season I decided to shave for every dual without consulting with our new coach. My dual meet times actually remained the same, and at the championships I swam slower than my first dual meet! I was disappointed and graduated from high school with even more unanswered questions about shaving.
Fortunately, I was recruited by Coach Grall to attend Bethany College where my interest in ‘shaving down’ was taken to another level. Coach Grall allowed me to experiment with different shaving techniques. We prepared swimmers to shave for early season, mid-season and championship events. We witnessed improved performances each time the team competed! There were, however, a few instances when rival teams did not swim well after shaving.
I can recall my first college dual meet versus Grove City College (PA). The Grove City team walked onto our small pool deck and paraded past our Bethany College team. I leaned over to Coach Grall and commented, "Their swimmers are completely shaved for the meet." Since it was the first dual meet of the season for both teams, I was somewhat surprised to see the entire Grove City team shaved. Coach Grall was informed that the Grove City team had been training very hard up until this meet with no intention of 'resting.' The Grove City swimmers may have been physically prepared, however, they were not mentally ready to swim fast. Bethany easily won the meet and I can still hear Coach Grall’s words in 1966, “When you start your coaching career, never shave a tired swimmer.” He was so right! Coach Grall also reminded me of the Silvia trilogy leading up to a 'shave': In order to perform at their very best, a swimmer (who shaves) must be rested, healthy, and primed for the best competitive situation!
While at Bethany I was assigned to help Coach Grall with the cross country team as a student-assistant coach. A few weeks before the conference championship he asked me to convince our best runner, John Masquelier, to shave for the race. John knew about the success our swimmers were having, and was very motivated to experiment with shaving. After a standard taper period John arrived in Cleveland, Ohio, as the first cross country runner to shave for competition. I can still envision his green Bethany jersey leading all the other runners as he easily won the five-mile race. We were onto something big!
After graduating from Bethany in 1969, I entered Springfield College Graduate School with continued interest in the ‘shave.’ As a graduate assistant under Charles E. Silvia, I encountered an opportunity of a lifetime. Coach Silvia enlightened me with his kinesiological and scientific analysis of stroke technique and inspiring training regimens. I learned quickly that Silvia had extraordinary insight into the psychological makeup of swimmers. His thoughts were unique, motivating and captivating. He helped me understand why shaving can alter the neurological implications of athleticism. Through Silvia’s teachings I was introduced to Isaac Newton’s Laws of Motion and how they govern human motion. Silvia constantly studied athletic movements in relationship to force vectors, laws of levers, sport psychology, team dynamics, and leadership principles. His philosophy of life was far superior to anything I had ever experienced, and has remained a constant reminder of why skilled athletes will continue to improve and excel at higher levels.
The circumstances surrounding my first shaving experience were intriguing and created many unanswered questions. Can shaving alone, without the benefit of training, produce dramatic improvements in swimming? After 35 years of coaching at Springfield College and Tufts University I have been able to answer some of the questions that this extraordinary procedure offers.
Coach
Silvia encouraged me to investigate the swimming literature regarding shaving.
Unfortunately, I discovered that there was little research with the exception of
Don Gambril’s 1966 graduate thesis, and Dr. Gary Hall’s (Gary Hall’s father)
brief expose on shaving. The limited literature and experiments performed on
shaved swimmers simply stated that smooth surfaces (shaved skin) would merely
reduce the frictional drag component that would allow swimmers to improve their
times. Since those early days at Springfield I have learned that shaving is a
very complicated neuromuscular phenomenon. Shaving does not reduce water
resistance nor eliminate the amount of friction on the skin. Dr. David Costill,
the famous research/physiologist from Ball State University, reported that
shaven swimmers actually have lower blood
lactate levels, increased stroke lengths (distance per stroke), and improved
push-offs (better streamlining). (6)
It was documented that the Australian swimming team was the first group of swimmers to shave for competition in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. (2, 6). The sole United States Gold Medal winner, at the Melbourne Olympics, was Dr. William A. Yorzyk who was victorious in the 200 meter butterfly. According to his coach, Charles E. Silvia, Dr. Yorzyk never shaved for a swimming event until he competed as a master’s swimmer over 25 years later.
During
my two years at Springfield College I shaved dozens of individuals: competitive,
noncompetitive, trained, and untrained swimmers. Since there was little evidence
or recorded data about shaving I began an extensive review of the literature on
cutaneous innervation of the hair follicle. As I began investigating the
physiology and the neural mechanisms of the hair follicle, I was amazed will all
the attachments, of sensory end organs (just beneath the skin), to the hair
follicle. Once they are innervated, these tiny end organs (proprioceptive
structures connected to each other) send a variety of messages to specific areas
of the brain. I became clear that the cutaneous nervous system is an
extraordinary sensory organ that can serve as an athletes' greatest teacher!
Neurological
Implications
During the mid-1930’s, Dr. Wilder Penfield, the famed neuroanatomist/surgeon,
made historical advances in mapping the human cortex. Through electrical
stimulation of the exposed human cortex, Penfield illustrated the degree of
representation of all the different body parts (such as hands and feet) on the
conscious motor and sensory cortices, and coined the term ‘sensorimotor
homunculus’ or aptly defined ‘little man.’ (10) Coach Silvia coined the phrase
‘The Hand and Foot Concept of Swimming’ as a result of Penfield’s work, and
became the precursor to visualization and positive self-imagery. Silvia taught
his students to utilize this knowledge when analyzing human motion, and stated
that world class athletes ‘possess a superior nervous system, as a result of
their keen kinesthetic and proprioceptive senses.’ It became crystal clear how
athletes should be taught to improve their performances!
The quality of one’s nervous system (proprioceptive mechanisms) is one of the primary factors that define an athlete’s ability. According to Dr. David C. Sinclair, “Success in highly skilled activities (such as athletic events) is associated with superior proprioceptive capacities.” (14)
In 1969 swimming coaches were unaware of the neurological implications of shaving. At the time swimmers were taught that shaving simply reduced friction or allowed swimmers a have a ‘special feeling.’ In reality, the swimmer perceives less not more!
By removing the hair follicle and a thin layer of skin you literally bring the nervous system closer to the external environment, and expose it to a variety of stimuli. The ritual of shaving the scalp is the only pure psychological technique since, according to Penfield’s brain studies, there is very little sensory and motor representation on the human scalp.
From a
neurological explanation; shaving will alter the messages/impulses sent to the
brain via the peripheral and central nervous system. A swimmer will not
experience any significant (sensory) changes until they are submerged in water.
This is where things get interesting. The water pressure, acting as a ‘standard
stimulus’ on the skin’s surface (along with joint tension, and muscular
contractions) will innervate the hair follicle and transmit messages to various
joints, muscles and tendons. The number of neural messages (impulses) sent to
the cerebral cortex (post-shave) via the skin/nervous system are altered
significantly. It is our belief that shaving eliminates thousands of the
messages (neural connections) that are normally sent to the brain before
shaving. Once a shaved competitive swimmer is submerged in water their sensory
input is reduced significantly. By removing the hair and skin an athlete alters
their sensory input and enhances their performance capacity through an
improvement in their motor output:
The Important
Effects of Shaving will
With these thoughts in mind, I decided to do my graduate thesis on shaving.
I visited with and interviewed several neuroanatomists, surgeons, and
researchers. The literature on the hair follicle and its direct relationship to
sensation is extensive; however, no one has studied its correlation to athletic
performance. I discussed with the experts in the field of skin sensation our
assumptions and observations. Simply stated, ‘Swimming times improve after a
swimmer trains, tapers, and shaves for competition’ (swimmers, as a rule, may
not improve their performances if they are over trained or improperly tapered).
The neuroanatomists were amazed that competitive swimmers were having such
incredible success.
The question we proposed was a simple one: “If you alter an athlete’s sensory input can you actually improve their motor output?” This statement confused some of the scientists. “Although we take it for granted that there is a reliable match between what the sense organs are 'seeing' and what is essential for motor control functions, the problem is not all that simple from an analytical point of view, because researchers may overlook features in the neural messages that are essential for motor centers.” (14) Several neuroanatomists were actually pessimistic and refused to give the shaving ritual any credibility.
My most memorable and helpful interview took place over the phone in 1969. After reading the book Cutaneous Sensation, I was motivated to call the author, Dr. David C. Sinclair, President of the Medical School at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. Sinclair eloquently described the behavior of sensory end-organs. His extensive knowledge of the nervous system captivated my imagination. He asked, “How could it be, as Silvia has hypothesized, that by altering the sensory input you can thus improve motor output?” I explained to Dr. Sinclair, “The neuromuscular system, though very complex, is easily understood once you witness swimmers compete after they shave.”
Both
Coach Silvia and Dr. Sinclair agreed that hair follicles and skin will 'mask
the discriminatory touch and pressure sensations' that are sent to the central
nervous system. It is also important to consider the following principle that
governs sensations perceived by the skin: 'The touch receptors in the skin
overlying the muscle cannot influence the muscle except by the long trip (they
take) into the spinal cord, where their recommendations are judged in the light
of thousands of other influences on the motor neuron, and then a message is sent
back out to the muscle, telling it to contract. It takes time for that long
round trip, (For the motor unit to act as a functional unit for neural control
of motor activity) and sometimes that is important.' (1) The nervous system
(pre-shave) is continually sorting out perceived messages … through thoughts and
actions … and, in a sense, can be bombarded with too much stimuli … Does this
create false sensations in the mind of a swimmer, and will shaving reduce the
number of impulses sent to their sensory/
motor cortices thus resulting in faster swims? Can too much stimulation inhibit
contributing systems (muscular/nervous/cardiovascular) from functioning at a
higher or more efficient level? It is apparent that with fewer motor units
being fired (post shave) swimmers experience several things, namely: they do
not try as hard in a muscular sense, their movements are faster and more
efficient, they expend less energy, VO2 blood lactate is reduced, the
cardiovascular system recovers more efficiently and, most importantly,
propulsion is dramatically improved.
Is shaving the primary reason for improved swimming performances? There is evidence that you cannot create the same results by shaving an untapered or ‘fatigued’ swimmer. To achieve optimum swimming speed a swimmer must be completely rested as a result of a calculated and carefully planned taper. In addition to the taper an athlete must be healthy and placed in the correct instinctive competitive environment. Swimmers can’t shave for every meet and they can’t begin their season on a shave. However, once the cardiovascular system is conditioned and allowed to rest through a prescribed taper you can work wonders with a shave.
The
notion that one ‘hits’ or ‘misses’ a taper can be as much of a psychological
problem as a physical one. We have proven beyond any doubt that the window of
time for improved swimming on a shave can be as much as six weeks. During
training sessions three vital systems become fatigued, namely: the muscular,
cardiovascular and central nervous systems. (5) There is evidence that suggests
recovery from exercise is influenced more ‘by a central nervous system factor
that may be independent of local blood flow.’ (5) In actuality, ‘muscular
fatigue’ takes place at the neuromuscular junction itself where a decreased
release of acetylcholine from the nerve endings inhibits impulses from the
brain. (5) If a coach decides to shave an unrested swimmer, he may, in effect,
'confuse' the nervous system of an athlete. In order to produce optimum results
the entire psycho/physical organism must be completely recovered and rested as a
result of a properly programmed taper period. (7)
Can shaving reduce the number of motor units fired and aid in the recovery phase by not producing unnecessary fatigue? “The ability to resist fatigue, involves a much more complex chain of command wherein energy depletion and product accumulation constitute only one link. Most of the links in the chain have been identified in the nervous system, not the muscle-energy system.” (3) In preparation for our championship season I review with our entire team the ‘taper and shave period,’ and discuss the neurological enhancements that will take place. I tell our swimmers that once they are shaved they will experience what a ‘world-class swimmer feels’ most of the time.
We also review the one thing that swimmers and coaches want the most—that great feeling. I have learned that what you feel in the water can be elusive and transitory. I am very cautious when I ask our swimmers ‘how they feel.’ This does not preclude the notion that communication stops during the taper. In fact, my association with our swimmers reaches a refined level of trust during the taper period when I tell our swimmers exactly how they should ‘feel.’ Swimmers have a tendency to place too much emphasis on ‘feeling good’ during a warm-up or just before competition. I want our swimmers to evaluate how they felt after they have competed! There are countless examples of athletes who excel after being denied certain pre-meet rituals. I am no longer amazed when I hear athletes express, with astonishment, ‘I swam great and felt terrible.’ It is also common for swimmers not to feel good during the taper and shave period. ‘The wisdom of the body’ goes through several transition stages in getting ready for competition. A swimmer must be very patient as they monitor certain neurological functions, and avoid subjective evaluations on how they are doing/feeling on a day to day basis.
Too often swimmers are also taught to ‘think’ too much during competition. I can recall hearing an excited coach tell his swimmer prior to a preliminary heat in the 200 IM, “Now remember, when you start your butterfly you must get the most out of it, and when you make that turn to your backstroke remember to get in and out of the wall for a fast and streamlined push-off, and the breaststroke must be at your best to set you up for your freestyle....” The swimmer turned to his coach and said, ‘Gee Coach, I sure have a lot to think about!’ Needless to say this swimmer did not perform well and watched the finals that night.
It is apparent that too many conscious thoughts (good and bad) in the mind of a swimmer can trigger unnecessary mechanisms that can interfere with their performance. We teach our athletes to perform in an unconscious state. Confident athletes let their brains and nervous systems perform the skills they have rehearsed and mastered – without interference from the conscious mind!
Reaching that special zone will combine all the psychophysical capabilities that lie within the athlete. Coach Silvia would often state, “Athletes should have only one thought in their mind ... they cannot handle much more than that.’ His words of encouragement were reflected in the phrase he coined: ‘Swing your hands, let your stroke carry you, swim within yourself, and charge home on the end!’
All too
often swimmers and coaches emphasize the importance of ‘saving’ the ’shaved
feeling’ by shaving on the day of competition or the night before. At Tufts
University we have learned to shave our swimmers several days prior to the New
England Championships. In order to take advantage of all thing things that a
shave creates the body needs time to adjust to the elements. Improved
performances after second and third shaves gives credibility to this technique.
If we train
our kids differently, why not shave them differently?
Some of the things that should be taken into consideration are: the various
body types of the swimmers, their past performances and results of previous
tapers. We teach our swimmers to allow the body to function at its maximum. We
communicate this phrase: “Let the shave move you.”
By shaving early you also avoid the last minute effort of trying to remove ‘that final little hair follicle’ in the shower room. In addition, I have never judged a swimmer’s potential based on the amount of body hair. We discourage our swimmers from wearing panty hose, stockings and multi-suits during warm-up. Why remove the body hair, expose the nervous system to the environment, only to ‘cover’ it up? It never made sense to allow a swimmer to wear all the paraphernalia that I have seen at championship meets. Have you ever seen a ‘safecracker’ on TV wearing gloves when trying to turn the dial and ‘feel’ the combination? Skin creams and oils should also be avoided.
We discuss with our swimmers, on an individual basis, what occurs when athletes are too keyed up or too anxious after they shave. I spend more time on deck calming swimmers down as opposed to ‘psyching’ them up! A brief second warm-up just prior to their event or a warm shower will help calm a tense swimmer.
How many times can a swimmer shave during the season?
During an interview with Tony Corbisiero, I was told that he shaved nine
separate times during his senior year at Columbia University. On his last shave
he set an American record in the 1650 at the Division I Nationals in
Indianapolis, Indiana. Between the New England Championships and the NCAA
Championships (approximately three weeks) I do not increase the team’s yardage
(this practice is slightly different when a swimmer shaves in December and then
re-shaves in March).
Once a swimmer is shaved their nervous system goes through a period of accommodation. The initial feeling of being shaved is lessened over a period of several days; however, they will continue to swim even faster as long as they are not over trained. I resist any temptation to introduce additional 'hard training sets' between shaves of three weeks or less. The period between shaves is actually a continuation of the tapering process, so you must continue to rest the swimmers as much as possible.
Most coaches will be wary of this practice because they fear a swimmer will 'lose' all that he has trained for. On the contrary, a swimmer’s peak performance capabilities will be enhanced if they are allowed to rest even more in preparation for a second or third shave. The swimmer can actually maintain their conditioned cardiovascular state, by simply swimming every other day, with as little as 700 yards to 1500 yards of moderate race-pace sets with long rest intervals. Any additional hard training at this time can actually ‘disturb’ the entire neuromuscular system.
An interesting case study of an extended 'taper and shave' occurred on the Tufts University team in 1992. One of our freshmen swimmers, Brian Herrick, began his career with very respectable in-season times. After the team returned from Florida (mid-January) Brian became ill at practice and experienced some difficulty with his breathing. That night (January 29) he was diagnosed with pneumonia and began fourteen days of antibiotics. The physician said that Brian would not be in any condition to complete the remainder of the season. I consulted with another physician who advised me to train Brian in a modified way. We swam every other day with some easy/comfortable warm-ups and buildup 25’s. Brian’s condition did not improve and was administered additional antibiotics for another seven days. I can recall how tired his legs were (since oxygen was not circulating well to the large muscles of his lower extremity). Between January 29th and March 2nd Brian swam very little and did nothing in the way of race-pace training. His swimming workouts were brief and I intentionally kept him away from the remainder of the team in order to avoid any emotional conflicts that could possibly emerge. I reassured Brian, on a daily basis, with positive and comforting thoughts. I told him he would be fine and that at every step of the way I was in contact with a physician. At the New England Championships (March 5-7) Brian won four New England titles and set six Tufts University records. His most dramatic swim was a personal best of 1:53.1 in the 200-yard backstroke.
As a sophomore, following a summer of not training, Brian fell outside the Tufts bookstore (at the beginning of the season) and sustained a serious concussion. He missed several weeks of critical training in November and December, only to resume his workouts with the team in Florida. During that time he was sidelined as a result of falling into a van door and received seven stitches. Brian missed nearly every important swimming meet and training set.
At the New England Championships he set five school records, won 2 New England Titles, and became a Division III All-American for the second year in a row with a personal best time of 1:42.5 in the 200-yard freestyle. To the casual observer one might assume that Brian would have swum faster had he been healthy during the final weeks leading up to the championship season. On the contrary, I am not so sure. As a result of Brian being ill he was forced to rest and reduce his training significantly.
In conclusion: Most swimming coaches have overlooked the role of the sensorimotor systems. They have spent too much time analyzing the cardiovascular and muscular systems while ignoring the most important mechanism of them all, the human nervous system.
I would
like to see more coaches implement creative routines that will get the most out
of their athletes. Instead of accepting the 'shave' as simply a pre meet ritual,
we should explore (existing) scientific research in order to understand 'how and
why' the human nervous system enhances athletic performances. We should
challenge the present ideas and concepts that are in use today. By doing this we
will create new thought patterns that will be both rewarding and educational.
When you explore the enormous powers of the human nervous system you will be
enlightened with new techniques that will help your swimmers achieve
extraordinary performances.
References:
1. Calvin, W. H. The Cerebral Symphony. Bantam Books. 1989.
2. Colwin, C. Swimming Into The 21st Century. Human Kinetics Publishers. 1992.
3. Counsilman, B. E., Counsilman, J. E. Problems with the physiological
classification of endurance loads. American Swimming Magazine. Dec/Jan 1993.
4. Counsilman, J. E. The New Science of Swimming. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1994.
5. Fisher, A. G., Jensen C. R. Scientific Basis of Athletic Conditioning.
Lea and
Febiger. 1990.
6. Gambril, D. The effect of shaving the body on swimming the one hundred meter
crawl stroke. Masters Thesis. 1966.
7. Loehr, J. E. Toughness Training For Life. Plume/Penguin Books. 1993.
8. Maglischo, E. W. Swimming Even Faster. Mayfield Publishing Company. 1993.
9. Montagna, W. Cutaneous Innervation. Pergamon Press. 1959.
10. Penfield, W. M.D., Rasmussen, T. M.D. The cerebral cortex of man.
The Macmillan Company. 1957.
11. Silvia, C. E. Manual and Lesson Plans - Methods of Teaching. Privately
published 1970.
12. Silvia, C. E. Conversations with Coach Charles E. Silvia. 1969.
13. Sinclair, D. C. Cutaneous Sensation. Oxford University Press. 1971.
14. Sinclair, D. C. Telephone Interview (USA to Scotland). Springfield, MA
1969.
15. Wing, A. A. Hand and Brain - The Neurophysiology and Psychology of Hand
Movements. Academic Press. 1996.
16. Lineman, R. K. Nerve endings in normal and pathologic skin. Charles C.
Thomas Publishing. 1960.
17. Winkelman, R. K. The Neuroanatomy of Human Skin, a Morphologic Basis for
Sensation. Doctoral Dissertation. 1956.