To lube or not to lube?

Lube or to give it its full name, lubricant does pretty much what it says on the tin or roll on. It lubricates. 

Having long played a role in the history of swimming with channel swimmers regularly lubing up with a mix of petroleum jelly and lanolin to protect themselves from the rigours of long distance swimming. Whilst more likely to come in a roll on stick form and be made of different ingredients, lube is also a favourite of many wetsuit wearing swimmers too. 

It can be used to lubricate key areas of our body such as neck, wrists, inner thighs, arm pits in fact any areas which may be prone to repeated rubbing otherwise known as chafe. 

But lube is also great for getting your wetsuit off more easily. Applying lube  around your wrists and ankles can help tight areas slip off and also help speed up those transition times. This along with flushing water into your suit as you exit the water can make a real difference to whether you end up staggering around with your feet tethered or looking like a pro. 

But a word of caution, the best lube in the world won't remove chafe if it is resulting from poor swim technique, head position or poor wetsuit fit. The tell tale neck chafe which to non swimmers might look like you have had a rather fun weekend of passion and is often seen as a medal of honour can often be improved with a session with a coach or having someone check your wetsuit. 

So to lube or not to lube - that is the question. What do you do?

Here at Tri Wetsuit Hire we recommend Huub Luub - click to purchase

Jude Palmer is an experienced wild swimmer, swim runner and Open Water Swimming Coach, Trail Running Coach based in Surrey. She loves nothing more than sharing her love for adventure with others. Follow her on social media @RunSurreyHills