XTERRA Wetsuits has introduced LAVA Pants – billed as ‘the latest in swim training innovation’. Intended for pool and open water training and racing, LAVA Pants are designed to replace the pull buoy, simulating the lower body buoyancy of a wetsuit with the added benefit of a natural range of motion. By offering a wetsuit-like swim, training with LAVA Pants helps to keep swimmers in race shape year round.
XTERRA Wetsuits notes that many athletes employ training tools such as the pull buoy to work on form, body positioning and strength. But it is common for swimmers to become dependent on buoy training, resulting in a regression to poor form when swimming without the buoy.
LAVA Pants aim to eliminate this concern by combining the buoyancy of the pull buoy with a natural range of motion. This allows swimmers to train with their hips higher in the water and focus on developing strength, the catch phase and stroke rate as part of a natural, full-body swimming motion.
A lower-rise waistband and 3/4-length legs make it easy to put on or take off LAVA Pants even in the water, making the transition between sets a matter of seconds. LAVA Pants are equally well-suited for intervals or sprint training in the pool as for open water distance swims. Accordingly, LAVA Pants can serve as a training suit for a competing athlete or a swim suit for the fitness swimmer. No special care is required for pool use other than to rinse with clean water after each swim.
Made with 5mm-thick neoprene front and back panels, LAVA Pants offer the maximum legal buoyancy of a wetsuit. Simulating a wetsuit swim at every training session can improve stroke technique and pacing while building muscle memory – taking in the essence of the axiom ‘train like you race’.
LAVA Pants are 3/4-length with seam tape at the leg openings. This allows for trimming up to 2” (5-6 cm) to adjust for best fit. The Comfort Fit waistband is low cut in the front – for easy breathing and the mobility to do flip turns – with a higher rise in back to keep the suit in place.
LAVA Pants are accented with bright green highlights ‘to signify that they are made of environmentally-friendly limestone-based neoprene, meaning athletes training in LAVA Pants will be as eye-catching as the world-class triathletes that wear [XTERRA Wetsuits] in competition.’
LAVA Pants are USAT- and WTC-legal for wetsuit swims (temperature permitting), and can be a great alternative for adding buoyancy without adding bulk.
