Should i Shave My legs for track?

Question

I am going to try out for the track team, and i would like to get a better time, so i was wondering, should i shave my legs to go faster? (you know, because of the friction and stuff) Im a guy, Im 14, 5'7, and i weight about 130 lbs.

Answer 1

lol well i dont think u have 2 shave ur legs 2 go faster thats just me. if u were a swimmer maybe, but not track. if u dont like hairy legs then go for it.

Answer 2

Lol thats wierd my stats are almost identical to yours but im 6 ft and 139.

I have really hairy legs too and when track rolls around again next spring i know im gonna shave. Not because of the time advantage, because they're is no time advantage unless your running in the olympics.

Im gonna shave to make my muscles look bigger and more defined. Chicks are attracted incredibly to track stud with nice legs. You may have heard people say that shaving your legs is g*y, but those people are fat guys that can't run for ****  

Answer 3

nope, not neseccary

unless you just want to shave your legs

in that case, go for it

Answer 4

No. But yes, you should shave your legs, not to go faster, but so they won't suspect you of using steroids.  

Answer 5

No, you don't need to shave your legs to run faster. Most professionals and semi-professionals shave their legs or the whole body for another reason. It has nothing direct to do with the speed. One thing is that it looks cool, but another important reason is that this guys train hard and their muscles needs daily massages. If its too hairy most of the cream or lotion goes in the hair and not direct to the skin and the masseur also hurts his hands when he have to massage hairy bodies.  

Answer 6

it won't make much of a diffrence running with or with out leg hair. But track runners shave trheir legs in HS because is kinda like a traddition.

Answer 7

If you have shin splints and are going to tape your legs up (with athletic tape) then yes shave em. I don't think shaving will have a positive effect of your times.

Answer 8

if you are really worried about that .00001 of a second like the olympians do.. then sure, shave your legs. however you could even just trim your leg hair short with hair scissors. (dont by yourself of course). i do think you should get a shorter haircut though (your actual hair on your head (; ).

edit....wow the guy before me had the saim idea pretty much. wish i read that before.

Answer 9

It wont do much to help, this isnt swimming!

Answer 10

i don't think you're hair would hold you back that much. i mean, if you shaved, you might be able to run a second or two faster. i'd recommend training more rather than shaving, but it's up to you. if they're that hairy i guess you could try getting scissors and trimming them.

Answer 11

No. At your age you won't get any significant effect at all. In fact, nobody gets any significant effect from shaving themselves in track. I guess 100 meter stars make sure to have short hair, but that's about it. The amount of drag from wind on body hair is a negligible influence on performance, especially at your age when you have all the important factors to work on.

It matters in swimming, where water gives more resistance, and in cycling which is much faster than track. It does not matter one iota in track, though there may be people who think it does. What matters is being fast.