ROKA SIM Training Shorts - review

Before I start on my review of the ROKA SIM Training Shorts a quick round up of last week's training and for once I am pleased to report that is wasn't too bad on the volume front - I managed to record over 13.5 hours of training, most at zone 1-2 (nice and easy 'Pegler pace') including a long run into work (24km) and in total 9 hours on the bike.

I expect that during the lead up to the busy festive period the training volume will drop and my consumption of food/drink will increase - not the best combination but kind of expected for December. The main goal is to not overdo it too much and find an acceptable balance.

So onto a review of the ROKA SIM Training Pro Shorts.

I have always been a fan of rubber training shorts / swimwear, which acts like a pull buoy in lifting your legs up but still allowing you to kick. I think they are a great aid for those who wish to get faster in a wet-suit and experience a bit of the body positioning that you would likely expect in an open-water race.

ROKA is a US based company that kindly approached our club (Horsham Amphibians Triathlon) to ask if we would like to try out their top of the range SIM Training Pro Shorts and promptly sent across a couple of pairs (Mens, size medium) to get the Club's thoughts.

A good number of the Club's members have tried them out and the feedback has been predominately positive. All have remarked that their body positioning has improved and has led to faster times within the pool. Once experienced triathlete and top age-grouper (top 10 UK competitor at 70.3 distance) recorded a personal best at the 100/200m distances.

My own thoughts mirrored these findings that the SIM Pro Shorts certainly helped me go faster because of the better body positioning whilst not losing the ability to kick. The only slight negative was that the shorts came up slightly lower at the waist than I had personally expected - only marginally but another half of inch I reckon would have given me a more comfortable fit. I should say that about 50% of the Club swimmers felt the same as me and 50% had no issues and they sat comfortably at waist level. Whether a med/large might solve this one slight niggle is certainly worth investigating. Meanwhile, the shorts generally got a big 'thumbs up' and we have gone back to ROKA with an initial Club order.

Further details can be found via the ROKA website.

ROKA SIM Training Pro Shorts