I have raced a couple Ironman triathlons and am baffled each and every time by the amount of people wearing these hideous socks. Most of us have adopted the body practice of tube socks being hideous in American culture. As soon as we take our first gym class and see the nerds with socks that are any higher than ankle height, you are branded a nerd.
I will focus on triathletes since we wear enough weird crap as it is. If you are
unaware of the bizzare triathlon attire these are some examples.
These are the infamous socks(Pictured^) that have become the body practice by a size-able portion of the normal, non-professional athletes at many ultra-endurance events. They are claimed to produce less muscle fatigue, reduce lactic acid by X%, some companies also claim increases in muscle force production.
The "pursuit without terminus" is the triathlete's drive to become faster in every discipline. The endurance socks are purchased because most people figure, "Hey I already trained for the last 8 months to get here, why not buy these socks to give me some speed since you can never set enough personal records, until you can't set a personal record any longer.
The companies that manufacture these socks took the route that works for many, give them away to enough "fast" people. In other words, enough of the professional field. The rest will follow suit. People then have conversations about the equipment that they have and you are looked down upon by others if you do not have the best equipment, and, as of late, that equipment has been the socks to give you "free speed" so they buy the equipment hoping that it will positively impact their time.
The gains realized are purely placebo, there hasn't been any Reproducible lab tests confirming that these socks give you any kind of advantage; however, there is a mass of people dedicating one personal record after another that these socks gave them the advantage.
I feel like I already wear enough spandex and other questionable athletic attire, such as the Star Trek helmet -in the bicycle picture- are already pushing it for me as it is. I will stay away from the socks for the time being. If you are looking for that edge and don't won't to train more to get there, these may be for you.
Quite true. However if these socks do exhibit a placebo effect then are they not actually helping people? So much of a physical act such as running a triathlon depends on the mental state of the athlete. I think there is a very strong link between the mind and body.
ReplyDeleteWhether these socks and other attire actually work or not, they are clearly an effective way for athletics companies to make money. The professional athletes are probably being paid to wear the gear, and amateurs are buying them, thinking it will make a difference. And in some way it could. Consider the argument to oneself "If I spent $50 on these socks, I better get out and train!" Perhaps in some ways, buying the product is like making a commitment, similar to registering for a race.
Got to remember that placebos are REAL (couldn't be a better body / culture relation).
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a swimmer, we shaved each other before every meet. Thought it made us faster. It probably DID make us faster, but not because of fluid dynamics.