I absolutely hate the look and feel of compression shorts.

A large department store had a 50% off men's underwear and I
inadvertently picked up a package of jammer style cotton underwear. I've worn them on several occasions and find them rather uncomfortable. So I can imagine how bad lycra and spandex jammers feel.

My opinion is that compression shorts and jammers are just a streamlined version of the "half pants" or "leg veils" that are passed off as men's "shorts".

But sometimes an article of clothing is designed to actually help a person perform well in his sport. Not so much as a fashion statement. Jammers are believed to be the fastest LEGAL men's wear in the sport of swimming, competitive swimming that is, which has rules about what to wear. Now pretty obviously most serious swimmers would prefer a brief for practice and workout but there must be a reason they wear a jammer to a world record performance. The sport has come a long way since Mark Spitz posed for his portrait wearing seven gold medals. And a patriotic speedo.

Somehow I regard choosing clothing that gives you an advantage, over performing naked, unless the clothing is there for protection from the environment or the sport to be cheating.
We had this over the hydrodynamic properties of full body swim suit fabrics which were eventually banned.

Speedos, (split sided) running shorts and cycle shorts all provide appropriate modesty for public viewing and total freedom of movement. Cycle shorts also provide padding for the riders comfort and protection.

Compression shorts offer muscle performance advantage, maybe useful in training but not in competition.

I guess at some point we have to determine whether we're in it for the sport or to put on a show. Looks like to try to do both either alarms or disappoints. LOL
Overhearing some swim moms at practice the other day it sounds like they wish their boys would wear speedos. They sat there and named off all those who had, over the years. They determined that it was only the oldest, those in high school. And that the younger ones were too self conscious, or afraid of being ridiculed. I don't recall having that problem as a young team member in a speedo, we didn't have a choice. That made it unnecessary to worry about, and there wasn't any reason to pick on one who wore a brief racing suit.

If "jammers" were around in my high school days in the 1960s and 70s, everyone would have ridiculed them as being absolutely weird.

Despite their present acceptance, I still believe that jammers are the weirdest looking clothing ever devised. As a swim suit, jammers give the impression of a guy wearing pants with out a shirt.

Those basketball "shorts" and "Half Pants" are the next worse. They distort the shape and form of the human body and they give the impression of Downs Syndrome (a deformity with short legs and a long torso).

Thankfully, a lot of guys are finally rejecting the status quo and the 1980s shorts are making a come back.

Good...
 

....but I'm even more confused - has Torchwatch got competition and training the wrong way round?

No confusion, compression shorts may be permitted in training but give an unfair advantage in competition and should be banned.

thanks
 

Using the word permitted makes the post much clearer.....

While learning this drill today I noticed that maybe a third of the boys on this team like their briefs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEQei...ature=youtu.be

Tennessee turns
 

Hard to count - the girls seem to outnumber the boys.

That vid is an excellent example of why I hate jammers. They look more like a guy wearing pants without a short rather than a swim suit.

However GoSwim does have a lot of vids and pics with speedos.

What sport here ?
 

http://25.media.tumblr.com/8e1a88284...prgyo1_400.jpg
(I thought rugby but the boots do not seem to be appropriate)

Looks like a rugby league player wearing New Balance running shoes, rugby boots do tend to rip up the carpets indoors.

Since the topic has been brought up again, I've noticed that the number of guys out running in short shorts has edged up since my initial post.

It now looks like about 80% are at least half way up from the knees. So the trend is definitely improving!!! :D

confused again
 

Any advice ? - never can be sure about identifying the modern sports gear on these guys:
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5...h8bko1_500.png
Obviously some white compression shorts and long sleeves being worn and seemingly some cups awaiting awards in a sports hall - and some plain flags which may be indicative of something.

This guy - look at his huge thigh muscles - is an indoor track (velodrome) cyclist. Apparently a German. He is wearing padded cycle shorts, a short sleeve shirt, and separate sleeves ('arm pieces'). In indoor cycling these are habitually worn to reduce air friction.

UCI = the International Cycling Association.
erdgas ('natural gas') is the sponsoring name of some German energy enterprise, seen in may sports, soccer among them.

clues
 

Thanks for info. - that puts it all together. Long sleeves took me away from sprint cycling though I was closer with Germany in my guesswork ( at least erdgas does not have the same problem with logo placement as with British Gas on TD's diving briefs)

AQUX boxer shorts
from Ebay (fake)

Good pics
 

Definition showing with your workout program NJH

Looks like short shorts are back for volleyball:

http://www.abcroomsinrome.com/wp-con...ionship_01.jpg

Hopefully, they'll become popular for other sports.

Bought a couple short shorts for running on Ebay last summer 2013. Since this post started, I had been planning on sharing photos of the shorts once I thought I was ready. They would be appropriate for the subject of this post.

#139, May 6 posting was more likely for the purpose of showing my workout progress. They were taken earlier of 2014.

San Francisco had its annual Bay To Breakers run and here is one of the pics and a vid with lots of bare thighs!!!:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jivaca...-nEoaDV-nEnEvp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzGF6EsjwS0

only in SF.....
 

What a great selection of imaginative garb in the vid - do the little red capes represent something like Captain America?

Here's an update on the subject from the vantage point of what's the latest and greatest in fashion for cross country running: :D

http://www.trinethunder.com/sports/m...20140407wyupbf

http://www.calvin.edu/sports/news/C509/

http://www.cumberlandspatriots.com/roster/0/4.php