Fitness problem

[puddlediver]

This may be a basic question but it still gives me problems.

Perhaps someone can give me some tips to improve my performance.

When I descend down a shot line in a current I struggle big time. If I dump all my air, I go straight down and can't follow the line. If I am slightly negative and fin like hell I still don't seem to make any headway. I end up pulling myself down the line (not recommended I know). When I get down to the wreck I am exhausted.

Any tips would be gratefully received.

Ta

Lyv

[pieater]

Sounds more like a bouyancy problem to me.

Ooops - just read what you said - not what I thought you said.
What fins are you using?
How streamlined in the water are you?
What's your trim like?

If you want power in the fin stroke having muscles like Arnie isn't all the answer.
For short bursts of power you need to be more like a sprinter than a marathon runner.

[puddlediver]

Hi,

I use force fins and my buoyancy when I am not descending in a current is fine. I have no trouble with free descending nor on the dive itself. I use twin 7's 300 bar with no weights. My trim on the dive is ok too, even do the horizontal ascending ok.

Perhaps its the force fins?

Lyv

[pieater]

Originally Posted by puddlediver

Hi,


Perhaps its the force fins?

Lyv

I've never used them, so can't comment. I use Turtles and although I have to give them a bit of grunt occasionally I can usually make headway. Mind you I am built like a brick "outhouse" - 5 years of semi-pro rugby and 10 years going to seed in "veteran" teams will do that to a chap. I do burn some gas when shifting though.

Maybe some weighted squats down the gym and/or some calf squat extensions (depending on your finning style) could be in order.

Maybe you should use skippers that drop you nearer slack water?

[nigelH]

Originally Posted by puddlediver

Perhaps its the force fins?

I've tried them.
They seemed OK trundling round something but you never seemed to get any power or speed. I really tried to flutter them like it said in the leaflet. There must be a trick I'm not getting.

Anybody want some XL nearly new Force Fins?
I went back to my old 'normal' ones.

Yes. I know. I'm spoiled by the Cressi Gara free dive fins.

To the original poster...
The trick is to dive on slack.
When the tide starts to run you are in the wreck and when you blob off you don't care what it's doing as you go with it.

[aqua0]

Originally Posted by nigelH

Anybody want some XL nearly new Force Fins?

I wouldn't mind giving them a whirl before you sell them.Or I can hang on to them if they're free

[ardhill]

Originally Posted by puddlediver

I end up pulling myself down the line (not recommended I know). When I get down to the wreck I am exhausted.

Any tips would be gratefully received.

I end up doing that here a fair bit, sometime the currents in Strangford lough or around the mouth of the Lough in the Irish sea are just horrendous, and 'slack' can be a complete joke. So, we end up pulling ourselves down the line too.

I find if you are in that situation, then your time on the surface was probably a bit rough too, maybe you had to fin hard to get to the shot, and the sea may be a bit choppy also. So, you are quite possibly out of breath even before descending, let alone the exertion of pulling down the shot against the current.

Tip: If you can, catch you breath a bit before descending whilst you hold onto the shot line at the surface. If this is not doable due to the sea conditions, drop down 5-6m and hold you position on the shot and catch your breath. You are better to get your breath back on the surface, or shallow water, before further exerting yourself with the pull down the line in increasing ambient pressure.

When you are on the shot getting your breath, sort your trim out the best you can so that you give as little resistance to the current when you are going down. I find I end up like a 'flag waving in the wind' when I am 'in the flow' of the current.

To improve your performance, which is what you asked You want to do activities that both send up your breathing rate and put a strain on your muscles. Things like fast swimming in a pool, or hard cycling will do this. Don't go so fast or hard that you can only do it for a few minutes before you feel like you are going to have a heart attack. Find a balance between pushing yourself, but not overly straining yourself. The more of these sort of activities you do, the more you will condition your body to cope with cardio and muscular strength combined. I am assuming of course that you are in reasonable shape to start with and don't smoke - otherwise those may be other areas you need to think about improving first

Oh yes, and remember diving is demanding on your body, so fuel it correctly - complex carbohydrate foods are good fuel. But don't eat closer than 2 hours before diving.
.

[Clare Gledhill]

If you work too hard on descent you will build up CO2 which will incarese any narcosis, lead to accelerated breathing and may give you the mother of all headaches after the dive. All sorts of other stresses too - so best avoided.

Find a skipper who uses the correct length of shot line so you don't have massively long shots to swim along as much as down.

Tilt yourself so that you are head down and swim along the angle of the shot rather than constantly towards it as you drop.

Take your time. Match effort to breathing rate not the other way round.

Buy a scooter

[ardhill]

Originally Posted by Clare Gledhill

Buy a scooter

Oooh, how to make a hard dive a fun dive

[puddlediver]

Wow, what a response! Thanks guys.

Lots of useful tips there for me to try. Yes, it is rather that there is a struggle to reach the shot before hand prior to the descent also.

I do a fair bit of swimming at the fitness club I go to and do the gym bit three times a week, perhaps I could put more effort into it.

I usually do sea diving off a rib and am one of the first pair in. Perhaps I should go in last when there is more chance of slack having started. In fact, yes, I think this could be the best solution at the moment. I don't mind coming up a blob when it's running, in fact I quite like to see the seabed whizzing past below me (sometimes viz can be good eh).

I do find that if I do the dive on my own I am more relaxed as I'm not trying to keep up with anybody's race to the bottom of the shot. Perhaps I should pick a slowcoach of a buddy too.

Thanks for the tips - will defo try some out.

Lyv