Please explain how long 3:63 is?

TR

that was poor writing on my part.
Copying exactly what's on the stopwatch:
03:06:63 or 3 minutes, 6.63 seconds

Edited to add: adidasboy1186 , you may laugh at this, but I also did Tai Chi and vocal training (classical conservatory, not pop or rap). I'd make a wild guess and say that they probably help. The breathing techniques from Tai Chi does help with both forced and natural respiratory pause in marksmanship.

Hyperventilate to purge and* fully inflate your lung volume capacity before submerging - stay on the bottom of the pool = less energy used and helps with focus as you swim - gradually returning towards the surface as you finish helps psychologically - small exhale through nostrils when the urge to inhale is nearly overwhelming helps - practice, practice, practice.

If you wanna swim like Flipper, ya gotta stay in the water. ;)

Good luck!

Richard's $.02 :munchin

* Latest thinking is to not do this.

With all due respect Richard, hyperventilating prior to doing underwater swims is extremely dangerous and has not been taught for quite some time due to the increased chance of shallow water blackout. Hyperventilating causes an artificially lowered CO2 level and it is the CO2 receiptors that tells the body it is time to breath. That's why those little exhalation decrease the desire to breath.

x/S

I never experienced the effects described but thanks for the latest thinking on this - guess I'm dating myself. ;)

Richard

Hyperventilating.....
 

I think Richard would have been more correct by saying three or four long slow deep breaths rather than using 'hyperventilating".

The start of the deep breathing is the start of the "relaxing". Calm slow and away we go.

Fast breathing leads to shallow breathing leads to excitement leads to surfacing very shortly - short of your goal.

Relax - pool time is easy time. All you have to do is float around.

For me at the SFUWO course once PT was done the day was over. All a down hill slide after PT.

Thanks, Pete - you're correct - and I wasn't referring to the panting type of breathing most people imagine when they think of hyperventilation.

Richard's $.02 :munchin

Im with 2-29 INF at fort benning. My SF recruiter was nice enough to help me go to pre-scuba through his connections down at the 4th RTB dive locker. My unit just let me go.

You are very fortunate.

TR

Tell me that again....
 

Tell me that again about Thursday of week one on your second try.:D

I would love to go back and cant wait. Hopefully if time permits I'll go back before I PCS.

consider yourself fortunate that SFC H**** is an instructor. He's good people. He's twice your age, but you'll quit before he does at PT. I can out swim him, but he out runs me . Does he still have the 60's era Chrysler?

Be glad you're in Ft Benning and attempting this. It's a little more tricky at 6000 ft above sea level. :D

Treading water: learn the egg beater kick. watch a water polo match for a good demonstration. Having been an avid swimmer and played water polo in high school, the techniques helped immensely.

you have to be comfortable in the water (not just in the pool, but in open water with a limited wave action).

Practice your knot tying at home blindfolded and holding your breath.

ditch and don: practice at home on living room floor blindfolded and holding your breath.

do your normal unit pt in the morning.. swim in the afternoons to include the exercises (some of these require adult supervision).

50m swim. less movement is better. kick, glide, pull, glide (repeat as needed). 25m pool is better, you can push off the wall and get a good glide before you need to use your legs or arms.

mods, please delete if redundant

adidasboy1186,
just in case you're working at this as well. Here are some resources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR5S04vYe2I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXk-ZRlHBPk

Personally, it took me 3 months to learn it. The QP I worked with at the pool couldn't pull it off after two sessions, although he maintained the perfect form for 4 to 6 seconds. I would start sitting on a bench or in a flutter kick position, then do the perfect form over and over and over, then sit by the poolside, both feet immersed to knee level, then do it until it feels second nature, then in the pool holding to a kickboard or lane divider, then with the help of hands, then with both hands above the head, and finally with hands holding 10lbs weight over the head. HTH

50 Meter underwater swim
 

From an FOG W7, is a 50 meter Underwater swim now a requirement to pass the SF Dive School?

Was not, back in the day.

It's a requirement to get in.

It wasn't when I was a student (93) but it was when I came back as an instructor (97), so I had to do the damn thing anyway. Turned out to be surprisingly easy once you got your head into it.

My team in Germany all did it before we ran a pre-scuba where we had to make the students do it. It took us all 3-4 tries before getting it, except this one guy - pot-bellied, smoked, shitty runner.... but BOY could he hold his breath & was comfortable in the water...

Stras, you don't remember that guy's name by any chance do you?