PRE CDQC

[adidasboy1186]

Hello everyone. Been mostly a lurker the past few months, just trying to soak up what knowledge i can without looking like too much of an idiot on here haha. Anyways after a bit of searching i really didnt come up with too much about Pre CDQD or PRE-SCUBA, on the this forum. Well recently I had the chance to attend this course, here at Ft Benning.

First and foremost i had the chance to work with an amazing Quiet Professional whos name is SFC H****, who i believe mentioned he did his time with 10th Group. He was a great influence and an awesome teacher.

Back on track. About 2 weeks ago i was unable to pass Pre CDQD : (Great course!! Highly recommend anyone who gets the chance to GO!) It was a very hard thing for me to accept as failure is mainly never an option for me (im very hard on myself) and it was pretty much one of the hardest and most grueling courses i've ever attended. As i was saying i failed and was unable to complete the 50 meter subsurface swim. Pretty much the reason I am posting is i am seeking ANY advice I can get. I just cant seem to get past 35 meters subsurface no matter how hard I practice. I must go back and succeed! I know there are some members on dive teams out there that have passed Dive School. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

Tom

[Eagle5US]

Swim more...breathe less.
As stupid as it sounds, the only way you are going to get better at being underwater doing work (swimming), is being underwater doing work. The following can improve your capability:

Improve your aerobic capacity (run, bike, swim, swim underwater while holding your breath, etc...)

Most importantly - RELAX. The more relaxed you are, the less oxygen your body will pull from your lungs.

Lastly, hug the bottom of the pool.

Good luck.

Eagle

[adidasboy1186]

Originally Posted by Eagle5US

Swim more...breathe less.
As stupid as it sounds, the only way you are going to get better at being underwater doing work (swimming), is being underwater doing work. The following can improve your capability:

Improve your aerobic capacity (run, bike, swim, swim underwater while holding your breath, etc...)

Most importantly - RELAX. The more relaxed you are, the less oxygen your body will pull from your lungs.

Lastly, hug the bottom of the pool.

Good luck.

Eagle

I have been swimming my legs off lately. Recently i ran about an 11:30 on my 2mi. Shouldn't I be doing better than most? There were soldiers there who barely ran a 14:30 and could knock out the 50m. This is so frustrating..

[JJ_BPK]

Originally Posted by adidasboy1186

Shouldn't I be doing better than most? There were soldiers there who barely ran a 14:30 and could knock out the 50m. This is so frustrating..

Can you dance??

swimming under water or for that mater on the surface takes a lot of practice. Anyone can swim,, it's the flow and synchronization of your arms, hands, legs, feet, head & breathing that improves efficiency. Bad timing can burn 3-4 times the energy yet you end up at the back of the lie..

You need to find someone that can audit your swimming style to see if you need improvement in your timing.

A topic you need to read up on is O2 deprivation & apnea training. It's tricky and you need pro help with it. In very simple terms, one holds their breath until they can't. I'll not go farther. There is also the topic of Shallow Water Back-out. Another dangerous topic.

Net Net, Find a local pro and get help with your technique...

One of our locals, Mehgan Heaney-Grier is pretty good at free diving and uses apnea training to condition her mind & body. Watch her stroke at 1:10 and at 1:15 she is apnea training. This girl can dance with the fishes...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=18-NxjKfwN8

Warning: We get at least one(1) floter a month in the Florida Keys. Most are FOG's with scuba, but we have a fair share of freedivers that run into SWBO. The only "good part", because our water is so hot,, they float in two(2) days or less and are easy to recover, if the sharks don't get there first...


Good Luck...

[adidasboy1186]

Originally Posted by JJ_BPK

Can you dance??

swimming under water or for that mater on the surface takes a lot of practice. Anyone can swim,, it's the flow and synchronization of your arms, hands, legs, feet, head & breathing that improves efficiency. Bad timing can burn 3-4 times the energy yet you end up at the back of the lie..

You need to find someone that can audit your swimming style to see if you need improvement in your timing.

A topic you need to read up on is O2 deprivation & apnea training. It's tricky and you need pro help with it. In very simple terms, one holds their breath until they can't. I'll not go farther. There is also the topic of Shallow Water Back-out. Another dangerous topic.

Net Net, Find a local pro and get help with your technique...

One of our locals, Mehgan Heaney-Grier is pretty good at free diving and uses apnea training to condition her mind & body. Watch her stroke at 1:10 and at 1:15 she is apnea training. This girl can dance with the fishes...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=18-NxjKfwN8

Warning: We get at least one(1) floter a month in the Florida Keys. Most are FOG's with scuba, but we have a fair share of freedivers that run into SWBO. The only "good part", because our water is so hot,, they float in two(2) days or less and are easy to recover, if the sharks don't get there first...


Good Luck...

Ill look into this. Much appreciated..

[NousDefionsDoc]

Swim faster

[Stras]

Originally Posted by adidasboy1186

First and foremost i had the chance to work with an amazing Quiet Professional whos name is SFC H****, who i believe mentioned he did his time with 10th Group. He was a great influence and an awesome teacher. Tom

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.

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.

[frostfire]

mods, please delete if redundant

Originally Posted by Stras

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.
.

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

[Mitch]

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.

[RichL025]

Originally Posted by Mitch

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?

[Mitch]

Originally Posted by RichL025

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.

We did it too (1977-1980), but not as a requirement, just as a way to prove who was the best on the team. At Devens, every Wednesday morning, our SCUBA Team would do our PT at Bucker Pool (25meter). We always swam a 1000m swim, starting with a the first 25 meters underwater. Just naturally, we had guys who would make the turn and just keep swiming until they could not go any further.

Each time some one did that, it was just natural for the rest of us to try to "top it." Eventually, many of us were doing the 50 meter, but not all of us.

I could do it, but not all the time - just depended on how movotivated I was at the time. Big problem with doing that, is we still had to swim 950 more meters - we needed something left to do that in a reasonable time.


I suppose this is how standards get developed - and set. All the same, I am glad that I didn't have to do it at the out-set - I may not have been able to do it?

Completing SCUBA school reinforces the your confidence and enhances your skills on a continuing basis. The day you graduate from that class, is the day you start to get better, and better.

[Stras]

Originally Posted by RichL025

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?

Would that be before or after I was accused of breathing through my feet on the breath holding event.....?????

3 guys on my team finished in the top 4 slots... It's not every day that you can use your Team Leader as a swim buoy....