400m swim for DM

[verybaddiver]

If you want more fatalities then by all means use a 5mm suit. No different to the hordes of student at inland sights currently in 7mm suits physically shaking so much they cant work inflators or clips properly. As the coroner stated, people have died and will continue to die.

If the water is cold enough to need a 2 layer 7mm semi dry its too cold to be diving wet.

Did you actually read my post? i wasn't talking about 'the water cold enough to be needing 2 layer 7mm semi dry' i was talking about mid summer when the water is definetly warm enough to be using a 5mm wet suit. I've diver very comfortably in a 5mm...
As i said if you are needing more than 5mm i agree that a dry suit is the only real option.
1. bouyancy and thermal protection will be majorly affected by depth
2. you will require huge amounts of weight to sink it
etc etc

 

[String]

Read the post, still disagree.
16c is definately not warm enough for a 5mm wet suit.

Again having seen people evacuated with hypothermia in august and september i cant see the logic of using the suit any time.

Cold water combined with cold air all year round is a recipe for disaster.

 

[verybaddiver]

hey, i don't really care, my weighting/harness is sorted out in a dry suit, no way would i bother with a wet suit. But i've known Capernwray get ~20 degrees, which is the same temperature Sharm was last time i was there

 

[in_cavediver]

Um, sort of like the 800yd swim, which is roughly a 1/2 mile. (0.455mi)

Yep, but the 800 yarder is mask/fins. My comment was just swimming with no PADI approved swimming aids in use.

As I said, many people are really overthinking this. Just do the swim. If you like your time, your done. If not, start training to get where you want to be. You can repeat these test for evaluation if you want to.

 

[WVDiver]

I guess I was lucky. When I decided to do the DM thing I was already use to swimming a mile 5 days a week. You don't get loose and warmed up good till the end of 400m.

 

[MatWill]

the best way to prepare for it is to start swimming...

i was lucky because i swim 2-4k every other day as normal excersise.. i did have do work on my speed though which i did.. normally in the pool i use stroke counts and not time to judge my speed.. unless i'm doing squad doing 45s 50's with 1 min turns for a k *gasp*

the other thing was if they make you do it all at once.. my advise would be do the tread water first.. then the 400 then the 800 thats how i did it and i was more then fine

also long distance swimming sucs for the 400.. but i got a 5 tread and a 4 for both 400 and 800.

the funny thing was i hadnt swum for a few days so after all the tests the chick watching went and had lunch and i swam another k

 

[TheHobster]

1 lap = 2 lengths, where 1 length is literally the length of the pool.
Usually pools are 25m, so 1 lap = 50m, so that's 8 laps = 400m.

Make sense now?

I got so fed up with this after a guy swore he did 8 laps; now I tell them, it's a 25 yd pool, you do the math -

"standard" pool lengths in America these days are 25 yd (SCY competed in HS and NCAA), 25 meter (SCM international indoor pools), 50 meter (LCM Olympic pool) - there are also some 33 meter pools as well from the old days

 

[TheHobster]

...I have been working on my crawl stroke, and see that alternate side breathing, or skipped breathing increase my speed quite a bit. You have less drag when your face is straight down. When you breath, your body is tilted, and drag is increased tremendously. There are a few videos on youtube of competitive swimmers. All breath only once every 3 to 5 strokes.

nonononono - you MUST roll your shoulders evenly - swimming flat leads to other problems; plus, the lats are the main muscle in swimming so they must be in optimal position, and that is out to the side; so roll your shoulders evenly onto each side - there are 4 things great freestylers do: roll shoulders, S-shaped pull, high elbow relaxed recovery, slight catch up

PLUS, you are more streamlined on your side than flat in the water -

Lastly, work on distance per stroke - try to get a 25 yd swim in 15 strokes or less - that shows incresed efficiency of your stroke - unless you have a great kick, kick enough to keep feet at surface - the biggest muscles are the legs, if you over use them early, you will get tired early

as far as breathing, distance swimmers, and the 400 is a middle distance event, breathe every 2 or 3 strokes - don't go to 5 as you will get into anaerobic metabolism too early -you can train at 5 (we did LungBuilders breathing a 100 yds every 2 strokes; 100 ever 4; 100 every 6 and last 100 every 8 strokes) - that is a way to make a 400 go quick

 

[skinnydogdives]

i did my 400m swim at sea water temp 15 c none of this using a wall to turn if you cant do it in a straight line you cant do it. its a swim requirement if you need to swim that far its going to be at sea i finished it in 7:48 doing breast stroke
but then i was in a club when i was younger (about 20 years ago)

 

[ReefGuy]

We start every training day with a 400m swim. Then we get to the hard stuff.