Brushing up on my swimming skills?

[rongoodman]

Depending on your background, some strength work might be in order, especially for your legs. You're going to be carrying 40-50 pounds of gear, climbing boat ladders, possibly making entries and exits over rocky or otherwise rough terrain. Squats are our friends!

 

[Marie13]

Actually, that's not a bad idea. Thanks!

 

[Neilwood]

What @rongoodman suggests is probably a good idea. As he suggests squats are good but I would also do some "core" work such as abdominal crunches etc to build up back and core strength which will help a bit when carrying gear.

I certainly did notice that I was completely shattered during my course due to amount of general exercise and the carrying of pretty heavy gear (it is fine in the pool/sea but getting it there the gear does weigh a lot).

 

[dmaziuk]

What @rongoodman suggests is probably a good idea. As he suggests squats are good but I would also do some "core" work such as abdominal crunches etc to build up back and core strength which will help a bit when carrying gear.

If you're in a pool already: dolphin kick with the board, front and back. Front for lower back, back for abs. It's easier in swim fins.

 

[Fedaykin]

For diving you don't even need to know swimming (not talking about regulations, licence etc.). It is impossible to drown with all this scuba equipment if you don't get panicked. If you get panicked it doesn't matter how good you swim, you get drown.

 

[Marie13]

If you're in a pool already: dolphin kick with the board, front and back. Front for lower back, back for abs. It's easier in swim fins.

Not in a pool already. The membership costs at the Y made me choke. It would have been about $650 a year. The city in which I work has a nice aquatic center. Non-resident cost is about $275 a year. I'm going to hold off - I'm working so much overtime right now that I have no time for anything during the week, and most definitely not something active.

 

[halocline]

For diving you don't even need to know swimming (not talking about regulations, licence etc.). It is impossible to drown with all this scuba equipment if you don't get panicked. If you get panicked it doesn't matter how good you swim, you get drown.

This is a real oversimplification IMO. The better and more confident you are in the water, the less likely you are to panic when something unexpected happens while diving. Being a good, competent swimmer will make you much more confident and comfortable in the water.

 

[Fedaykin]

For me everyone has to know swimming, everyone needs to know how to walk properly, everyone needs to know how to talk, how to write etc…

You are 100% right. More confident you are, less likely you get panicked. But I was just talking about technical reality. Of course knowing how to swim is better. But knowing how to use your brain, knowing to control your instincts during a panic moment is much more important. There are thousands of more truths that can be written. But at the end diving has nothing to do with swimming. Even being a bad swimmer is sometimes worst. I have seen lots of people trying to swim like a dog underwater. Even one of them pulled the regulator from my mouth when she was trying to swim with her hands. Trying to explain diving has nothing to do with swimming is very critical underwater

I might think only one scenario that swimming will be needed. If they forget you in the middle of nowhere and at the same time if your BC is malfunctioning and you can’t inflate it even with your mouth Trying to figure out another scenario but can’t.

 

[TMHeimer]

Well, we're going around in circles a bit. If you live in Saskatchewan and your total life "water" experience is walking into 3 feet of water in Last Mountain Lake, you probably don't really need to have the Life Skill of proper swimming. Trying to figure out mishaps that could possibly occur while scuba diving that would require proper swimming skills--without fins on--has been explored before on SB. I mean, why not just learn how to properly swim and be done with it? It's not that hard. This skill's relationship to what you do on scuba (and your "comfortability in water" thing) then becomes irrelevant.

 

[dmaziuk]

Not in a pool already. The membership costs at the Y made me choke. It would have been about $650 a year. The city in which I work has a nice aquatic center. Non-resident cost is about $275 a year. I'm going to hold off - I'm working so much overtime right now that I have no time for anything during the week, and most definitely not something active.

Yep, that's the main problem with "swimming is great!" advice: sure it is. If your recsports membership fee includes access to all University's pools and 2 of them are 2 blocks away from your office. Otherwise: not quite so much...