tips for getting ready for my OW course?

[rr41mag]

I swam for 15 minutes yesterday in my pool. I cleared my mask one time. Anything else I can do to prepare myself for class?

 

[raptor660]

Swim your heart out the better you feel in the water the more fun you will have. You can practice with a snorkel also if you want.

 

[TSandM]

If you aren't doing e-learning, make sure you have read your book and done your knowledge reviews. Watch the videos. The class goes much more smoothly if the students are prepared.

 

[diversteve]

Do it more than once. The more times you practice the less air you'll use to do so. Try to sync tipping it with a quick exhale. It's why most better masks are also low-volume.
IDK if they still do this but when I was certified we threw all our gear into the pool. Everyone dove in and found something to breathe on/see thru - helped by the first people who could. Then we switched gear until everyone had all their stuff before surfacing as a group.

 

[mmcdanie]

Do it more than once. The more times you practice the less air you'll use to do so. Try to sync tipping it with a quick exhale. It's why most better masks are also low-volume.
IDK if they still do this but when I was certified we threw all our gear into the pool. Everyone dove in and found something to breathe on/see thru - helped by the first people who could. Then we switched gear until everyone had all their stuff before surfacing as a group.

This also sounds like a great party game for divers.

Study up on the flow and concepts of the dive tables. I had the most difficulty "getting" this when it was being discussed and practiced in class, in 1978. If I'd done some pre studying it would not have been such a shock.
Have fun and keep breathing.

 

[nimoh]

in a similar thread a while back, someone suggested partially filling your mask with water and breathing through your mouth and I think this sounds like a good idea. It will help with the skill of breathing through your regulator with your mask off (i.e. you will need to breath through your mouth and not your nose).

 

[Them]

I did the pool part of my class last weekend, so here's my noob/recent victim advice:

Read the book. Take the quizzes. Study the tables or play with the pocket calculator.

Relax and get a good night of sleep before pool time. Enjoy yourself and make sure it is fun.

It seemed to me that the person who had the biggest problem in my class started out a bit nervous (his air was much lower than mine by the end of the first day), got a lousy night of sleep (he made a comment about not sleeping due to chlorine burning his eyes), and then was even more anxious - to the point of hyperventilating - the second day.

 

[rr41mag]

All good information, Thank You very much

 

[dvankirk]

Relax.

 

[Colliam7]

I swam for 15 minutes yesterday in my pool. I cleared my mask one time. Anything else I can do to prepare myself for class?

Clearing your mask multiple times (a lot) is a good idea. Swimming with fins (a lot) is a good idea. Swimming on the surface, with fins, with snorkel, WITHOUT mask, is a good idea.

make sure you have read your book and done your knowledge reviews. Watch the videos. The class goes much more smoothly if the students are prepared.

YES, YES, YES, YES! Please do the KRs before class, not while class is going on.