PADI peak performance buoyancy course

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How's your buoyancy? If you didn't learn buoyancy in your OW course, it couldn't hurt. OTOH, you might consider finding an experienced diver as a mentor and diving often.
 
Walter:
How's your buoyancy? If you didn't learn buoyancy in your OW course, it couldn't hurt. OTOH, you might consider finding an experienced diver as a mentor and diving often.
Two great ideas. First, diving often, especially with a mentor, will do wonderful things. Diving without feedback however might not improve buoyancy, trim, or any other aspect of diving. Second, I'm a fan of something like a course solely designed to improve buoyancy. Assumming that the instruction is better than the original lessons that did not insist on (or teach) good buoyancy, a focus on buoyancy, with real instruction is a very cool idea. Skip the card - go after the skill and the feel that you get when you hover without working at it.
 
Hello,
I took the course shortly after my open water. I felt it helped me at the time. So simply, yes I took it and yes it helped.

All the best,

Paul
 
Walter's point is a good one - you might do as well by finding yourself a dive buddy that has excellent buoyancy skills and learning from them. That ain't always as easily done as said, however, so I'd suggest you consider taking the class. The PPB class is only as good as the student and the instructor work to make it be, but if both work hard it can be a very good class.

The problem with buoyancy is that you never master it. I've never seen a diver come out of an OW class with anything but the most primitive buoyancy skills and nothing beats a lot of practice for getting better. Divers expecting that taking a class will magically solve their buoyancy problems are soon disappointed. All the class can do is teach you some basic information and skills and, more importantly, how to master those skills on your own. That should be enough, however.

If you decide to take the class, I'd find an instructor that will teach you how to get horizontally trim in the water and will make you stay that way. It's harder than it looks but it's worth the effort.
 
Yes I took it and it did help. If you can master your buoyancy, diving becomes
effortless. One of my worst diving experiences was a cold water dive when
I was over weighted, I could not wait for that dive to end.
 
There are many threads about PPB. Most will tell you that you can do about the same by yourself or with a good DB that knows how to get there.
 
In my AOW class, peak buoyancy was one of the skills we worked on. Not only did we work on proper weighting (I dropped 25% of my weight and have a little more to go), but you also learn skills that will help with body position to better enjoy the dive. I went into it thinking this will be lame, and came away feeling good about the choice.
 
The thing that is helping my bouyancy control most is task loading - If I'm focusing on my bouyancy I do fine, but add something else into the mix and it becomes hard to maintain bouyancy for me. So I intentionally will shoot a bag during a dive, check air frequently, clear my mask, remove and replace reg, and other task loading skills within my comfort level to try and help me control my bouyancy more subconsiously. - also on my "safety stops" I will pay a game of tic-tac-toe or hangman with my one buddy as it really makes you work on 2 things at once (carry a slate or wet-notes)

Just some things I'm doing to improve my bouyancy - I just have to be careful because sometimes I lose it completely, the other day I did fine at my 30ft and 20ft stops, but at the 10ft I went back and forth between 15ft-8ft... not acceptable.

Aloha, Tim
 
I took the course long ago and it wasnt that good.

As a result, I just took all my gear to a local pool that divers could use. I started off with just swim shorts and t-shirt, then donned my normal bcd configuration I always dive. In the 4 ft area of the pool I let out all the air in the bcd and leaned forward to see if I would sink. ( I had NO weights...and the tank read 500 psi.) I sank.

Then I repeated the process with just my shortie....then my 3/2 ...then my full john boy....and so on.

I found in fresh water being as neg bouyant as I am...I needed no weights even with my 6mm JB. When I dive ocean I just add 6 lbs and I am set.

I found this exercise more useful than when i was in a large class and after a class of math formulas told to go jump in the water and work it out.

Maybe you would have better luck in your class.
rich
 
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