HELP! Pool 5/6 session. CANNOT get neutral. Feeling helpess.

[GXT23]

Hi,

I'm a 124 lb, 5'6'' female, with a weight distribution of heavier waist down. I'm on pool session 5/6 , and I have yet to get neutral. ( have attempted this sessions 3,4,5). I have a size XS BCD, I have a steel tank ( I'm not sure what the max capacity is but I know I've had 3200psi in there). I am wearing a 7mm wetsuit.

When I am completely negative and I relax, face down to the bottom of the pool, and start putting air in my bcd, and I keep my legs straight, my feet start floating up and if I let them go I just flip upside down in the pool ( like a 180 and I am looking up).
When I was at the surface with 8 lb on my belt and I emptied out my bcd, I sunk at least a foot under the water and I am not sure if I would have kept sinking because I was told to inflate my bcd.
I was told to just be relaxed and it will happen, but I am practically taking a nap on the bottom of the pool while starting to inflate my bcd to get neutral, so I don't know how much more relaxed I could get. I have tried putting only small quantities of air in my bcd and breathing and waiting between additions of air.

1.On dive 3 I had 6 lb on a belt ( I was unable to get negative).
2.On dive 4 I had 8 lb on a belt , all in the side and back. I was unable to get neutral. I was either negative or after 4 pumps I just went up completely.
3.On dive 5 I had 10 lb, my instructor switched the type of tank ( it was yellow ?! a bit smaller, ...told me what kind but I can't remember), put weight in my bcd (8lb in the front) and 2 lb next to my tank. During this dive, in the first 1/2 of the session I felt immense pressure in my lower back like a force pushing me forward on my face to the bottom of the pool. The instructor removed weight from the front of my bcd and put them next to my tank, which relieved the pressure, but did not fix my ability to get neutral.
I just simply turned legs first 180 in the pool. When I swam in the bottom of the pool I noticed that I could control going up and down based on my breathing, however I could only go forward for a little while because inevitably I would either just go on a nose dive to the bottom after a few kicks, or if I adjusted and added a bit more air, I would surface. My kicks when completely positive are great, and I can go across the pool no problem, but when I'm in the water and trying to get neutral I have a hard time balancing , and I cannot kick as well. Also, when I removed my bcd in the water and I kneeled, I would have tipped over if not for help.

I do not find any of the other skills difficult and have been able to do everything else just fine. I am feeling quite demoralized and helpless. We are supposed to leave for our trip in 8 days and I only have one pool session left ( I am getting a referral). My instructor told me at the end of session 4 that she would change some things, and that if those didn't work she wasn't sure what to do to fix the problem. I didn't have a chance to speak to her at the end of session 5.

Thank you for taking the time to read everything and for your help! Any responses are greatly appreciated!

P.S.I could probably have explained things better, but I don't know how. I feel like if I would have less weight on the top part of my body and some on my ankles I wouldn't have this problem anymore.

 

[Fogest]

I am no expert here, but just from what I read it sounds like in the end you were able to get neutral. You said you ended up on a nose dive down after a few kicks. You also mentioned earlier on that doing the fin pivots (going on bottom of pool and trying to add air so you can just float on fin tips) your fins were floating. It sounds like you're maybe having an issue with your fins being too buoyant for you. You may need some weight instead on your ankles.

 

[GXT23]

Fogest,

Thank you for your reply! I guess I would better describe my situation as not being able to hover? I have never been able to go from completely negative to being able to hoover parallel to the floor. When I did scuba for the few kicks it felt more like a takeoff by pushing myself and kicking hard. It was a lot of effort to scuba for the few seconds that I was able to kick, and felt like I carried a lot of weight.
I bought viper oceanic fins from the dive shop.

 

[yle]

Your instructor should be able to help you fine tune your weight distribution so that you are neutral and have proper trim. Besides being important for comfortable diving, these are performance requirements of your course, so the instructor should be motivated to help you find the source of the problem.

You should be able to do a weight check at the surface of the pool (the procedure is a part of every open water course) so that you know you are properly weighted; there really shouldn't be any guessing (and certainly not much, if any, air being pumped into your BCD.) Once you know you are properly weighted and are able to descend, you can then focus on learning how your breathing (and not your BCD) affects your buoyancy.

Your instructor should take this issue seriously, especially if they're referring you to someone else for your open water dives.

I should add that what you've described sounds like you are a perfectly normal new diver, which is why you're in the class: the instructor should be able to show you what to work on, and you can then practice. I'd bet if you spend your last pool session just working on this, you'll be just fine.

 

[cmrangel]

Huum, you say you are heavier from the waist down? From that I assume you mean on land. If you have "a little extra" down lower, that usually means it will float in water. So, if your weight distribution is such that you have some "thicker skin" lower, that will tend to float in water, this would give your legs more of a tendency to float. I would ask your instructor about ankle weights. These are weights, usually a pound or two, that you can wear around your ankles to help prevent "floaty" feet and legs.

 

[GXT23]

Yle,

Thank you for your time and advice! I will definitely try to talk to her before the next pool session to see what she thinks of it all. I think she just thinks I'm not relaxed and that's why I can't do this, but I swear I've been going in with as much positive energy as I can and I did relax. ( though when I kept failing multiple sessions, I cannot say I did not feel frustrated and sad- not outwardly).

 

[GXT23]

cmrangel,

Yes, that is what I meant. I have a thinner upper body vs lower body. I will ask her about ankle weights. Thank you so much for your suggestion!

 

[NYCNaiad]

No offense to the other posters, but please, please don't use ankle weights! I speak from experience.

When I was a newbie, I purchased fins that were positively buoyant and had a BC that shifted my weight so my feet were very floaty...so I got ankle weights. Totally did the trick and I used them for years, but you get too reliant on them and eventually they become a pain in the *ss. Heavy, annoying and when you travel if you lose one, you are screwed. It was my worst equipment decision ever.

Work with your instructor on this instead even if you have to do a private pool session or three. It will be worth it, I promise.

Also, are your fins positively buoyant? If so, consider switching them to a fin that's neutral or a little negatively buoyant.

btw It's very normal for someone new to diving to have issues. That's what all the training is for! I didn't truly "get" buoyancy until maybe 20 OW dives in and then it was such a rush!

 

[ScubaDocER]

The issue you are having is a common one among students and new divers. Don't feel demoralized. It just takes a little time and practice. Buoyancy control is a matter of balancing the positive forces (your 7 mm wet suit, BCD, etc) with the negative forces (your weight belt and tank). Neutral buoyancy also involves proper trim (swimming in a horizontal position. Like lying flat on the floor with your shoulders, hips and knees all in a straight line). There are actually a lot of factors that go into being balanced in the water. And they can all change as you go deeper in the water. The first thing I would do is to perform a weight check. You do this at the surface and it should tell you if you have the proper amount of weight to do the dive. Do this in the shallow end. Put your reg in your mouth. Dump all of the air out of your BCD at the surface and again after you start to sink. Take a deep breath in and lift your legs straight up in the air. If you sink to the bottom, you are over weighted. If your chin nose doesn't go below the water, then you're under weighted. If you hover at eye level then you are properly weighted. Once you have the amount of weights set, then you should be able to descend without difficulty. Now it becomes an issue of body positioning. You want to position your body such that your shoulders, hips, and knees are all in the same horizontal plane. If you can oscillate up and down in the water with slow breaths in and out then you are neutrally balanced. I would suggest swimming head down, like you're looking through the bottom of a glass bottom boat. Look up from time to time to see where you're going but try swimming head down. When you look up, stop kicking, and then resume when you're head down again. When people lift their heads up, they tend to lift their shoulders up as well which takes them out of alignment. Kicking without being neutrally buoyant first and in proper trim will either send you head up or nose diving to the bottom.

You explained your issues very well. I would also talk to your Instructor about your concerns. She should be able to go over these suggestions with you and see if they will help you. Again, don't become demoralized. Divers have spent the majority of their time underwater trying to achieve neutral buoyancy. It is part art and part science. It changes with the water conditions (you will be more buoyant in salt water than in fresh water), with equipment (7mm wet suit vs a 3 mm wet suit), and with body position. There should be several You Tube videos that might demonstrate how to achieve this as well. Stay positive and continue to work on the craft of buoyancy control. BTW, it is easier to achieve better control at depth (20 feet or more) than it is in a shallower pool. So remain confident in your abilities!!

 

[PfcAJ]

This stuff takes time to get good at. Don't sweat it too much.