My journey into tech

[Doby45]

@Marie13 I know you do lots of pool work / laps to work up your "swim" stamina. I would advise you to get or borrow a pair of the Deep6 Eddy fins. Work with them in the pool. The difference with these paddle type fins is that you should not really be flutter kicking in them. Sure you can, but that is not where they are their most efficient. If you ARE doing your normal flutter kicks in the paddles they will hurt your knees if your legs are not strong enough. But here is the key, get the fins and get your butt in the pool and do absolutely nothing but smooth frog kicks, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Not only will you be working a whole different set of muscles but you will find out how you unlock the true power and maneuverability of paddle fins. Do NOT get in the pool and just do your normal 7658728496284725 speed laps, just putter around nice and smooth and work on your turns, back finning and buoyancy.. I think you will be highly surprised.

 

[Marie13]

@Doby45 I actually haven't been in the pool for a month. I've moved to the recumbent bike as I needed to intensify things a bit before Rescue. I find it's difficult to do frog properly when doing laps. My fins end up above the surface. Easier when I've got a tank on my back in a pool session, but those are rare. Over the winter, I'll see about that.

 

[bamafan]

If you are looking for specifics then I think the GUE Fundie requirements are a good baseline

GUE Fundamentals | Global Underwater Explorers

 

[Marie13]

If you are looking for specifics then I think the GUE Fundie requirements are a good baseline

GUE Fundamentals | Global Underwater Explorers

Thanks. Even though I wouldn't be taking Fundies, good baseline, as you said.

 

[Lorenzoid]

If you are looking for specifics then I think the GUE Fundie requirements are a good baseline

GUE Fundamentals | Global Underwater Explorers

I know I have never been guilty of not reading a whole thread before posting (cough cough), but I posted that link in Post No. 4 above.

 

[Jack Hammer]

Bouyancy is pretty important to start with. For tech diving you really want to stay at your desired/required depth. This gets harder to control as you add thicker insulation, more weight from extra cylinders and gear, task loading, etc.

Fin kicks can be difficult to learn and some, like frog, can be uncomfortable if not performed correctly.

Our Great Lakes can be very cold and silty. Temps on the Hume are usually 39F/4C. Doing deco you really aren't moving much, so not generating a lot of heat. Undergarments that feel fine while finning in those may not be warm enough for deco. There isn't always much of a temp increase as you go shallower.

I prefer practicing bouyancy in shallow water with limited viz and few if any visual references and wearing heavy insulation. It's harder, it'll make doing the same in clear warm water much easier.

 

[kensuf]

Skills:

Buoyancy and trim -- the ability to hover and maintain trim while performing simple tasks (mask removal/replacement) are a good start. The higher up the technical diving food chain, the better you be at this. If you're doing any form of diving with mandatory fixed stops, you better have your buoyancy under 100% control.

Awareness (global and situational) -- you need to know where your buddy is, where you are, what's going on around you, and what sort of things can happen based on actions you or others take. Self awareness (monitoring your air, depth, time) should be something you've mastered before you even begin thinking about technical diving.

Mental attitude and maturity -- diving is serious (all levels), that doesn't mean we can't have fun while doing it, but it does mean you need to be serious about your preparation for diving. Don't be the person showing up to a dive with broken gear or only half-full bottles.

Communication -- This is above the water. As part of maturity you need to be willing to speak up if you're unclear about a dive plan, or if you're uncomfortable with a dive plan. If you don't understand the plan on the surface, you're not going to start understanding it magically underwater.

Things like frog kicks, modified flutter kicks, etc are useful, but can be picked up in an intro to tech course. The things listed above should be ingrained before that first class.

 

[MichaelMc]

I find it's difficult to do frog properly when doing laps. My fins end up above the surface. Easier when I've got a tank on my back in a pool session, but those are rare.

An option for practicing frog kick without scuba is on your back. The mechanics might not be identical, but should give you the slow kick glide and let your knees accept it. I've been working on reverse kick and doing it floating on my back, based on this thread Reverse Kick. Depending on time of day, be very careful you do not burn the skin off your front though... Before that I used snorkel, accepted a bit of hips down positioning, and took a breath every few strokes or so, that was calmer than always keeping the snorkel out of the water.

 

[Marie13]

An option for practicing frog kick without scuba is on your back. The mechanics might not be identical, but should give you the slow kick glide and let your knees accept it. I've been working on reverse kick and doing it floating on my back, based on this thread Reverse Kick. Depending on time of day, be very careful you do not burn the skin off your front though... Before that I used snorkel, accepted a bit of hips down positioning, and took a breath every few strokes or so, that was calmer than always keeping the snorkel out of the water.

Thanks! I swim indoors...

 

[KevinNM]

In fundamentals they have students practice frog kick without scuba but using a kickboard. This adjusts your trim so your fins stay in the water.