Tricks for reaching valves and manifold?
- Thread starter tplyons
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Yoga. Lots of yoga exercises will help this but yoga is holistic. Yoga-stretching, breathing, core strength, relaxation and energy all go hand and hand. Along with many other important aspects. You don't just pick and chose a couple of handy stretches.
Hot yoga will give the most stretching benefits although its not really traditional. I'd probably just start with a traditional, beginner's yoga at a real yoga studio. Maybe even a few private sessions to start. The cool thing is that yoga gives pretty quick results. The other cool thing about yoga is that you'll probably see a pretty nice improvement in SAC. Plus, its usually much cheaper than a personal trainer.
Hot yoga will give the most stretching benefits although its not really traditional. I'd probably just start with a traditional, beginner's yoga at a real yoga studio. Maybe even a few private sessions to start. The cool thing is that yoga gives pretty quick results. The other cool thing about yoga is that you'll probably see a pretty nice improvement in SAC. Plus, its usually much cheaper than a personal trainer.
Reach back as far as you can with one hand. With the other hand, push your elbow and you will gain a few more inches of reach. You could also lift the tanks from the bottom to gain a few more inches.
OP
tplyons
Contributor
Drysuit is front entry. A ScubaPro EverTec.
OPH?
Bands are about a half inch below the shoulder of the tanks.
OPH?
Bands are about a half inch below the shoulder of the tanks.
One tip I heard was to place your hand against the back of your head, and tip your head back, to push your hand lower. Try reaching back as far as you can now, then tip your head as far back against your arm as you can, and feel how you stretched just a bit further.
What this trick did was force the diver to learn to tip their head back, which is the opposite of what some divers are actually doing. It is natural to want to tip the head forward when trying to reach back to the valves, but tipping your head far back actually helps you reach the manifold.
Combine this with the shoulder stretches, and you can easily get so that reaching your valves is no longer so difficult.
What this trick did was force the diver to learn to tip their head back, which is the opposite of what some divers are actually doing. It is natural to want to tip the head forward when trying to reach back to the valves, but tipping your head far back actually helps you reach the manifold.
Combine this with the shoulder stretches, and you can easily get so that reaching your valves is no longer so difficult.
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See a good neuromuscular therapist...many people have had knotted up muscles for so long--due to old injuries or even just sugar caused inflamation.....a good Neuromuscular therapist can lengthen the shortened muscles up in one session, which will also make your shoulders healthier in this case as well.
Finding a good Neuromusclar therapist? That is like finding a good attorney--they are far from equal...some are like Rain man for healing...some are almost useless. Cyclists that race ( and crash) and that have the income-- should know a good one ( a NM Therapist will run around $70 to $100 per visit....but you get an immediate "CURE" WITHOUT DRUGS... ...so you could see about this form of referral
Finding a good Neuromusclar therapist? That is like finding a good attorney--they are far from equal...some are like Rain man for healing...some are almost useless. Cyclists that race ( and crash) and that have the income-- should know a good one ( a NM Therapist will run around $70 to $100 per visit....but you get an immediate "CURE" WITHOUT DRUGS... ...so you could see about this form of referral
OP
tplyons
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That article helped me, and I would like to quote part of it here for emphasis:
BANDS
Lets start with the twinset. I really have lost count of the number of divers I see moving twinset bands up and down their cylinders whilst at dive sites, in attempts to reach their valves, totally forgetting about what this will do to their trim etc. I was that diver for a few months so I certainly cannot claim I havent been there myself. Move the bands to just below, and I really do mean just below, the neck of the cylinders. Then leave then alone. Really. Its a seemingly common belief that moving the bands down a cylinder will move the valves closer to your hands. Lets think about that. Your twinset is a straight line, but your back is a curve. Moving the bands of the cylinders down therefore moves them up in relation to your back, but actually moves them further away. The closest they will get to your back will be if you set up your cylinders as in Image 3.
Lets start with the twinset. I really have lost count of the number of divers I see moving twinset bands up and down their cylinders whilst at dive sites, in attempts to reach their valves, totally forgetting about what this will do to their trim etc. I was that diver for a few months so I certainly cannot claim I havent been there myself. Move the bands to just below, and I really do mean just below, the neck of the cylinders. Then leave then alone. Really. Its a seemingly common belief that moving the bands down a cylinder will move the valves closer to your hands. Lets think about that. Your twinset is a straight line, but your back is a curve. Moving the bands of the cylinders down therefore moves them up in relation to your back, but actually moves them further away. The closest they will get to your back will be if you set up your cylinders as in Image 3.
When I was struggling with this, I looked at the videos of people doing it easily and realized their manifolds were not where mine were in relation to their heads. It wasn't just the location of my tank bands--my harness was too tight, which affected the location of the manifold.
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