I'm too stiff

[tomaquar]

Im an new diver (4 months) and loving it. Ive had the chance to dive with a master diver recently in a local spot. He offered some feed back that I was using my arms too much because Im too tense. He must be right because I notice my back is stiff after I dive.

I use my arms to keep steady. Im assuming thats because Im stiff and when a current hits me it knocks me off center. I use my arms to reorient myself.

Has anyone else had this problem? If so what did you do?

Thanks

 

[boarderX47]

Usually using your arms is a sign of being overweighted which is common for new divers. I know I was my first dive. Play with your buoyancy by decreasing the amount of weight you are using in small incriments. Were you in a jacket BC or did you have a weight belt on? Assuming you were in a jacket style BC did you have any weight in the trim pockets near the tank or was it all in the front two pockets?

 

[tomaquar]

it was a jacket with four pounds each in the front pockets in fresh water.

 

[supergaijin]

I recently had a student who also tensed his body muscles regularly during the dives. At times he was fluid and controlled- other times you could see his muscles contract and it affect his buoyancy quite a lot. A couple of extra shallow water dives helped, unfortunately but nobody can relax for you.

It was very visible that when we were side-on to the reef, he was much more relaxed but as we swam over a reef structure his body contracted. I believe this could be due to a 'normal' human fear of falling on to the reef. However it is only a matter of time, practice, patience, visualisation, breathing control, balance control.... simple!

Sandy bottoms can be very beneficial as it allows the diver to approach the bottom without fear of hurting themselves on coral. The more control that one learns through timing the breathing rythmn, the more relaxed one becomes.

Perhaps a dedicated buoyancy dive or two may help your body to relax. Assume a 'dead-man' position on sand and then slowly awaken various body parts, trying to keep other parts relaxed. If you tighten up again, repeat the 'dead-man' and try again.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Many new divers use their hands. Practice not using them by folding your arms over one another and hold your SPG so that it's not dangling. Also, check that your BCD fits you properly to ensure you aren't suffering from tank roll.

 

[Quero]

Most new divers wave their hands around. In fact, absence of hand waving is one of the clues to competency that dive leaders look for when we are trying to get a handle on the skill level of a diver whom we have never dived with before--when we see a lot of hand waving, we class a diver as relatively inexperienced. This hand waving is a consequence of feeling a lack of control over one's body position in the water column. When you have this out-of-control feeling, your body will tense up. Once you've learned to use your feet more effectively to steer and use your lungs more effectively to fine tune your buoyancy, you will feel less of a "need" to put your hands to work and you will be able to relax.

Body tension is most often a consequence of psychological stress, so the way to relax is to get past the stress. Leaving aside the fact that individuals vary greatly in the degree of trait anxiety/nervous disposition each possesses, most divers find that experience is the major factor in getting past this anxious phase since everybody is naturally stressed when they're performing new tasks when the skills have not yet become second nature to them. Some people become very stressed if they feel rushed just before entry. Some people feel stressed due to social evaluation anxiety--that is, they worry that they will be judged as deficient by their dive buddies. Environmental factors may play a significant role--cold water, poor visibility, waves/current/surf. Some stress-reduction strategies are straightforward--get ready early if you find that you feel rushed right before a dive--but others, like environmental factors, may require the diver to develop coping strategies, and still others, especially if they are part of your psychological makeup, may take a little more work to conquer. Relaxation skills and visualization/mental rehearsal can help short-circuit rising stress levels pre-dive. Learning and practicing yoga/stomach breathing techniques (breath control exercises) can help since relaxation breathing is a stress preventative. Additionally, the more body-aware you become, the more you will recognize the signs of rising stress levels and then work to get past the stress before it takes over, even under water.

 

[TSandM]

As Quero said, hand waving is common, and comes from a feeling of instability. This is often due to ill-fitting or poorly designed BCs, that don't hold the tank in the middle of the diver's back, creating a tendency to roll. It can also come from being very unbalanced fore and aft, as the diver tries to avoid doing a headstand if he stops.

All of us experience some degree of instability in the water, because we are floating, and any asymmetry of the diver/gear system causes motion. But most of us learn to use our fins to control this -- a small flip of a good fin will do far more to stabilize you than your hands can! However, if the fins are too soft and floppy, like many splits, they aren't very useful for this purpose.

 

[herbdb]

Maybe those arm shackles that law enforcement uses to restrict prisoner arm movement could be used on new divers.

I try to fold my arms near my chest and I keep my BCD inflator in my left hand. When I need to adjust for buoyancy, I don't have to feel around for it and it stops me from being tempted to use my arms. Having a good mentor as a buddy will really help your diving.

 

[miked]

When I took OW (back in the day of horse collar BCs and J valves !), the instructor had a ~ 1 foot length of garden hose, that he would give to those students who were flailing their arms, and told them to hold it with both hands, to keep the hands still. The idea worked for some, but others tried to do a "2 hand paddle" rowing motion while holding it!

I like the hold your SPG/console/camera, or just the other hand.

 

[tomaquar]

I dont think its ill-fitting equipment. All the dives Ive done so far have either been with a master diver or an instructor and whenever anyone has checked my equipment its been right. Next time I go I will ask someone to see if "tank roll" from the vest is a problem.

On everything else, u describe my situation perfectly. Could someone explain more what is meant by the "dead man" position? What is the starting position ? When you start to roll, do you do anything to correct ?