Fundamentals Swim Test

[bipolarbear]

I'm not GUE trained but I did recently do TDI Advanced Trimix which has a requirement for a submerged 20m (~66 ft) breath-hold swim.

It sucked. I failed on my first attempt. 20 metres is a long way to go, particularly in doubles and with 3x deco tanks. Mine was done at 6m depth following a guide line but no pull & glide allowed. Regulator out of mouth and mask off.

In the end I found that going "slower" helped. Proper, strong frog-kicks with a nice long glide.

If you want to 'cheat' you can hyperventilate a little before beginning the test to help purge some CO2 and hold back the reflex to breathe.

 

[mje113]

20 metres is a long way to go, particularly in doubles and with 3x deco tanks.

Wait, you had to do your breath hold swim test in full kit? At least you were able to use fins?

 

[mje113]

Honestly, don't sweat it. I am not a graceful (let alone good) swimmer, so I was big time in my head about not passing the swim test.

Assuming you're a healthy individual, watch a few Youtube videos on how to "pull and glide" swimming underwater - emphasis on the glide. Go to your local pool and spend some time practicing a big pulling stroke and long glide, only reloading once your momentum stops.

I'd also watch a few videos on freediving breath hold training, especially on CO2 tolerance as you can quickly train up in just a few days using CO2 tables or an app like STAmina apnea trainer. Learning how long you can push yourself once the urge to breath kicks in (it will surprise you) will turn the underwater portion of the test into childs' play.

I can dig up some recommendations if you cant find any good videos on youtube.

Thanks for the advice, downloading STAmina right now!

After my first swim coaching session I realized it is probably overkill for the GUE test. I have always wanted to swim for exercise (feet are getting too bad to continue running forever), so I figure learning how to swim more efficiently will be beneficial across the board. One session in and I'm already blown away about how much easier swimming is if you actually know what you're doing.

 

[mje113]

allowing time to glide after pulling is key. without fins, almost all of your forward propulsion will be coming from your arms.

This is great because I never knew about the "glide" part of the underwater stroke.

 

[rddvet]

Any tips for achieving the 50-ft breath-hold swim? I tried it using a sort of ugly breast stroke, and I didn't make it 50 feet.

Yes don’t wear a neoprene top like I did. I wore 2mm neoprene surfing top like a moron and fought trying to stay down. The instructor saw the struggle and just said take it off and do it again. It was easy after that.

Man this is an old thread

 

[Lorenzoid]

Yes don’t wear a neoprene top like I did. I wore 2mm neoprene surfing top like a moron and fought trying to stay down. The instructor saw the struggle and just said take it off and do it again. It was easy after that.

Man this is an old thread

Ha! Yes, I can imagine wearing any bit of neoprene would make staying underwater harder than need be.

An old thread indeed! I asked that question in 2014 before my Fundies class. I have since had to do the breathhold swim for Cave 1 and then Cave 2. In my experience, what made an improvement in my performance was doing the breathhold swim after doing the distance swim as opposed to doing them in the opposite order. The distance swim apparently acclimated me, so although I might have actually felt more tired, the underwater swim was somehow easier. I'm not a freediver, but I would guess the freediver people have a handle on how that works. For me, it was a bit of a revelation.

 

[SpeedyJ]

Ha! Yes, I can imagine wearing any bit of neoprene would make staying underwater harder than need be.

An old thread indeed! I asked that question in 2014 before my Fundies class. I have since had to do the breathhold swim for Cave 1 and then Cave 2. In my experience, what made an improvement in my performance was doing the breathhold swim after doing the distance swim as opposed to doing them in the opposite order. The distance swim apparently acclimated me, so although I might have actually felt more tired, the underwater swim was somehow easier. I'm not a freediver, but I would guess the freediver people have a handle on how that works. For me, it was a bit of a revelation.

Mammalian diving reflex FTW!

 

[lostsheep]

I routinely hear, “hit the gym” for strength related problems ; why wouldn’t a similar attitude apply here? Seriously, if you struggle with either the surface swim or the breath hold, I don’t think you should be diving at all. Neither is a very high bar at all

 

[Lorenzoid]

I routinely hear, “hit the gym” for strength related problems ; why wouldn’t a similar attitude apply here? Seriously, if you struggle with either the surface swim or the breath hold, I don’t think you should be diving at all. Neither is a very high bar at all

You bet. I "hit the gym"--hired a swim coach for a few sessions. Before Fundies, I could manage to swim, but I had never properly learned to swim laps, and my lack of technique made it inefficient and exhausting. The swim coaching was worth it. For several years now, I have added swimming laps to my regular exercise routines. As the old knees complain about the decades of running, I've started to shift more to swimming.

 

[rddvet]

Ha! Yes, I can imagine wearing any bit of neoprene would make staying underwater harder than need be.

An old thread indeed! I asked that question in 2014 before my Fundies class. I have since had to do the breathhold swim for Cave 1 and then Cave 2. In my experience, what made an improvement in my performance was doing the breathhold swim after doing the distance swim as opposed to doing them in the opposite order. The distance swim apparently acclimated me, so although I might have actually felt more tired, the underwater swim was somehow easier. I'm not a freediver, but I would guess the freediver people have a handle on how that works. For me, it was a bit of a revelation.

Did the swim first too. It was the better choice for me as well