Kick technique and leg cramps

[rawls]

I would recommend you do some calf, quad and hamstring stretches before diving. No matter however...If you do alot of diving in one day, you will probably get crams at some point...that old lactic acid build up.Also water conducts heat away from you. You get cold and you cramp. Don't over do it. Your body is telling you...you didn't prepare my muscles...or I'm getting tired...

 

[Mambo Dave]

+ bananas. eat 'em a while before a dive.

 

[Quero]

What everybody else said--hydrate, eat bananas, strenghen your leg muscles in other ways, do stretches, and consider your fins.

In my case, I became really, really good at the cramp removal exercise all through my OW course when using rented full-foot fins. My instep is high and most full-foot fins cut off the circulation, causing cramping of my feet and calves. My first gear purchase was a pair of open-heel fins and booties.

 

[merxlin]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but I had a similar problem. My question is: where do you learn how to do some of the other kick methods, like frog kicks and helicopter kicks? I know my frog is probably a 3 on the technique meter.

 

[Mambo Dave]

There are actually free videos online showing the frog and helo, but I have a DIR DVD that shows them as well.

From my own experience, if one knows the basic frog kick, and only kicks that way for long periods of time (like a shore dive, and many of them), eventually you'll get better and better at making it faster and more efficient. I noticed that, sometimes when keeping up with relatively fast flutter-kickers, I would get into a really efficient rhythm and mid-torso movement that, while it worked really well, would have been near impossible to garner from a video or learn from someone else. it was just something that had to evolve.

The helicopter, on the other hand, was something I needed to see once on a video to understand it was basically the foot on the side of the direction wanted that did 90% of the work. Easy as pie once you see it from a video and realize what the diver is doing, and what they aren't.

 

[spectrum]

Six dives, freshly certified and you accept that you haven't been doing anything exceptional as far as leg fitness IMO you just plain over did it.

Given paragraph one I don't think there is eough drinking water, bannanas or technique to make you cramp proof for 6 dives in one day.

The good news is that it should be an easy fix. Regular diving will be a huge help. If possible get out skin-diving. this will let you kick for an hour or two at varried paces when you don't have a buddy handy. You can also focus on a good flutterkick while skin-diving. My kick was OK last summer but after doing skin-dive laps at the YMCA a time or two during the week last winter I find it much easier and more natural to get my whole leg working. If you want to move on to the frog kick so be it.

Hydartion will help avoid a plethora of dive ills and the potasium in a bananna is said to help with cramping.

Your fins may be aggressive for where you are in conditioning and if you have something more relaxed it may help for now.

Pete

 

[merxlin]

Thanks. I'll look for the clips online.

 

[Tatakai]

Thanks Spectrum again. The fins I was using are the Avanti Quattro. Doing Nitrox classes and dives next weekend and can't wait to get back in the water. I talked to my DM and he said that I needed to slow down also. That he could keep up with me but at the same time I was just going and not looking around to see everything that was there. I am going to pay more attention to my speed and use my whole leg instead of from the knee down. I will be taking my camel pack also to keep hydrated. Thanks everyone for all the tips and info I do appreciate it.
I know that I am a newbie and will have to improve on everything to be a better diver.

Tatakai

 

[parrothead600]

There are actually free videos online showing the frog and helo, but I have a DIR DVD that shows them as well.

Do you have a link to the online videos?

 

[Tatakai]

http://www.divetekadventures.com/Images.htm
This is one that has better video that I have found. There maybe others that I don't know of yet. Hope this helps you out. I am going to try them next weekend when I do the Nitrox class and dives.

Tatakai