practice for perfect trim

[mayastig]

just got out of a practice session at the pool, first with a jacket type bc and next with a friends bp/w system. man, i spent more conscious time trying to get my bouyancy and trim right with the jacket. when i got on the bp/w...i actually spent more conscious time practicing my kicks (which was what i set out to do!). i think ill stick with the bp/w... the jacket keeps on riding up my back while the bp/w was steady.

anyhow, im trying to practice my trim where i can easily bend my knees upright at a 90 degree angle and stay somewhat horizontal, but i somehow keep finding myself on a small angle facing upwards and i find it hard and uneasy to bend my knees upwards. are there any tips or practices i can do to get myself on the right angle for a proper trim with my knees bent?

 

[PfcAJ]

Arch your back and elongate your body under the tank(s). Put your arms out infront of you and clench your butt cheecks together.

Adjusting yout tank(s) higher might help with your trim a bit, too. Don't hesitate to experiment with weighting options and tank positioning.

 

[rjack321]

focus on arching your back, everything else (hopefully) will fall into place

 

[double80s]

Dive more & think less (about form/trim). If you understand the basics, it will come naturally unless you have some weird weight distribution. Sounds like you are trying to frog kick, just remember: Kick...and...glide....you'll know when you have it right.

 

[HarryWhisman]

I've been working on my trim as well and been having exactly the same problem. I dive with a ranger and as of late have been putting all the weight in the trim pockets beside the tank. Last time out I slid the whole unit up to where the tank was banging my head. Hey I could do the frog kick and glide straight across the bottom that way. I was thinking about tying the yellow thingies up high on the tank next time like I read in another thread a few days ago.

I've been scoping out the bp/ws but right now I'm working on the custom drysuit thing.

 

[mayastig]

ill try sliding up the tank a bit, thinking about it now and i think i might have it too low down the bp/jacket (trying to avoid hitting it with my head). thanks for all the suggestions...

 

[nkw5]

In addition to wearing my tank higher, it really helped my trim when I took some weight off my belt and put it on my tank.

 

[gecko3s]

Here's how it was explained to me, and you can ask PfcAJ, it seems to work.

Try this on the floor or the bed first:

Instead of concentrating on arching your back, lay out flat, arms in front legs straight behind you. Now stretch yourself out as far as you possibly can. Make yourself 'long'.
You will find that your legs will naturally 'lift' themselves up from the hip down. Again this is by making yourself 'long'. Hold this and notice that your back is arched...Bend your knees up to a 90 or so degree angle, and clench your glutes, keep everything tight to hold it there. voila. Pratice this on dry land as much as you can, to see tremendous improvement underwater. I saw great improvement after only an hour of practice the night prior to a dive.Hope this helps.

 

[Snowbear]

If you concentrate on arching your back, your knees will have a tendency to drop forward as your butt sticks out... go ahead and try it while looking at your posture in a mirror This will tend to seriously mess up your ability to achieve and maintain horizontal trim.

Instead, do as Gecko said.... bring your knees back (using your butt muscles) and the arch in your back will naturally follow. Bring your head back to look forwad as well ... looking down will tend to cause your trim to be more head down or even make you feel like you're tipping over or feel "feet light" which folks will tend to blame on their drysuit or tank position. To fine tune your horizontal trim, extend or bend your knees more (while keeping them "pushed back"). The 90 degrees thing is just the median.... most folks will not have their knees at exactly a 90 degree angle

Once you learn this (don't be surprised if it takes a few tries.... having someone who will give you honest feedback or take video of you will help a lot!), you will easily be able to compensate for any single or double tank setup, steel or aluminum, regardless of tank length or minor positioning changes on your back.