Staying Still?

[Dubious]

As I continue to work on my buoyancy, I am wondering if there are any tips for staying still?

While I have got away from using my hands, It still takes all of my attention not to move my feet. At first, I just thought it was a trim issue but I am not so sure anymore. I feel compelled to keep moving. I know when I am on land and sitting I have a tendency to bounce/shake/move my legs/feet all the time (I am doing it as I write this). Could this sub-conscience action be playing a role in the trouble I am having being still? Is there any drills I can do to actively work on this?

My main concern for getting this worked out is safety stops and drills.

 

[rongoodman]

What happens when you get flat in the water and quit moving? Do you sink. rotate feet downwards, or what?

 

[herman]

You need to reconsider the goal. Not moving at all is almost impossible......watch fish in an aquarium, they gently fin to stay in position, why would you think you can do better than they can, esp since your buoyance is constantly changing as you breath. You can get close and keep the finning to a minimum but zero movement is not a reasonable goal.

 

[TMHeimer]

You need to reconsider the goal. Not moving at all is almost impossible......watch fish in an aquarium, they gently fin to stay in position, why would you think you can do better than they can, esp since your buoyance is constantly changing as you breath. You can get close and keep the finning to a minimum but zero movement is not a reasonable goal.

I don't know. I've seen divers getting as close to motionless as noticeable with the naked eye-- what about those aquarium divers that you'd swear are statues? I can hover without any fin movement -- none that I could tell. And that's near the surface where pressure change is greatest.

Anyway to the OP-- How did you do with the hovering skill in the pool? What did your instructor say? I assume your fin movement was little enough that you passed the skill.
In order to remain motionless (give or take an inch or 2 or less up/down) you have to use your lungs. Inhale, you rise a little, exhale you descend. How much you use breathing to stay still can depend on your depth and if you may have not quite the correct amount of air in your BC.
To establish neutral buoyancy we learned the "fin pivot" skill, which I believe is no longer done. From the fin pivot position--or just from the bottom, you can push up and use BC air/breathing to get neutral and still. I know those who teach everything neutral from square one will explain this better and give advice on maybe a better way.
As for your tendency to move (feet, etc.) on land, I don't know what to say. Have no idea if that has anything to do mentally with the need to fin all the time. My older brother would sit in a chair and constantly wiggle one of his feet. Drove mother nuts.

 

[Dubious]

What happens when you get flat in the water and quit moving? Do you sink. rotate feet downwards, or what?

My main trouble is moving forward when I don't want to. When I really think about it with a point of reference (line with marker) I tend to stay still with a foot or two variances up and down, but as soon as I stop consciously thinking about and/or take my eye off the line I tend to start moving forward. I then try to stop the movement going forward with back fining (still work on this) which doesn't go well. Normally I find myself having to turn around and reset. When I am doing drills, I always find myself moving forward whether it is mask removal, s-drill, and so on.

You need to reconsider the goal. Not moving at all is almost impossible

I guess what I am trying to say is I feel compelled to keep moving forward. I want to be able to stay still so I don't have to always reset my position. In essence, I feel I always need to be kicking.

 

[Dubious]

don't know. I've seen divers getting as close to motionless as noticeable with the naked eye

This reminds me of a guy we dove with in Jamaica. They called him doctor phill. He would just sit motionless at the safety stop without a care in the world. If I didn't see bubbles coming from him you would think he was dead.

Anyway to the OP-- How did you do with the hovering skill in the pool?

Well during my ow training not well at all, but I have worked on it a lot since then.

To establish neutral buoyancy we learned the "fin pivot" skill, which I believe is no longer done.

This is how I was taught last year. Not really helpful in the real world. I will post a video from a pool dive in May and will see about recording some video the next time I am in the pool

 

[lowviz]

I guess what I am trying to say is I feel compelled to keep moving forward.

I totally get that as I had the same compulsion when I first started.

For me, it was simply a basic discomfort in trusting my gear. One of my old instructors pointed that out to me. Invaluable observation. It seems that I was trying to convince myself that I was in command of my safety, not my gear.

There is a silt bottom almost everywhere that I now dive. What worked for me was to try dropping to the bottom and stopping just above the silt. Obviously, you will mess up fairly frequently and hit the bottom. No problem. Extend one arm if you are going to touch down. Ideally, you just want to f*** up a little bit so that one finger into the silt will save you, go all the way to a balled-up fist if need be. That one arm keeps you off the bottom.

Freeze for a second and begin to add really short bursts of air to your BC. The goal is to exit the bottom with just a tiny silt trail coming off your hand.

Notice that nowhere above did I suggest finning...

 

[Dubious]

So here is a video from my first time in a drysuit in May of this year. I think it kind of shows what I am talking about. I keep moving forward towards the ladder. Look at my fins I see little kicks.

I am in an Intex 18 foot pool with average depth of 42" and max depth of 48" (in center)

 

[lowviz]

You can do a LOT in a pool like that.

Notice that you are trying to freeze in proper horizontal trim. You can't hold it so you finally begin hand sculling to reset yourself for another try.

Simplify it. Hit the deck and stay there in perfect trim until your breathing hits something around 14 breaths per minute.

Start inflating your BC in tiny blasts while assessing the effect that each addition has. When you finally start to lift off the bottom you will likely go head/fins or right/left down. Fix that by adjusting your weight placement. Repeat...

 

[GJC]

For your first time in a drysuit and at that depth, you are doing really, really good.

You might do better a little deeper where your fins aren't breaking the surface.

You might have a little too much air in your legs that make them buoyant and you might be compensating by finning.

You need to learn to back kick so you don't move forward.

Not having anything to do with your buoyancy or movement, but your gloves look like they are too big for your hands. I just had to mention that since your gloves were so prominent in the video ☺