Am I fit enough for DIR-F ?

vid · December 6th, 2005, 12:56 PM

Well, I've been asking myself this for the last couple of weeks - I'm pretty sure I can pass the breath hold and swim tests.

But I've also traced an article in the DIRQuest from Fall 2003 (issue 4.4) called "eight weeks to DIR fundamentals: a guide to passing the fitness test".

Now since I'm not a GUE subscriber, I can't download this. So has any caring person got a copy of this article, that I can read?

ta
vid

Jonathan · December 6th, 2005, 01:10 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by vid)

Well, I've been asking myself this for the last couple of weeks - I'm pretty sure I can pass the breath hold and swim tests.

But I've also traced an article in the DIRQuest from Fall 2003 (issue 4.4) called "eight weeks to DIR fundamentals: a guide to passing the fitness test".

Now since I'm not a GUE subscriber, I can't download this. So has any caring person got a copy of this article, that I can read?

ta
vid

Well if you can do the reqs for fundies then you're fit enough!

You could do a lot worse than read "Doing it Right:Fundamentals of Better Diving" for finding out more about general fitness requirements moving on from that.

Gary Moffat · December 6th, 2005, 01:49 PM

You need to be able to swim 14 25m lengths in under 14 mins without stopping - I think. Can not remember the exact distance and time allocated.

Little Pete · December 6th, 2005, 02:38 PM

I think it's 275m swimming then the 15m breath hold swim. The first isn't too hard if you can swim (I struggled messily through but made it) and the second can be done quite easily with a few techniques to help.,

vid · December 6th, 2005, 06:47 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Little Pete)

I think it's 275m swimming then the 15m breath hold swim. The first isn't too hard if you can swim (I struggled messily through but made it) and the second can be done quite easily with a few techniques to help.,

swimming should be ok

and i practice snorkelling/breath hold diving in the pool on club nights (admittedly, it's static apnea) but as long as i'm not asked to do it at a pace of 15 metres in 5 minutes

, then i'll survive

Quote: (Originally Posted by Jonathan)

You could do a lot worse than read "Doing it Right:Fundamentals of Better Diving" for finding out more about general fitness requirements moving on from that.

thanks - done that,

i was after the article, just to see if there's anything extra of use specifcally as i do DIR-f in 8 weeks time (yippeee)

vid

lamont · December 7th, 2005, 07:20 PM

I've been practicing swimming for 2 months and my breath-hold has increased from 50ft / 15m to 70 ft / 21m and my time at back****** for 300 yd / 275 m has dropped from 12 min to 8 min 30 sec. I also managed to get my SAC rate down from .60 cu ft / min to 0.45 cu ft / min (you're on your own for metric conversion for that one).

Biggest help for me was streamlining my body, and actually slowing down my kicking to not tire me out. Particularly for the breath-hold, your kicking is just to provide some momentum in between ******s with your arms. If you try to use kicking as your primary propulsion, you'll tire yourself out faster. You do want to try to "pull" the water pretty hard with your hands and have long, slow, powerful pulls to propel you through the water.

I'm trying to improve my freestyle/crawl ability and work on my breathing and form there and hopefully get to 300 yd / 275 m (6 laps / 12 lengths) in 6 mins.

EDIT: you realize, god kills a kitten everytime a word is censored?

rooster · December 7th, 2005, 08:06 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by lamont)

........ and my time at back******

EDIT: you realize, god kills a kitten everytime a word is censored?

Thanks Lamont, that's cheered me up after a bad day.

We need to teach the censoring machine some context!!!

Gareth Burrows · December 7th, 2005, 08:21 PM

Yeah, cos it could get embarrassing if we start admitting to getting regularly caught whilst giving the cat a *****

*Clare Gledhill* · December 7th, 2005, 08:27 PM

Pmsl!!!

Good job you don't keep a pet sheep

LCF · December 9th, 2005, 11:10 AM

We had to swim 400 yds in 14 minutes for our swim test . . . apparently the swim requirement is being raised, and although it's still posted as 300 yds on the website, our instructor used the new standard. The breath hold is still 50 feet.

I passed the swim test, and if I can swim 400 yds in under 14 minutes, ANYBODY can do it. I did swim laps a couple of times a week for about six weeks before the class, and I think it helped.

December 6th, 2005, 12:56 PM	#1 (permalink)
vid(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: london/surrey border, UK Posts: 353	Am I fit enough for DIR-F ? Well, I've been asking myself this for the last couple of weeks - I'm pretty sure I can pass the breath hold and swim tests. But I've also traced an article in the DIRQuest from Fall 2003 (issue 4.4) called "eight weeks to DIR fundamentals: a guide to passing the fitness test". Now since I'm not a GUE subscriber, I can't download this. So has any caring person got a copy of this article, that I can read? ta vid

December 6th, 2005, 01:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
Jonathan(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 215	To answer your title... Quote: (Originally Posted by vid) Well, I've been asking myself this for the last couple of weeks - I'm pretty sure I can pass the breath hold and swim tests. But I've also traced an article in the DIRQuest from Fall 2003 (issue 4.4) called "eight weeks to DIR fundamentals: a guide to passing the fitness test". Now since I'm not a GUE subscriber, I can't download this. So has any caring person got a copy of this article, that I can read? ta vid Well if you can do the reqs for fundies then you're fit enough! You could do a lot worse than read "Doing it Right:Fundamentals of Better Diving" for finding out more about general fitness requirements moving on from that.

December 7th, 2005, 08:21 PM	#8 (permalink)
Gareth Burrows(Offline) Chimp 2 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Horsham, West Sussex Posts: 369	Yeah, cos it could get embarrassing if we start admitting to getting regularly caught whilst giving the cat a ***** __________________ Garf Amusing and Clever Signature under construction.

December 7th, 2005, 08:27 PM	#9 (permalink)
Clare Gledhill(Offline) GUE Instructor Site Admin Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: UK Posts: 1,547	Pmsl!!! Good job you don't keep a pet sheep __________________ Clare . "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions....Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great." Interested in DIR dive training? Always happy to chat/answer questions so get in touch via PM or visit www.dirdiver.co.uk

December 6th, 2005, 01:49 PM	#3 (permalink)
Gary Moffat(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: East Lothian Posts: 120	You need to be able to swim 14 25m lengths in under 14 mins without stopping - I think. Can not remember the exact distance and time allocated.

December 6th, 2005, 02:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
Little Pete(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: UK Posts: 509	I think it's 275m swimming then the 15m breath hold swim. The first isn't too hard if you can swim (I struggled messily through but made it) and the second can be done quite easily with a few techniques to help.,

December 6th, 2005, 06:47 PM	#5 (permalink)
vid(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: london/surrey border, UK Posts: 353	Quote: (Originally Posted by Little Pete) I think it's 275m swimming then the 15m breath hold swim. The first isn't too hard if you can swim (I struggled messily through but made it) and the second can be done quite easily with a few techniques to help., swimming should be ok and i practice snorkelling/breath hold diving in the pool on club nights (admittedly, it's static apnea) but as long as i'm not asked to do it at a pace of 15 metres in 5 minutes , then i'll survive Quote: (Originally Posted by Jonathan) You could do a lot worse than read "Doing it Right:Fundamentals of Better Diving" for finding out more about general fitness requirements moving on from that. thanks - done that, i was after the article, just to see if there's anything extra of use specifcally as i do DIR-f in 8 weeks time (yippeee) vid

December 7th, 2005, 07:20 PM	#6 (permalink)
lamont(Offline) APLP Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 181	I've been practicing swimming for 2 months and my breath-hold has increased from 50ft / 15m to 70 ft / 21m and my time at back**** for 300 yd / 275 m has dropped from 12 min to 8 min 30 sec. I also managed to get my SAC rate down from .60 cu ft / min to 0.45 cu ft / min (you're on your own for metric conversion for that one). Biggest help for me was streamlining my body, and actually slowing down my kicking to not tire me out. Particularly for the breath-hold, your kicking is just to provide some momentum in between ****s with your arms. If you try to use kicking as your primary propulsion, you'll tire yourself out faster. You do want to try to "pull" the water pretty hard with your hands and have long, slow, powerful pulls to propel you through the water. I'm trying to improve my freestyle/crawl ability and work on my breathing and form there and hopefully get to 300 yd / 275 m (6 laps / 12 lengths) in 6 mins. EDIT: you realize, god kills a kitten everytime a word is censored?

December 7th, 2005, 08:06 PM	#7 (permalink)
rooster(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 61	Quote: (Originally Posted by lamont) ........ and my time at back****** EDIT: you realize, god kills a kitten everytime a word is censored? Thanks Lamont, that's cheered me up after a bad day. We need to teach the censoring machine some context!!!

December 9th, 2005, 11:10 AM	#10 (permalink)
LCF(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 625	We had to swim 400 yds in 14 minutes for our swim test . . . apparently the swim requirement is being raised, and although it's still posted as 300 yds on the website, our instructor used the new standard. The breath hold is still 50 feet. I passed the swim test, and if I can swim 400 yds in under 14 minutes, ANYBODY can do it. I did swim laps a couple of times a week for about six weeks before the class, and I think it helped.