Quote:
Originally Posted by cdavis
I've discovered that what works fine for me in the pool doing negatives doesn't work diving exhale, seems to result in mild squeeze, not good. Maybe this is related to the much longer dive times, but whatever, it leaves me very unsure of how deep I can go and keep my lungs safe. How do you know when you are as deep as you should go for comfort, equalization and lung safety? What exactly does it feel like, especially what did it feel like when you first started?
Thanks for the help.
Connor
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That's the million dollar question. I think the answer is not a fixed quantity but rather the pursuit of feeling that you are never straining yourself. That's what I like about FRC - even gentle dives in which you don't feel any feeling of being crushed seem to help you ability to go deeper in the future. I think even dives to 3-4m in a pool will help. The best thing about it is that you can easily control your own definition of FRC and if you exhale a bit more than you want to, you don't end with a negative pressure on your lungs that far exceeds what you can handle, which is not the case with negatives.
How did it feel when I started? Well, in the beginning Eric and I were diving on a line. Our sessions were at night, actually, in November so it was a memorable experience. We weighted ourselves to sink from the surface in full 5mm suits) and used a foam noodle for flotation so we could relax on the surface properly. With this method, we would go completely limp, such that our descents were sometimes ass-backwards, arms straight out from our sides, and we'd descent oh-so-slowly, perhaps 1m every 3-4 seconds. This was in the beginning. I would feel tight in my chest at around 15m and would sometimes hold the line to slow myself down even more. I was also spooked by the lack of air in my lungs. But diving on a line used to give me a sense of security somehow. (not so much anymore) The super slow descents were essential, I think. I'm glad that that's how we approached it back then.
After a couple of sessions (we went twice a week), I was reaching 20-25m with ease. We were both surprised how after only maybe 2-3 nights, we no longer felt any sort of crushed feeling at 15-20m. Later, we started doing more streamlined dives, but still focusing on relaxing our chest wall as much as possible. I think this is really, really important for developing flexibility. A fast descent and muscular tension may impede the development of flexibility. Looking back, I probably would have taken more time at each depth, but I was more headstrong back then.
As I mentioned in the post that starts this thread, after a few weeks, FRC dives over 30m were fine and that's when I did the negative pressure check-in to 15m. (Eric, of course, went to 30m
).
Another interesting thing was the noticeable lack of narcosis. Even at 30m, you'd be surprised at how much narcosis there is. Only on FRC do you notice how clear headed you are.
I don't remember why we stopped those initial sessions. Perhaps going diving in the dark with a line after work was too grueling and the cold from diving without C02 and lots of muscular effort was vastly different from what we were used to. Now, that FRC is the way we both dive, we've adjusted to it and dive for just as long in the winter as before. Funny, that.
But when I took it up again a year or so later, I stuck with rec diving and limited my depth to 15m or so for quite a long time before going deeper, eventually working my way down to 30m+.
The common thread between the two "intros" to FRC was frequency of diving and not pushing it too far on any given session. I tried to avoid feeling crushed since that was a sensation that I associated with squeezes in the past.
So to answer your question in short, I'd advise setting limits for yourself that are conservative and test them out, especially if you're going to take on FRC. For example, try out FRC in the pool with longer bottom time and see what that does. Then if you are in the ocean, build down to 10m and then become at home at that depth, staying down longer and longer in your comfort zone. Your efficiency will improve as well. Diving while completely limp is a lot of fun and should help your awareness.
See how that goes.
