Taking videos of yourself...

[island_sands]

Aside from the pros here, does anyone get themself video'd while training? We did it tonight, with astonishingly embarrassing results It was good impetus to improve our technique and understand what we are doing wrong.

Sometimes your IT cant explain it to you and its difficult to tell someone that their ass is really in the air (like mine was ) unless you know each other well

[Pastor]

You have to look on the bright side of this situation and accept that things aren't so bad if your ass is confined to just sticking in the air. The big problem is when someone's ass is everywhere else at the same time

[apneaboy]

Good marketing!!

I'll take five copies please. LOL

[chrismar]

Hmmm, video...

Actually me and my main two training buddies do a fair bit of video analysis. I've found it very helpful and so have they. The double bonus comes because now when your training partner says you're sticking you're ass in the air, you know exactly what they mean

I think Kathryn posted some of her training vid analysis swims on youtube. I've avoided doing the same with mine...

[Mullins]

It's very helpful, I mean to do a bit more of it over the next couple of months as I've never seen how I swim with my new monofin. Ideally you'd arrange a screen that lets you watch your technique while you're swimming so you fine-tune it on the fly. This is what rowers and other athletes do, but there are obvious problems where water is involved!

[island_sands]

hi Dave, yeah that's what we plan to do.. here's me thinking I was sleek.... I look like a humping camel Lots to work on there

[Mullins]

I'm sure whoever pointed that out meant it in the nicest possible way

[chrismar]

Originally Posted by island_sands

here's me thinking I was sleek.... I look like a humping camel

I kinda look like a banana trying to glide. Still hard to beat Guy's technique self-discription: syphilitic flying goat

[Mullins]

You have to wonder where he got the inspiration for that.

[island_sands]

Or best not to ask

[apneaboy]

The best description I ever heard for a Freediver in training was from Umberto himself. He said to my mate 'you go down like a chaotic Monkey'

[island_sands]

Originally Posted by apneaboy

The best description I ever heard for a Freediver in training was from Umberto himself. He said to my mate 'you go down like a chaotic Monkey'

SHEESSH I cant think what a chaotic Monkey would do "going down"

[samdive]

I've used video quite a lot - and yes it helps loads. Also once dove in a pool with a mirror along the bottom which was interesting for dynamic

best video I ever made was just holding the camera in my own face on a dive - once I'd worked out how to equalise AND keep the camera steady it revealed some interesting facial expressions!

[salibandy]

I do try to do it often to review my technique. Like others have said, when someone else tells you where you're wrong, you won't really understand what they mean unless you actually see it. So the video helps a lot.

[Jon]

Just what kind of techniques are you trying to video with your bum sticking in the air?

I've done some video work with the local master's swim team,. I used a video camera with a very wide angle lens and swam along side of them underwater as they swam above, and to the side, of me. At the end of each lap they could review and see how they were doing. I think a wide angle lens is very important so you can get close enough to the diver, yet still get them, and their fin(s), into the frame.

For constant it's a bit tricker around here because of the thermocline. We can have great vis on the surface and at depth, but that middle layer is going to be hazy no matter what you do- unless you're training under ice and then there's no thermocline to worry about. For that we go don and meet the diver right above, or below, and film from there. Sometimes we'll follow them up and you can see the vis go to hell as you pass through and then it gets clear again. Ted put some of this footage together for one of the palooza videos. First, you'll see a diver descend in gorgeous vis, and the next thing you know they are on the bottom swimming through the trees- everything in the middle had to be tossed!

Hopefully that's not an issue where you dive.

Still, get the wide angle lens.

Jon