A few tips wanted...

[Achilles]

I dive with fins and try to improve.

First, which one gives a more optimal dive: hands up front in a straight body-line or keep them tightly in your sides. Now doing the latter, gives a sense of rest to hands.
Second, should I exhale or keep the oxygen until the surface? Exhaling seems to relieve but I don't know which one gives a better result.

Achilles

 

[SEDATE]

if you talking about going deep keep them tightly in your sides.in the pool hands up front in a straight body-line.cos'you gonna free fall after 6-7 meters ..never excale in the deep!!!!!!!!! dive with the breath on the surface ya got it come back without breathing..otherway you gonna get more constractions and gonna be BO!!!!

 

[Adrian]

Hi Achilles and welcome to DeeperBlue!
There's a whole lot of information here and most every question you can think of has been covered in some way. The search function is really great and if you use the Advanced search function you can narrow down the replies and get fast results.

Here are a couple of threads that dealt with the position of arms while diving:

http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?t=35544&highlight=arms
http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?t=52249&highlight=arms

Some excellent threads on exhaling while reaching the surface:

http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?t=31192&highlight=exhaling
http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?t=18518&highlight=exhaling
http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?t=53994&highlight=exhaling

Adrian

 

[Achilles]

sedate and adrian, cheers!

being winter here in Finland, I can only practise in a pool with 5m depth. I descend, then dive a distance on a bottom and ascend back. basically, I'm trying to find the most optimal way to dive farther using two fins. reading your response and those threads, it seems that I must try different variations and find what works for me. seek to raise my (PB) 50m distance at a bottom up to 75m.

joined yesterday, and love this forum already

 

[popac]

If you do dynamic in a pool or you're doing just a horizontal swim,keep your arms straight up because keeping them down(next to the body) will produce hidrodynamic resistance.Also keeping your head down(in a normal position),without streching your neck forward will improve your performance.

 

[cdavis]

Hi Achilles, welcome to DB.

You might find it useful to switch kicking styles during dynamic. I dolphin kick for about 40 per cent of the distance, then switch to a scissors kick. Doing negatives as a warm up kicks in the dive reflex/blood shift early and strong. Be careful with negatives in a 5 m pool, especially if you have never tried them. That is another good search topic.

You are using a buddy/spotter??? If not, START NOW.

The least resistance in the water comes from a competitive swimmers streamline, arms forward, hands crossed, head below the arms, which almost meet above the head. This presents the smallest cross section to the water and produces far less drag than any other position. However, individual flexibility, wetsuit selection and other factors can make it difficult and O2 intensive to maintain the position for very long, if at all, so it may not result in the longest dynamics. You have to find the right combination of ease and low drag for you.

Have fun

Connor