cap vs no cap in relation to dive response

[jack.diving]

ive been thinking about this for a while and haven't been able to get a straight response from people ive asked so here goes.

i used to do all my dynamics without a cap and had a few issues i had to deal with around the1:00 -1:30 mark of each swim where i would find myself freezing to the point it felt like my head was frozen solid. pretty shortly after i felt that i would lose all technique and simply ragdoll my way down the pool unable to focus on the task at hand. this became very irritating especially upon surfacing where i would simply forget my SP or not even attempt to recovery breathe resulting in me collapsing against the pool wall. the plus side was i never had any urgency to breathe. the negative was i never felt the need to breathe or had any of the signals to come up i use now.

this all changed around 5 months ago when i began using a cap and was almost immediately was more alert and aware of everything i was doing but now i find that i can hardly feel any response during my dives. my personal best has increased in the time since but i feel that im masking something that i could be training more control over

basically what im asking is :

has anyone looked into cap vs no cap?

is what im feeling just a really strong DR?

should i try to control it without a cap or carry on with the cap?

 

[aris ioannidis]

Diving without a cap may give you a better DR. It suprises me that you feel freezing - not sure that is associated with the use of cap.

I prefer to do my dynamics with a cap. I have short hair so it is not a drag issue but more of a flow issue. The cap gives me the feeling that I get better streamline. Also it is more comfortable to compete in the same conditions that you have in training. If training sessions last an hour or more a cap helps you to keep warm.

 

[baiyoke]

I can't make heads or tail in your post...!?! And I've really tried reading it 4 times... Could you perhaps describe it in other words... I'm really interested in understanding what happens when diving with the cap, and withou it...

Or is it simply put, that a cold feeling distracts you technically, you don't notice the urge to breath, and you don't hook-breath, and therefore blackout... and that with the cap, you notice the urge to breath, and get some cues to go up in time..??? In that case it doesn't sound like DR, but more like distraction...

Anyway it sounds like you should, without a doubt, put on a cap!

Btw what's the temperature in that pool???

the negative was i never felt the need to breathe or had any of the signals to come up i use now.

now i find that i can hardly feel any response during my dives. my personal best has increased in the time since but i feel that im masking something

Do you, or don't you, get more cues with a cap...?

 

[jack.diving]

It's kinda weird without a cap like clockwork approaching that point in the dive I just lose all focus and forget entirely about technique and I'm really relaxed but just zone out. Also I just freeze almost instantly not just in my arms and legs but all over. With the cap I get mainly a visual cue that's just a temporary lapse In time but I no longer freeze and find relaxing more of a challenge. I get cues with a cap but without I think I'm just not paying attention to them. Pool temperature is around 18-20c so not cold plus I'm in a 1mm smoothskin. I'm simply asking round if anyone has felt something similar or done some work on the differences and would I find more benefit trying to train without a cap more or just sticking with a cap

 

[aris ioannidis]

18-20c is freezing! Normal pool temperature is 27c

 

[jack.diving]

just a rough estimation will take a reading next time im there.

 

[jack.diving]

the point im trying to make is i feel no real change in temp when im wearing a cap but a really drastic one without. all of these observations where made in the week i started using a cap at the same pool.

 

[baiyoke]

the point im trying to make is i feel no real change in temp when im wearing a cap but a really drastic one without.

That sounds... very logical... ...so put on a cap... (!?)

 

[growingupninja]

A swim cap keeps you much, much warmer and without I expect your body is much colder, possibly borderline hypothermic, and for whatever reason you may not realize you are cold. If I am cold (but not shivering) my DYN performance is much decreased.

I really don't think it has anything to do with DR in this case.

I train in pools year round without a wetsuit. When it is cold I wear a neoprene 2mm liner under a latex swim cap. I have trained/swam as a surface swimmer in some ridiculously cold water and air temps in just a speedo and cap...and it was only possible because I was wearing a cap. As a teenager, for morning training in outdoor unheated pools in the winter (I will spare you stories of walking ten miles to school through the snow uphill both ways) we would layer and wear 2-3 latex caps on top of each other.

What you describe just sounds to me like swimming when really, really cold. You get stupid and uncoordinated, even if you aren't actually shivering. We used to misjudge our flipturns and crash into the wall or miss entirely by the end of practice.

You lose a lot of body heat through your head.