gerard
personally i always do warmup statics and stretching and i usually have very constant diving conditions (weather, temperatures, pesonal fitness etc).
as soon as i start my dives i feel how good a day i m having. that is what limits my depths/times. i start out shallow getting into the right diving mode. having done many dives in the same area under various conditions gives you a good idea on how long/how deep you can safely go. i dive with a depthgauge/timer which i read regularly and i also wait for contractions as a duideline.
i ve already experienced situations without a depthgauge/timer when i was so involved in the dive that i overlooked time and depth and just so made it back. won t happen again (knock on wood!).
using contractions takes more practise for me at least. what i like to do is drop down, sit on the bottom wait some seconds and then come back up. the bottom time i increase from one dive to the next. in the beginning i ll be on the surface without having contractions, in the end i ll surface after 10 contractions. that s where i usually stop. during statice i hold about 45 contractions, during fast dynamics around 15-20.
so when doing a dive, beeing a lot more relaxed than during fast dynamics, that gives me the confidence to stay down even when contractions start.
during 1 hour in water i spend around 30 minutes underwater. if i d push it too much i d have to do longer surface breaks.
when trying for cw i dive with a buddy and push it a little more. but not much.
generally for me it s the experience after many dives that gives me a good feel about my body and how much and how long is possible on any given day.
cheers
roland
