Water Confidence

[CadetHoltz84]

I was wondering what techniques do you use during treading water or drownproofing. Also how do I improve my swimming ? This message was originaly posted in Ask an AF Para Rescuer but I was then refered here.

[Engvalt]

I'm not a SEAL nor have I gone to BUD/S. but my best tip to would be to PRACTICE! Get used to floating on your back, the try it IN THE SHALLOW END ( 3 FEET OR LESS ) with your hands tied behind your back and your legs together. DON'T TIE YOUR FEET!!! It's dangerous. Also to improve your swimming try to swim everyday!! using side stroke on both sides. with and without fins. BTW ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS!!!! Swim with a buddy. Or at least have some one near by just incase something happens. (You get a cramp, float into the deep end, et cetra......)

[CadetHoltz84]

From the knowledge I have aquired what you are describing is the dead mans float and if I am wrong then tell me. But, I have bought a book and have seen the indocrintaion handout for Pararescue and Combat Control and they say what you described as a dead mans float.

[Engvalt]

<a href="http://www.sealchallenge.navy.mil/buds.htm">Go Here</a> and scroll all the way to the bottom. They will tell you everything (well ALMOST everything) that is required to pass the drownproofing test. Once you know what's required you can focus on getting better in the areas that need improvement. As for the dead-mans float......I think that's what it's called.

[Engvalt]

<a href="http://www.sealchallenge.navy.mil/buds.htm">Go Here</a> and scroll all the way to the bottom. They will tell you everything (well ALMOST everything) that is required to pass the drownproofing test. Once you know what's required you can focus on getting better in the areas that need improvement.

[CadetHoltz84]

Thanks that kinda cleared it up but one question still remains what techniques do you use when drownproofing. I read in a book titled "The Offical United States Air Force Elite Workout" that you and I quote "...bobbing where the student sinks to the bottom of the pool and then pushes off, exhaling until reaching the surface" so how do you sink to the bottom. And also how do you tread water, thats where your hands and head are above the water line and your keeping yourself up by using your feet.

[Engvalt]

Honestly........I'm not sure. Considering that book was written by the Air Force (which BTW is the ONLY branch of the Armed Forces I really don't like) I would say that your best bet would be to <a href="http://www.sealchallenge.navy.mil/contactrecruiters.htm">Go Here</a> or <a href="http://www.sealchallenge.navy.mil/contactmotivators.htm">Here</a>. These people will help you.

[Gloomer]

Hopefully this will help you a bit with treading water with no hands. Im just learning it my self im not sure if it referred to the same everywhere but im sure it is used in hs sports just about everywhere. At my school the water polo team does whats called "the eggbeater" basically just a way of circling your legs to keep you afloat no arms needed. Im just starting at it a bit difficult but you do get good thrust out of it. If you were talking about treading water with feet bound and no hands i cant help you there :(

[JRShep3339]

Hey,
I'm 15 and want to be a SEAL so I've watched everting on SEAL's that I can and what I have seen and I tried it in my pool. I really dont know how deep the pools at BUDS is but what I think you do in when you want to go down you let all the air out of your lungs then you will sink then you just kick up with your feet and go back up and keep on doing this and you will be ok. Oh I dont know if you just blow all of your air out at one time or let it slowly out or what so you should pratice a lot before you think of going to SEAL training.

Hope I helped,
Jackson Shepherd

[elpaninaro]

Quote Highlighted Text


Hi Cadet,

To start off with your question above, the human body can sink to the bottom of a body of water- or more accurately- rest on the bottom of a body of water.

Try this sometime. Go to the pool and in shallow water submerge yourself on your back. Straighten out your body, hold your nose (so water does not get inside) and exhale. As you exhale the air in your lungs will leave you and you will sink to the bottom where you can rest quite comfortably for a while.

As for exercises in drownproofing and bouyancy in general- there are 3 crucial factors that determine whether you sink or float.

1. Body weight and composition. Fat floats. The more body fat you have, the more you will tend to float in the water and not sink.

2. The density of the water. Salt water is more dense, so the human body will tend to float easier in salt water than fresh water.

3. Clothing. This can quickly overcome factors 1 and 2. When you go in the water wearing clothing, two things happen that add a lot of weight to your body causing it to sink. This is why in real life military training, when you do flotation and survival exercises, you will tend to sink and need to tread water. First, your clothing will absorb water which adds a lot of weight to pull you down. Second, water trapped between your body and your clothing (especially boots) will also become additional body weight. So jumping in the water with clothes on, which is how the SEALS do it to learn to use their clothing for flotation devices, will drag you down pretty quickly.

Treading water is something that you have to do in these sorts of exercises when you are forced into the water fully clothed and need to make a flotation device out of your pants. There are many ways to do it, but the key is to conserve energy. In a real life situation you might be out on the water for hours until you are recovered, so saving your strength is paramount. The "eggbeater" with your hands as someone else described is good along with a bit of kicking as necessary.

But this is temporary. You will not be able to tread water for hours on end. You only tread long enough to create a flotation device from your clothing. From there you need to know survival float- or dead man's float- as you have read about in that link provided by another poster.

As for better swimming in general, I have some suggestions,

Find the BUDs Warning Order on this site and follow it to the letter for training. Do your sidestroke as often as possible- preferably 4-5 days a week. When doing your sidestroke, focus on taking what most people think of as sidestroke and try to make it more of a strength and stealth exercise. Pull your arms hard to get longer strokes. And just after your kick, pause for a bit with your arms fully extended to get the full streamline distance before you pull your arms again. Also try to only allow your head to come out of the water. The main benefit of the sidestroke for military use is that if done in this way, with only your head coming out of the water, it is very quiet and does not make a big splash. Remember the importance of stealth in your stroke.

Endurance is key. It is FAR better to swim 200 meters without stopping than it is to swim 300 meters and take 30 second breaks between each lap. Go slow to start and you will be amazed at your progress.

If you read the Warning Order, for Week 1 it recommends that you swim 15 minutes per day for 4-5 days. But I say take it a step further. Check your distance. If on day 1 you can swim 300 meters in 15 minutes (using sidestroke), then the next day make it 325 or 350 meters- even if it takes more than 15 minutes. "The only easy day was yesterday" is a central adage in SEAL life, so start getting in that frame of mind now. Make each new day a new challange, realizing what you did yesterday is not good enough anymore. (NOTE- I am NOT a SEAL, just a gonnabe like most of the rest of us here.)

After your swim routine each day, do some no breathers. To pass BUDs you will need to swim 50 meters without coming up for air, and so better to learn how to do it now rather than later. Besides, practicing this will greatly improve your aerobic efficiency in the water. Kick off the side of the pool and put your arms straight ahead with your hand clutched together and kick hard and fast to get as far as you can. It sometimes helps to keep your body very close to the bottom of the pool to keep your bearings. If you do not make the other side. Stop, breathe and start again from that same spot until you finish. The goal is to swim a lap with as few breaths as possible- and then later to do it with no breaths at all. Once you can do that, the goal is to do it 2-3 times in a row with only a short rest.

Most importantly- DO NOT TRY TO DO BUDS AT HOME! I know it will be tempting to jump in the water with your hands tied, but even that is VERY dangerous. Panic can set in and you can drown in 3 feet of water if you panic. I am serious.

To practice drownproofing, just hold your hands in a tight fist behind your back- always do these things in a way that gives you an instant out in case something happens. And when you get that down, do it with hands in a fist behind your back and your ankles locked over each other. You can simulate drownproofing quite easily without actually having your hands and feet tied together, so better to do it that way and not take unnecessary risks.

It is easy to think you can do this sort of thing with tied hands and feet, but once you hit the water your instincts will take over- and drownproofing is all about overcoming your instincts. Leave the real stuff for BUDs where very experienced instructors will be a few feet away to solve any problems. It is good to remember that drownproofing training in BUDs resulted from the death of a fully trained SEAL who fell over the side of the boat with only his hands taped together (read Gary Smith's "Death in the Delta" to get the story from one who was there), so please do not- as an untrained civilian- put yourself in harm's way.

Also, in your drownproofing, once you can handle it without panicking, practice doing a dolphin kick to swim a few meters with your hand and feet locked together (ie of your own accord and not by being tied up.) The goal is to swim 50 meters in this fashion, doing a slow butterfly kick to get your head to the surface to breathe as you use that kick to propel you across the pool.

Finally, try SCUBA. It is a lot of fun and will get you very familiar with the water. One thing I like to do is sidestroke across the lake with SCUBA gear after a dive. Great way to practice your open water swimming with full SCUBA gear.

Hope this helps! Good luck to you.

[soulburst]

EL is right ask those 4 guys who jumped into Grenada.Be safe and try to find a workout buddy even if it's to fish
you out.Remember even in training thing can go wrong.

[sealtobe]

SWIM LOTS!!! That is the only way. I like to snorkel and breath hold dive. Also swim for long preiods at a time(side stroke, breath stroke). You should also try to get a method you are very comfortable with and can do easiy to catch your breath. Mine is floating on my back and kicking occasionally.
By the way im am not a SEAL just gonna be. See you in the teams!!

[robo3]

Could you try to explain more in detail how the movements of the "eggbeater" are performed. I getting ready for my Lifeguard certification and one of the requirements is a 2 min. tread without hands. I'd heard someone mention that technique before but they didnt go into details how to do it. Thx

[rvernetti]

The eggbeater is difficlult to learn, each individual has a slightly different technique that works with their body type.

Basically, just assume a position under water like you are sitting in a chair, slightly leaning forward.... underneath your body, rotate your lower leg at the knee, counter-****wise with your right foot and clockwise with your left, alternating the strokes.
This is very awkward at first, but once you build the muscles with a lot of practice, you can tread water indefinately.
(this wont help you in drownproofing though!, obviously)
Rich