If you have ever done a tech class with David or Matt you have heard the word ‘trim’, usually to the point you never want to hear it again. However if you have ever dived with Gino, Jojo or Alex you have also noticed their perfect buoyancy and excellent control in the water. This is trim and Evolution is passionate about it.
When we teach our more advanced students we often introduce a simple concept to them. We ask if they think diving is a competitive sport? The answer is usually no. WRONG. Of course it is. I want to be better on my next dive. That’s self competition. And yes, I want to be better then you. There, its out there.
For us there is no such thing as a boring dive. If not much is happening then we self evaluate. How is trim, how is balance, how are propulsion techniques. Not 100{3c584785206271acba0b48c760be4725f0625fa591b4a52f771ab721d5a102df} then why not? How to improve? This is how divers evolve and this is where our name comes from.
To dive in trim, in other words the optimised, most stream lined position, was first developed by cave divers. Decades ago, while Jacques Cousteau was still blowing up reefs with explosives, some explorers started to explore caves and quickly realised their dive style had to change. Silty environments quickly become terminal with bad fin techniques and buoyancy. But trim is not the domain of a cave diver or a tech diver. It should be the way we all dive.
With trim, divers maximise propulsion techniques giving them the ability to move backwards and forwards, and from side to side. It reduces drag and effort thus improving air consumption. The bent knee technique helps divers to fin above a reef without the turbulence of their movement sending corals and fish swirling into oblivion. A properly balanced diver in trim can hang motionless in that position for hours with practice.
Being correctly neutrally buoyancy in trim improves the ability of photographers and videographers to get great compositions and steady images. Search and Recovery divers can develop the ability to do complex tasks underwater such as using lift bags, line laying etc all in the optimised body position. Basic diver skills such as balloon deployments become safer adn consistent in trim.
Trim starts in Open Water Course but the real introduction for most students is on the Peak Performance Buoyancy Class of the AOW course. We teach a student with 6 dives the same techniques we teach an Advanced Trimix diver with 1000 dives.
To find out more about trim and work on your technique contact the Evolution team and we can change the way you dive. Contact us on info@evolution.com.ph
