How to physically and mentally prepare for intense sea survival safety training?

[eternum]

@keith9duffy It might be worth trying to have a few private swimming/water exposure lessons. I can swim but had a fear of putting my head under because of a malfunctioning snorkel experience. This obviously affected my swimming technique so I found a great personal trainer/swim coach who helped me be calmer about it. I wouldn't expect to be a master swimmer but someone to help you get used to the water and swim a few strokes, pull yourself out, etc. Kind of like they do with babies and toddlers in swim classes. Worth asking at a local pool or other local resources if anyone knows a good coach.

Same with climbing actually, look for a beginner session, or even just clip and climb to get used to the sensation. You'll feel more confident if it's not all completely unknown.

 

[rclofgren777]

@keith9duffy So I can help to calm your fears about the pool stuff! I do parts of this regularly for my work and it’s not as bad as it sounds, I can assure you. The survival suit alone will ensure you float and the life vest is designed to right you so that you are face up. When you jump in, just hold your breath, close your eyes and you’ll be back above surface within seconds. No sweat.

Using the ladder to get into the dinghy is again fine, general strength is all you need. The hardest part will be gripping the dingy due to the size of your life vest when inflated!

Same with righting the overturned dingy, it’s being able to get a hold of it and then pull on it with a fully inflated vest that will be the hardest part, but totally doable. An air pocket will form under the dingy allowing you to breathe when it’s on top of you. Your vest won’t let you go under the water, so don’t fret! Just pull and get out from under as quickly as possible.

You really just need general strength, nothing fancy. I’d get in the pool and try to swim just to get comfortable in the water as that will help you to relax more on the training days.

 

[debyfabienne]

@keith9duffy I can’t really speak to the training, but I can a bit to the mental aspect. Through your post, I’m reading a lot of language that seems to indicate that you don’t really think you can do this. But I’d like to point out how big of an effect it can have for you to actually believe you can manage.

i'm not saying don't train. i'm saying that looking yourself in your eyes in the mirror every morning and telling yourself that you want this, you can do this, and you can stay calm can give you the edge you need to succeed. plus it's not about being the best. it's about doing the minimum you need to survive.

it sounds cheesy as fuck. but don't knock it until you try it. this sounds like an incredible experience. don't let self doubt be what holds you back.

 

[lostinlove]

@keith9duffy I can speak to the climbing and fear of heights. I started rock climbing in part to address my extreme fear of heights. Like debilitating, limiting fear of heights. After my second time on the rope in the climbing gym, I was 95% totally fine. Exposure works, almost magically. I’m still aware of heights but the fear is pretty near gone.

I think you can do this training and you’ll come out on the other side so proud and confident. It will be hard and scary at times perhaps. They are also going to be teaching you- not just throwing you out there on your own, so don’t feel like you have to figure all of it out now.

Start doing some form of exercise every day for the next 2.5 months. Nothing crazy, but mix it up. Join a gym, go running, bike, go in the pool and get comfortable with water start in the low end of course), use the stair master. Take a climbing class at a climbing gym if you want. Expose yourself to challenging your body and you’ll start getting into the mindset you’ll want for training and start to trust your body more.

The key is to replace thinking and worrying about the training with actions you take everyday instead. Along with a little trust that they will be training and helping you.

 

[gabriel137]

@keith9duffy You can likely do all this. I would run a couple miles a week, lift 3x a week, swim and focus on calming your heart rate/breathing. Focus on your stress response. I can feel it thru this post!

Its a week of survival training due to the reality that conditions like that could arise during your term but is it likely you will have an emergency or weather event? Prob not. That weeks worth of training is super valuable. I would charge that shit.

Its all in your head.

 

[ricawong]

@keith9duffy It depends on where you are in your training. Some things that may or may not help are being a healthy weight for your height, having some general cardiovascular endurance, etc. so following a program that is a mixture of strength and cardio (most beginner programs) would be good.

As a side note, in my scuba certification course, two women really struggled with putting their faces in the water, let alone breathing underwater. But our instructor was patient and helped them through it. One went through the entire course. The other went through the entire course and is now a dive master.

You can do this. Practice some things through exposure in a safe environment and take little steps. You can absolutely do it, but it may take some extra effort for you.