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It is the little things that matter. Ask any performance athlete or engineer. Whether you are trying to squeeze the most speed out of your bicycle or motorcycle, or the best aerodynamics out of your Formula 1 car, the small things add up. The "marginal gains" movement has taken hold in performance sports over the past decade like never before, and now Jeff and Ben bring these concepts to scuba diving.

What are the performance gains in diving? Less air consumption which leads to more time in the water. How do we accomplish that? Clean up all the little things that cause drag and imbalance in the water. From body position to dangling equipment, everything is fair game.

Do you have thoughts and ideas about other marginal gains in scuba diving? Contact us, let us know, and we'll do the research. Click here to leave a comment about the show or ask us anything.

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Imagine yourself 100 meters underground, tucked into a little trolly, racing down rail tracks in an abandoned mine – bullets flying, snakes biting, the heroine captured, and time running out. That's mine diving. Except for the bullets, snakes, and heroine. But the rest of it is still there, sitting as it sat when the mine was closed and flooded years, sometime decades, ago.

In this episode Jeff and Ben talk with UTD Instructor Casper Dreiøe and Marcin Wojturski, the head of the Tuna Hästberg mine in Sweden. Join us for this amazing journey through history and learn what it takes to dive these fascinating abandoned mines.

Links:
The Tuna Hästberg Mine: https://aventyrsgruvan.se/en/
Ben's and Casper's recent dive at the mine:  https://youtu.be/UisaQxKZlmU
Everything UTD: https://utdscubadiving.com/

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The other day Ben and I were talking about upcoming podcasts, particularly the Obscure Questions episodes, then five minutes later we were talking about a student's question regarding flow checks – the process of confirming, both before and during the dive, that all your scuba tank valves are in the proper position – open or closed – as appropriate. That led to the idea that we could probably do a complete podcast episode on flow checks. 

So here you go. Everything you ever wanted to know about the hows and whys of checking that your valves are either on or off. Volume 4 of The Most Obscure Question in Scuba Diving – not "questions" this time, just "question." Let us know what you think.

Jeff

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What's it like to coach scuba divers to meet their goals and aspirations? In this episode Jeff and Ben talk with UTD instructor and scuba coach Mike Brennan. Mike was one of the first UTD instructors to start coaching divers and has a unique and fascinating perspective on using coaching to train divers as opposed to a traditional short-term class.

Unified Team Diving continues to break new ground as we develop new and better ways to train divers at every level – from the first open water course to the most complex deep, technical, cave dive.

https://utdscubadiving.com/utd-scuba-coaching

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As we approach six months into the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions, Jeff and Ben take a look at how UTD has modified in-water training to accommodate good public health practices while maintaining the core principles of Unified Team Diving's training. 

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Are you ready? When is the right time to take a UTD scuba diving class? From Extreme Scuba Makeover to Essentials to Tech and Cave, Jeff and Ben look at the question of, "When should I take my next class?" If you get to the end of this podcast and you are still not sure, contact us and we'll help.

Contact us by clicking here.

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What's it like being a UTD instructor candidate? After a week-long IDC, UTD CEO (and instructor trainer) Jeff Seckendorf sat down with the team to find out what if feels like on the other side. Six UTD instructors, instructor candidates, and students offer their honest expectations and experiences on the process, the prep, the diving, and the UTD culture. A rare opportunity to hear it from the inside.

Learn more about the UTD instructor development program here:
https://utdscubadiving.com/be-a-utd-instructor

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It's 2017 and a local dive shop owner has this crazy idea to build an eco park and scuba center at a quarry on a property that is an active mine. Join Jeff as UTD instructors Matt Skogobo and Zach Kennedy unfold the story of how the Juturna Springs Quarry is about to start hosting divers and dive classes from up and down the east coast of the U.S. And there's a C-130. And it's 220ft/67m deep.

Check out Unified Team Diving at www.utdscubadiving.com.
And Aquanautics at www.aqunauticsllc.com.
And Jutruna Springs at www.juturnasprings.com

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Weighting. And weight. Why we need weight, where to put it, when to ditch it, why not ankle weights, and lots more about this seemingly simple yet sometimes polarizing topic. Jeff and Ben answer your questions and find endless tangents about the how's and why's of weighting in scuba diving. Check out great training and scuba coaching at UTD Scuba Diving, www.utdscubadiving.com.

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In this episode Jeff, Ben, and Seattle Aquarium Dive Safety Officer Jeff Christiansen talk about the role divers play in educating aquarium visitors. Plus stories of diving and training in the exhibits as both kids and parents watch through the giant glass walls.

To subscribe to the UTD online content that includes the Unified Team Diving Scientific Diving course, click here.