tracking questions

[SivaGanesha 2]

Hi all,

I finished AFF awhile back and am hoping to complete my 'A' soon. I did one solo earlier today but for $$$ reasons will probably not jump again for 2 weeks. However at that time I expect to be able to do 6 or 7 coach jumps.

What seems to be a bit of a challenge for me right now is tracking. In my last coach jumps, I got all the Cat F tracking stuff signed off--which doesn't require a specific distance--but I'm having trouble getting much horizontal distance when I track, so my coaches were reluctant to sign my Cat G or Cat H tracking stuff off.

In practising tracking today, I found that I recognized--as my coaches have advised me--that my legs are not always fully extended and pushing down. However, although I can feel my legs, I am finding it difficult to fully extend my legs (and arms) without veering off on a different heading. It is as though the 'focus' of the track is lost as soon as I fully extend my legs.

Obviously my primary source of advice will be my coach(es) when I return to do a bunch of coach jumps in 2 weeks. But does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Also, I will be joining a fitness center soon (I've already joined but it is a new place that won't open its doors until Sept 1). What specific muscle groups are used for tracking and what type of a workout should best be used to improve tracking ability?

Thanks to all for advice they might have!

ps--my jump total on here is accurate. however most of my jumps were many years ago in Canada. i qualified for an 'a' at the time but never finished the paperwork. at the time tracking was NOT a requirement for an 'a' so tracking is a completely new skill for me--sg

"It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

[dks13827 2]

watch youtube tracking videos

[apt3studiodiver 0]

take this with a grain of salt as I'm still a student too, just a hop n pop and grad dive left.. so close... i had floppy legs issues and at home between jumps had my girlfriend push up on my legs while i pushed back down all the while imagining my dive flow. about the only thing i can think of that it helped was maybe muscle memory for when i was in the actual dive to get my legs un-floppy so to speak. good luck!

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[jsaxton 0]

sounds like you would benefit in the short term by fulling extending and pushing down, but leaving your arms wider for now to increase stability and steering ability.

[Andy9o8 0]

Quote

sounds like you would benefit in the short term by fulling extending and pushing down, but leaving your arms wider for now to increase stability and steering ability.

The OP may find this thread interesting. Note- the best source is your own instructors and coaches, not people online.

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3583280;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

[GaryRay 0]

i think if you work your biceps and glutimous maximus you will have maximum efficiency. happy hunting.

JewBag.
www.jewbag.wordpress.com

[SivaGanesha 2]

Quote

sounds like you would benefit in the short term by fulling extending and pushing down, but leaving your arms wider for now to increase stability and steering ability.

Thanks all for their thoughts...the above in particular makes sense to me because I can feel my legs when they are extended and pushing down but definitely am losing stability and getting 'floppy' when I bring my arms back too much.

I'll run this by my coaches next time I jump...I appreciate the advice but, obviously as noted, I'll let my coaches have the final word!

"It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

[riggerrob 558]

First we learn to track straight, then we learn to track fast.
Many coaches "shape" tracking by starting with a wide stance (for stability), then flattening it (for reducing rate of descent), then narrowing it (for distance).

[firstime 0]

any time I had trouble with my legs, I would do toe taps, it would give me a general Idea where they (legs) were