Spending a lot on a tunnel camp? Show up prepared and get the most out of your time and investment.
Booking a tunnel camp is a big decision. Knowing you’re going to be able to fly a lot in a short amount of time, in a new location, perhaps even in another country can be so exciting.
Tunnel camps can also be exhausting. The amount of time focusing on your flying, being pushed and grinding on new things, the pressure of people watching you, jet lag and late nights can all take a toll during the camp.
A little preparation for your first camp goes a long way. Here are some things that’ll make a big difference.
Get Clear on Your Goals
You don’t need to arrive with your entire progression mapped out. Hiring a coach means allowing them to build that path for you based on what they see. But, knowing what your goals are and being able to articulate them is important.
Are you looking to be a top tunnel flyer? Do you have dreams of competing in the tunnel? Or, are you trying to use the tunnel to get better at flying in the sky? Maybe your goal is a head down world record. Maybe you want to become really good at dynamic flying in the sky. The approach to a tunnel flyer vs a skydiver can look very different. Be able to identify that to your coach.
But, also be prepared for your coach to change the plan. Sometimes what we think we need to work on isn’t actually what we need in the moment. Trust in the coach.
Choose Your Coach Wisely
Who you train with matters. Being an incredible flyer doesn’t automatically make someone the right coach for you. You’re going to spend a lot of concentrated time together, and there needs to be some kind of synergy and good communication.
Do you understand the way they explain things? Do you feel comfortable asking questions? Do you learn through blunt, no BS communication or do you need some laughter and lightheartedness in how you learn?
If you’re going to spend thousands of dollars flying with someone, do a little homework beforehand. It’s perfectly acceptable to hop on a call with a coach and interview them for the job ahead of hiring them as your coach.
Bring the Right Gear
Obviously you should have a good fitting tunnel suit and a helmet that fits. Bring layers for under your suit. Maybe you don’t prefer to fly with layers under your suit but that’s probably not when you’re flying up to an hour a day. When you are spending a lot of time in the tunnel in a day, you can easily get a rash under the suit.
A few rash guards or thin base layers are worth throwing into your bag. Also, some tunnels can get quite cold. Having options underneath your suit makes life much easier.
Focus on Your Own Flying
A big buzz kill at a tunnel camp can be living in a state of comparison. Everyone learns differently and at different rates.
For one flyer, it might take a few minutes for something to click, while it takes you two days for that same thing. However, you might understand something immediately that they’ve been struggling with for months. Don’t compare or compete with anyone at your camp, except for yourself. That’s the only real true way to track results and progress.
Tunnel flying has an incredible ability to expose exactly what you’re not good at yet. That’s part of why it’s such an effective training environment. If you spend your camp measuring your progression against everyone around you, you’ll miss a huge part of the experience.
Be Willing to Be Exposed
Learning requires being willing to not be good at something. And in the tunnel, you’re doing it while people watch. It can be humbling. Let it be. That’s the whole point.
Ask the question you think you should already know the answer to. Tell your coach when you don’t understand. Let yourself be exposed in what you don’t know how to fly yet. That’s how you really elevate your flying.
Eat and Hydrate
This sounds obvious until you’re halfway through a camp feeling run down, getting headaches and totally out of energy. The tunnel takes it out of you quickly. Start the day hydrated and keep drinking throughout it. Eat in between sessions. You’re burning a good amount of calories so eating enough calories and hydrating goes a long way in sustaining your energy for the grind.
Get Ready to Be Smoked
Tunnel flying is physical. And learning is mental.
A few minutes at a time doesn’t sound like much until you’re flying rotation after rotation, spread over an entire day (or night!). You’ll notice yourself getting sore and tired in places you don’t typically as your body works into different drills and positions you’re not familiar flying. That’s normal.
And when fatigue starts affecting the quality of your flying, more isn’t necessarily better. There is definitely a point of diminishing returns.
Recovery Is Part of Training
What you do outside of the tunnel at camps matters for your progression as well. Get some sleep. Give your body and brain some downtime.
Think of sleep like an extension of training. You don’t have to look far to find research proving that during sleep your brain consolidates what you’ve been practicing and learning, helping new skills become more familiar and easier to access the next day.
Most of All, Enjoy It
You booked a tunnel camp because you want to become a better flyer. So let yourself be a student.
Show up with some goals. Be prepared with the essentials for flying long hours. Find a coach you trust. Take care of yourself during the camp like an athlete. Ask questions. Be willing to struggle. And enjoy the struggle. That’s where the learning takes place.
