Arousal Level:

The term “Arousal Level” refers to your physical, emotional and mental state during a skydive.  Simply put, your arousal level describes how calm you are, how aggressive you are, how spooled up or spooled down you are at a particular moment.  It includes both psychological (aggression, confidence, anger, fear, apprehension, etc.) and physiological (heart rate, breathing, etc.) components.

Optimum Arousal Level:

Over years of training and thousands of jumps, we have found that each of us has an optimum arousal level.  By definition, your optimum arousal level is the degree of calmness/aggression at which you perform your best.  This level is different for each person.  We each have to do different things to arrive at and then maintain this level.  At your optimum arousal level, you are calm enough to see and comprehend everything going on around you.  You are totally connected to your performance.  You react and adjust at will without hesitation.  You are in absolute in control.  Some athletes have referred to this optimum arousal level as being “in the zone” or in a state of “flow”.  On Airspeed, we refer to it simply as being “on the line”.

How To Find Yours: 

To determine your optimum arousal level, you need to monitor and record your level as you jump and then compare it to your performance during the debrief.  Under canopy, or as soon as you land, briefly reflect on the jump assign a number from 1 to 10 to describe how aroused you were.  10 equates to the most pumped up, aggressive, anxious or amped you have ever been on a jump.  1 describes a person who is barely awake.  The numbers are, of course, arbitrary and it does not matter what scale you use so long as you use the same one on each jumps.  If you keep track of your arousal level on every jump and then compare it to your performance, you will soon find patterns that tell you where you perform best. 

Just about every competitor we have coached tended to err by being over rather than under the line.  Consequently, just about everyone we have worked with has noticed marked improvement by simply calming down.  Many people do not realize when they are over the line.  If you key a point that is not complete or if you key (or preload the key) when it is not your key, you are BY DEFINITION over the line!  If you are too rushed to perform each step required to properly execute a block or if you blur multiple steps together, you are over the line.

What To Do With This Information:

Once you have come up with a scale with which to measure your arousal level and have developed a fairly accurate idea what your optimum is, you can use this information to get the best out of yourself on every jump.  Start by taking yourself to this optimum level before the jump begins.  Shine a mirror on yourself during the ride to altitude and ask yourself if you are on, above or below the line.  If you are over the line, calm yourself down using meditation, visualization or some other form of self-talk.  If you are below the line, pump yourself up by re-living some powerful performance in your past or by replaying a particularly aggressive song in your head. 

Once you have learned how to place yourself on the line before a jump, you need to learn how to stay there the entire jump (or, more accurately, how to return quickly each time you stray).  Developing this skill takes practice.  If, during the debrief, you see yourself getting over the line, make note of what you were doing immediately before.  The more frank and honest you are with yourself, the quicker you will start to see patterns.  Eventually you will identify the type of things that usually precede your getting over the line.  KEEP ONE THING CLEAR IN YOUR MIND - outside distractions cannot take you off the line; only you can do that.  The better you get at recognizing yourself getting off the line, the quicker and more smoothly you can “reset” yourself to your optimum arousal level.  [“Resetting” will be discussed in greater detail in the segment on Distraction Control]. 

What You Get:

Working to define and pursue your optimum arousal level is a process of constant and incremental improvement.   An entire skydive on the line is an incredibly powerful and satisfying experience.  Four teammates skydiving together in the zone can be downright euphoric.  Athletes from different disciplines have reported feeling energized, invincible and deeply satisfied after similar “flow” experiences.  For many of us, seeking out these episodes is the prime factor motivating us to train and compete.