How To Do A Full Out (5152B): The Leadup, The Connection, and the Pike-To-Twist

Today we're talking about full out.

Some people learn this as a full in, but I'm only covering the full out version, because that's what I know best and it's how I'd teach it.

This one goes deep. We'll start with the front double leadup and how it differs when you're building toward a full out, then the basics of the dive itself, and then some genuinely nerdy detail on how to make it great over time.

Most of the takeoff material applies to your front takeoffs in general, so it's worth sitting through even if full out isn't on your list yet.

Where You Should Be Before This

If you're watching this you've probably already attempted the dive. You should definitely have front 2½ tuck. You should also have front 2½ pike on one meter.

That isn't strictly necessary, but being able to flip that fast in pike is going to be vital for making full out on three meter.

The Front Double for a Full Out Is Not a Normal Front Double

This is the thing people miss. The front double you'd do for competition is a different dive from the one you use as a full out leadup.

You have to come out earlier than normal. It helps to throw a bit harder on the takeoff, like you're going for a front 2½, and then come out early.

In the video I made, you can see one diver float their legs over on the way out, and another who comes out early without letting themselves flop onto their stomach.

Here's why the timing matters: adding the twist speeds means temporarily slowing the flip speed. So if you come out too late, you twist too late, you may get lost and smack hard on your back.

Getting the timing and strength of your heel drive right out of the flip is the whole game.

Diver Guy's Tip: When you're first learning the leadup, start coming out as your hips pass the top of that last flip.

Come around, spot front 1½ so you see the water, and then work out the timing of the out from there. Check out the video for a visual of what I mean.

Adding the Twist Without Scaring Yourself

Once the front double feels comfortable, you can add the twist. If that's intimidating, there's a safer path.

Do the front double, and then do the twist as you're going into the water. You won't get the full twist around, but you get the safety of sliding into the water, and it separates the flip from the twist in your head.

As you get comfortable, bring the twist earlier and earlier. Eventually you're driving your heels out and twisting into it at the same time.

Think about how on a normal front double your heels slide under your body at the end as you extend for the entry. A full out is basically that, except harder and earlier.

You have to drive your heels out fast enough that the flip momentum continues, so you have time to twist in the air while still rotating.

After enough practice you'll be throwing it like a front 2½ pike, you'll know when to come out from your spot, and the twist will stop feeling like "out, then twist." It becomes one motion. When that happens, you're ready to take it up.

Taking It Up: What the Leadup Doesn't Teach You

By this point in your career you've done big dives on three meter before, so you know how to push through those mental barriers. You'll get a call from your coach and you'll be fine.

The one thing the leadup doesn't prepare you for is the dig.

Early on your twist timing won't be perfect, so you can't use gravity to your advantage. When a diver finishes the twist on time, they can drop their hips into the pike while still flipping.

When you twist late, you're already close to vertical, so the dig has to come almost entirely from your upper body going down instead of the hips dropping too.

That fixes itself over time. As your connection into the flip and your twist timing improve, gravity starts helping you into a tighter pike automatically.

Board Work and Connection

This is the holy grail of front connections, and it's what determines whether this dive ever becomes easy or whether you can eventually do it on one meter.

Bent arms and head down

The first mistake in the video: the diver's arms come up for the last circle and they throw with very bent arms, head down into the throw. They still make it around, but they twist late and get into the water in a funky way.

Hip direction

The next diver has straighter arms and better head position, but leans forward. That's the second half of the throw: the direction of your hips.

The question you're solving is how well you can drive your hips up into the air while also getting that feeling of going up and over.

Watching people do this on one meter makes it obvious, because you have to be close to perfect to make it around at all. In that clip you can see the hips pointing straight up and the diver dropping into the 90/90 position. They're nearly perfect, just slightly behind with the arms and missing that last snap of the hips getting pushed up and over.

Hips sliding

Then there's the example of hips sliding on the takeoff, which you want to resist. The hips do get pushed up reasonably well, but to get there they slid forward as the board came down, and there's a big lean from the toes all the way to the head. That lean costs you power.

The rest of the checklist

• Head position neutral or slightly up
• Arms reaching the top of the arm circle
• Elbows straight on the throw
• Balance: not leaning forward as the board hits bottom, staying on top of it, saving the lean until the last possible second to get the hips over
• Push all the way through the toes with locked out knees

Diver Guy's Tip: The board wants to push all that energy up through you. If you bend your knees on the takeoff, or break at the knees as you leave, the energy leaks and you never get the full push. Locked knees, driven all the way through the toes.

What connection actually means

Front takeoff connection is how well you get from the bottom position on the board, to the release. All the form above can be perfect, and if your timing is off by a split second, you still won't get the most out of the board.

To practice it, take any dive you're totally comfortable with and won't get lost on, from any hurdle, and just get after it as hard as you possibly can. Focus entirely on the connection: that bottom position, timing the board coming up, neutral or slightly-up head, locked knees, pushing through the toes, narrow arms with locked elbows, and a throw that feels effortless at the same rate the board pushes you up.

There's a specific feeling when you get a perfect board ride. That feeling is the connection.

Diver Guy's Tip: You'll know you have it if you're hitting 90/90 at the point of release. That means your upper body coming down is perfectly timed with the board pushing your lower body up. From there it's just about getting stronger and doing it faster. Simple, but not easy.

Get Into the Pike Fast

After the takeoff, get into a tight pike as fast as possible. The quicker you get deep, the faster that first flip goes by, and the more time you buy yourself for the twist and the dig. This matters enormously if you ever want the dive on one meter.

The Pike-To-Twist Connection: Get Over the Hump

This changes at different stages of the dive, but for most people the best time to come out is when your hips get all the way to the top of the flip. I call it getting over the hump. All the flip momentum from your legs coming out is most useful once your hips are over the top.

Come out before that and you actually slow your flip while you twist, and then you have to make it up on the dig, assuming you have time.

So the sequence is: you know how good your takeoff was, you come around, you see the water at front 1½, you wait for your hips to get over the top (12:00), then you heel drive out as hard as you need to. Early on, drive as hard as you can. After that it becomes about how fast you can twist and how tight you can stay while twisting.

That tightness is a new feeling, by the way. Every twisting dive you've learned up to now twists first and then flips. This is the opposite.

Too early

The bad example in the video has a big pike and comes out at basically front flip, well before the hips get over the top. To make that work you'd need an incredible amount of flip speed. Some divers in the world have it, but we're talking about the very best. They twist, the flip slows, they can't make it up on the dig, and it goes short.

Right on time

Compare that to the diver with a deeper pike who waits. They start to open exactly as their hips reach the top, connect fast into the twist, and still dig hard.

The pike to twist connection is all about how fast you can go from one to the other and then transition back into the dig. It feels rushed, especially early on or on one meter, where you have to drive out fast, twist quick, and go right back into the pike. It's a fast movement and it takes real strength.

The Dig

People do this differently. There's no one size fits all here.

If your connection into the twist is slow, or your twist itself is slow, you'll have to dig very hard. And digging is difficult once your hips are past vertical, because gravity isn't helping you anymore. That's what's happening in the clip where the diver takes longer to twist: they're trying to dig while their legs and hips are also trying to drop, and closing that gap takes serious hip flexor and core strength. That's part of why it goes short.

The next example doesn't quite have the takeoff, but waits really well for the hips to get up and over, connects into the twist, and drops into a good pike to dig. They run out of time slightly and have to rush the entry, but the sequencing is right.

Diver Guy's Tip: One thing that can help you dig harder: when you finish the twist, pretend like you're throwing your arms forward again. Not straight down to your legs. You still want to square out. But use that throwing motion to help drive into a deeper pike before going for the entry.

Then there's the diver with the awesome takeoff. Eyes up, perfect push with the board just about level, basically a textbook 90/90 at release. Deep pike, and as she heel drives out she's already initiating the twist. That's the speed you need. She doesn't even have to go that hard, but she does, which buys her room to show the dive off at the end. Coming out of the twist she throws the head down and the chest forward as the hips drop into a deeper pike. Notice she does not throw her arms forward. She waits for her hips to come up slightly and then goes for the entry. Different approaches, both work.

What It Looks Like After Years

Once you have a full grasp of the dive, you'll come out for the twist much earlier than you did at the start.

The last diver in the video comes out at basically front flip, twists, and then does almost a second dig, head going down and then hips dropping as they come around for the flip again. That lets them finish extremely high, show off great lines, and close laterally for the entry, which judges always appreciate.

Two things to take from that diver:

• Show off your straight lines. Even if you have to wait longer to start the twist, getting to a flatter position during the twist makes the dive look better.
• Arms stay above the legs on the close. They leave the arms out to the side and never let them drop below the legs to disrupt the leg lines. Then a clean lateral close. For them the entry looks like a lineup, and they destroy it.

A Drill for the Dig and the Close

Double bounce a front 2½ on three meter. Take off as hard as you can, then go into an open pike and just observe the flip going by you.

It works as a spotting drill, but it also lets you practice where to put your arms before the entry. As you transition in, square out slightly in front and practice not closing underneath. Drive the arms out laterally for the close.

That transfers directly to full out, but also to front 2½ generally and front 3½ if you're doing that on three meter.

Final Takeaways: Full Out Done Right

• Your leadup double is not a competition double. Throw harder and come out earlier
• Adding the twist speeds up the flip, so late out equals late twist equals belly flop
• If the twist scares you, do it as you enter the water and bring it earlier over time
• Locked knees, push through the toes, narrow arms, straight elbows, head neutral or slightly up
• Save the lean until the last possible second and keep the hips from sliding forward
• Hit 90/90 at release. That's the sign your connection is right
• Get deep into the pike fast to buy air time for the twist and dig
• Wait for your hips to get over the hump before heel driving out
• Coming out too early slows your flip during the twist and costs you the dig
• Consider throwing the arms forward again after the twist to drive a deeper dig
• Keep the arms above your legs and close laterally to protect your lines

It's a complicated dive, but most of what makes it work applies to your front takeoffs across the board.

If you're working on your full out and want personal feedback, I offer virtual coaching for all skill levels. Send in your video and I'll send back drills, voiceover notes, and technique corrections.

👉 Click here to learn more about virtual coaching

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Got questions, or was anything unclear? Drop it in the comments or DM me, I answer every one.

Good luck and I'll see you on the next dive! - DG