improving leg strength

[Aquabella]

my added 0.02 is...

Trying to use the actual movements involved is usually the best way to go...for example, I have always been a big one for using weights at the gym and then tried Karate a few times this week. Ouch! Am I ever stiff! No weights involved at all.

If you can't get to a pool, divemistress's suggestion sounds good to me.

As for food, I was always under the impression that if you are getting cramps in your feet it indicates a lack of calcium. It certainly is true in my case.

Good luck!

 

[Spectre]

bigwill once bubbled...
finally got back in last weekand to find my legs cramping pretty bad

Cramping is more likely caused by a combination of diet, cold water, and muscle stretch. It's not a strength issue.

Potassium is key for preventing muscle cramps [as people already stated]. Cold water will induce cramping more. You should stretch before diving just as you stretch before any other sport.

As for exercises, leg lifts are a good source, but if you are active, you might find you get bored far before exhaustion without adding some weight. do them all 4 directions. Isometrics are a key piece to leg lifts, so keep your thigh and calf flexed and your knee and ankle locked. This is even more important with weights on your ankle as you want your muscles to do the work.

To target your calf, stand on the edge of a step with only your toes and ball of foot on it [you can use a stair stepper, the edge of your kitchen table, whatever...]. flex and extend the full range to exhaustion. Once again; weights are good. I'd recommend your backplate or BC with integrated weights or weights on the strap over a weight belt, as that's a lot of strain on your hips. A backpack with weights in it will work as well. If your combining it with a dumbbell workout, you can hold weights up by your shoulders to add the weight.

Something I learned from my knee PT is getting one of those excerband things [basically very strong surgical tubing]. put a large loop in one end, a small loop in the other end. Secure the small loop around a couch leg [or something else secure]. Same motions as leg lifts [with the locking and all that] but standing up. Extend the band as far as needed to get the resistance you desire before starting. Take breaks between each leg as both legs get a workout [the one balancing IMHO gets more of a workout than the extending leg!]. I'm sure I'll get more ideas as my knee therapy continues...

 

[mddolson]

Gatorboy bubbled:
quote:
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It's nice to see someone else who uses the Volo's with their doubles
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I switched to volos two years ago. I have used Turtles for 20 years and they finally cracked.(they are a good fin)
I tried a pair of volos and loved them, and my air consumption dropped 20 - 25 % . That's for real . (Volos are better!)
I had one of the early production models and the hinges broke, but Mares replaced them no charge.

I added the SS spring straps last season after breaking a couple of straps. I found they are comfortable with the plastic tubing over the springs.

Any DIR proponet who says you have to have jet or turtle fins is full of it. I can do all of the DIR fin techniques with Volos and Quattro fins, just fine.

best regards

Mike D
:blfish:

 

[mddolson]

I can add another that works well.
Deep lunges. take a giant step foward, maintain verticle posture and bend knee down so you can touch the floor with the palms of both hands.

Start with 25 on each side.

Mike D

 

[scubaredneck]

Along with what has been mentioned, try some excercises that work the glutes specifically (that's your butt muscles). If you use good finning technique, you use your glutes a lot.

Another oft overlooked muscle is the soleus. It's the small muscle under your large calf muscle (gastrocnemius). You work it out by sitting with your thighs level and your feet on a board or something, place a weight on your knees and do "calf raises". It will help to take some of the load of moving/stabilizing your ankle off the gastrocnemius.

Of course, don't forget to relax and take it easy after a long lay-off. =-)

 

[O-ring]

http://www.cbass.com/Furey.htm

Do 4 minutes or try to hit 150...

 

[Spectre]

O-ring once bubbled...
http://www.cbass.com/Furey.htm

Do 4 minutes or try to hit 150...

I might have to give those suckers a try. I know the pushups well. However I learned a little differently. with your palms flat on the floor, position your hands so the tip of your index fingers touch, and your extended thumbs touch... forming a triangle.

Position that triangle so your laying on the ground with your solar plexus in the triangle. Now push yourself up and begin in the hindu pushups....

 

[O-ring]

Spectre once bubbled...


I might have to give those suckers a try. I know the pushups well. However I learned a little differently. with your palms flat on the floor, position your hands so the tip of your index fingers touch, and your extended thumbs touch... forming a triangle.

Position that triangle so your laying on the ground with your solar plexus in the triangle. Now push yourself up and begin in the hindu pushups....

We usually warm-up by running laps around the gym, then 4 minutes of hindu squats, then 2-3 minutes of hindu pushups (most of us can't do them for 2 minutes). There are other variations, but that is the staple warmup we usually do (we throw in a lot of stretching too).