Dive Training Magazine

Just read the latest issue of Dive training magazine, December, I think which featured women in diving. The article was written by a women and it contained some good information, but also some material that I thought to be questionable.

It indicated that women and men have different trim issues because of body weight distribution above versus below the waist. The author implied that men have more weight below their waist so this makes them more feet heavy than women. I figured men are more feet heavy because they have more dense muscle in their legs and women tend to have fatter legs and more buoyant asses.

Another comment was that women learn the skills slower than men, because men will memorize the information, while women need more explanation and once women get the necessary training, they actually learn the skills better than men (that sounded to be like a pretty sexist comment to me, I wonder if other instructors see women as better).

It was also explained that women have lower air consumption rates, which is due to their smaller lungs and better trim (which is attributed to them having more “weight” above the waistline then men). I thought that women might have a lower sac rate (in general of course) primarily due to their smaller mass and consequently metabolic demands.

She also talked about breast implants and their effect on buoyancy control and the variability associated with the use different density of material (silicone and saline water?). I figured that breast implants would have a negligible affect on buoyancy (and trim) but I didn’t do any calculations.

Those are just a couple of things that jumped out at me from a casual read.

Lung size is a biggie when it comes to the air thing. If I read this page Lung volumes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia correctly... A typical male has a lung volume of 6.0 liters and a typical female has a lung volume of 4.7 liters... which means a typical male's lungs are 27.6 percent larger than a female's. Tidal volume is pretty near the same ratio. This means every time a man takes in a breath, unless he's breathing at a different rate than a woman, he's taking in much more air than the woman is.... at least that's the jump my pea-sized brain makes.

If this is wrong, guess I gotta go back to the thing I was originally was taught - bigger brains require more oxygen - then again, that doesn't explain why my wife (bigger brain for sure) uses less air than I.

"The author implied that men have more weight below their waist so this makes them more feet heavy than women."------Go to Walmarts and look around and maybe you'll change your mind about that one.

dumpsterDiver:

It indicated that women and men have different trim issues because of body weight distribution above versus below the waist. The author implied that men have more weight below their waist so this makes them more feet heavy than women. I figured men are more feet heavy because they have more dense muscle in their legs and women tend to have fatter legs and more buoyant asses.

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Well, I have always been taught the exact opposite - on dry land. Women have a lower center of gravity (as the leaning-table-lift test demonstrates). But in water it comes down to composition. Fat floats, muscle doesn't. So to that end it would make sense that the tables might turn. It's relative to the individual and their body composition.

Trim is a choice for both men and women.

Smaller people usually have better air consumption.

Men tend to be more willing to take chances (there are exceptions) and tend to be physically stronger (also, there are exceptions). I've noticed men tend to be more willing to try things more quickly and don't hold back. That tends to help them learn physical skills more quickly at the beginning. As they reach the intermediate levels, women tend to surpass men. I believe that is because men are used to physically forcing things while women are accustomed to finessing those same things. Since none of us is stronger than the ocean, there are times force gets us nowhere, but a little finesse can work wonders. Men usually overcome this minor hurdle, just as women usually overcome the earlier minor hurdle.

dumpsterDiver:

She also talked about breast implants and their effect on buoyancy control and the variability associated with the use different density of material (silicone and saline water?). I figured that breast implants would have a negligible affect on buoyancy (and trim) but I didn’t do any calculations.

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I believe that we should commission a study on this without delay to make the diving community fully aware of all potential things that may affect trim.

I volunteer to lead this study and promise to get the information first hand. I am looking for a dedicated crew to assist me in this. Interested parties must be willing to travel to exotic locations, provide detailed descriptions including pictures, full-scale illustrations, and other forms of documentation prior to release of the full results which are expected to be completed around the 2237 time frame.

We must solve this issue and do it now.

On a serious note however, shouldn't most of these things mentioned in the article be considered on an individual basis and generalizations such as this be chalked up to mostly fluff as each individual is different?

Arizona_SVO:

I believe that we should commission a study on this without delay to make the diving community fully aware of all potential things that may affect trim.

I volunteer to lead this study and promise to get the information first hand. I am looking for a dedicated crew to assist me in this. ?

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Sounds like you might have been the troop leader for these fine young men?

YouTube - Scouts Breast Exam Eagle Project