Self assessment of diving fitness and fitness tips
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Self assessment of diving fitness and fitness tips
Can anyone give me a few tips on doing a Self assessment of diving fitness? I am a new
diver with just 6 dives and I found the last dive (45 fsw) somewhat tiring ..planning to shape up and any advice will be gratefully received...btw, I am 45 years old
Just like any other fitness ratings. How high is your body fat %? Are you in decent cardio vascular health? Climb stairs while talking? What does your doctor say? Diabetes, respitory illness, cardiac problems?
I like to be fairly strong in the legs, with good endurance. I found cycling is a great way to stay in shape as it improves leg strength, leg muscle endurance, it is great cardio training, it helps keep the weight to a somewhat manageable state, low impact as compared to running, I look good in tight shorts, the jerseys are fun to wear, breathing in car exhaust makes me happy...
Pretty much diving fitness is the same as life fitness. There are some medical conditions that you want to be aware of if you dive, otherwise, if you think you are fit, and most people agree with you, then you are!
Don't believe I've every been 'tired' after a 45' dive--am 56 y.o. and carry more fat than I should, lol....Of course, there are many factors ie what conditions you were diving in that could change that 'feeling' ie current, wave conditions etc.....
It's hard to discuss fitness in the abstract, but good general fitness is important. Feeling tired after diving isn't necessarily an issue, especially if it involved steady finning as opposed to drift diving.
In my opinion you need two kinds of fitness. First you need the ability to maintain a certain level of effort over the length of the dive. Secondly you need to be able to work fairly hard over a short time and then recover pretty quickly. The recovery aspect is important, since if a short stretch of hard finning against current has you breathing hard, you need to be able to resume normal breathing fairly quickly otherwise you'll breath down your air supply.
I suggest a mix or typical aerobic excersizes, such as cycling, stair climbing, or fast walking, and mix in a bit of sprint and recovery drills, such as running (not jogging) as if to catch a bus for about a block and timing your recovery. As your condition improves increase the speed and distance of the sprint drills. The object is to get winded and recover.
At 45 if you have any reason to be concerned about heart disease you should consult a doctor and possibly do a cardio stress test, or take things slow at first, keeping your pulse in the lower training range, (110-135bpm) and working up to higher levels as your fitness improves.
Good luck, and remember you don't reverse years of inactivity in 30 days.
Standards are a hard thing to define but you might enjoy this paper:
NW Pollock and JM Godfrey (Eds.) The Diving for Science. 2007, Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS), Twenty-sixth annual Scientific Diving Symposium, University of Miami, Miami, FL. RRR ID: 6991
Go to your local gym and have them give you a physical fitness exam. Most of these places will give you an hour with a trainer and a couple weeks complimentary ticket figuring that you will sign up. I did that so as to find out what machines to use and then went to the Y where I'm a member and am using theirs for no additional cost. Get in shape is the answer.--------I did get a little tired one day when we double-dipt the Speigle Grove in five-footers and a ripping current. But that is to be expected I guess since I'm 69.
There are a couple of things that sprung to mind here.
One is that the most demanding part of most open water diving is hauling the gear around. If you are working hard underwater, you are most likely doing something wrong. What happens to new divers is that, because they are not balanced underwater, they are forced to swim constantly. When you combine that with finning technique which is not very efficient (bicycle kicking), you end up with a tremendous amount of work being done for very little actual return.
Time spent getting your gear balanced, learning to stay horizontal, and learning to kick properly will reduce the physical demands. In addition, using strategy helps -- Swimming into strong current is exhausting and blows through one's gas; if heavy current is encountered, it's best to change the dive plan and swim across it or drift with it (or abort the dive, if neither is possible).
That said, some amount of swimming, both on the surface and underwater, is required to dive, and hauling gear IS difficult for someone who hasn't picked up anything heavier than a suitcase in 50 years (which is where I was when I started diving). A regular pattern at a gym, mixing strength training with some cardio (I use swimming) DOES make these things easier.
Somebody already gave you the link to Cameron Martz's website above -- He has a VERY nice book out on fitness for divers, as well.
Go to your local gym and have them give you a physical fitness exam. Most of these places will give you an hour with a trainer and a couple weeks complimentary ticket figuring that you will sign up. I did that so as to find out what machines to use and then went to the Y where I'm a member and am using theirs for no additional cost. Get in shape is the answer.--------I did get a little tired one day when we double-dipt the Speigle Grove in five-footers and a ripping current. But that is to be expected I guess since I'm 69.
What Garrobo said... To me, fitness isn't point on a line... fitness is something you keep working at. How fit you are now really isn't as important as how fit you could be... and, in as much as you're asking the question... I'm figuring you pretty much already know (or suspect) the answer to your own question.
Start slow... work you way up... but try to get into a habit of doing something at least three times a week... a good cardio workout if nothing else. Regardless of what it might do for your diving... it can't hurt do do anyway.
(I'm not 69... only 57... I keep swimmin' in hopes that I'll be able to what Garrobo did when I'm that age... U ROCK dude...)
"But thirty feet below the (sea's) surface, their power ceases, their influence fades, and their dominion vanishes. Ah, monsieur, to live in the bosom of the sea! .... There I recognize no master! There I am free!" - Captain Nemo, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea
Just like any other fitness ratings. How high is your body fat %? Are you in decent cardio vascular health? Climb stairs while talking? What does your doctor say? Diabetes, respitory illness, cardiac problems?
Pretty much diving fitness is the same as life fitness. There are some medical conditions that you want to be aware of if you dive, otherwise, if you think you are fit, and most people agree with you, then you are!
I did go for a thorough checkup before the dive - everything is normal. 20% body fat, No diabetes, respiratory illness, cardiac probs etc. It was a total health check including treadmill stress test etc. I think I should develop the legs and cardio a bit. Thanks a lot!
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Originally Posted by Garrobo
