Dive fitness

[carebear]

How do you make sure your wetsuit will still fit after the off-season?
Are there any sports that contribute to making diving easier (with the exception of swimming, which is kind of a no-brainer).
I assume anything cardio could help with lung capacity, but maybe some of you have other ideas/suggestions...I'm all ears.

 

[GQMedic]

Assuming you take an "off season", you already answered your question, SWIMMING.

While California waters have a tendancy to get chilly, diving here is a year 'round activity for many (myself included) and I don't think there really is an "off season" unless you actually want one. I imaging you dive the GL, so your waters are much colder, that in mind, go "dry" and consider any season "diving season" thus eliminating selecting the off season workout.

 

[theskull]

Cycling is the best if your local weather permits: strengthens legs, cardio, and burns calories. Stationary cycling is not full body workout and is incredibly boring, but will help.

Weight lifting is a great alternate/alternative exercise: do full body exercises with free weights, up to 4 sets of 5-10 reps each, then some stretching exercises. (Full body = upper and lower, with few or no isolation movements; best moves are dead lift, squat, overhead press, pull-ups.)

theskull

 

[Gibbon]

Sports such as Raquetball, and Tennis are great for the legs too. They also have the added benifit of developing hand-eye coordination.

 

[MosheDyan]

Hello Carebear...
You are actually asking several different (yet related) questions:

<snip>
"How do you make sure your wetsuit will still fit after the off-season?"

This would refer to the "shrinking wetsuit syndrome" that so many divers complain about. In other words...losing weight....

<snip>
"Are there any sports that contribute to making diving easier (with the exception of swimming, which is kind of a no-brainer)."

This is more dependent upon your style of diving. And as we all know swimming well is not a prerequisite requirement for diving well!

<snip>
"I assume anything cardio could help with lung capacity.."

If the cardio workout is of duration/frequency to be of use to your system.

Now for some answers. Although some of them require you to be honest with yourself. Do you consider yourself to be in decent shape from a fat % perspective? Do you consider yourself "fit"? Do you workout on a regular basis? What do you like to do for exercise? What DON'T you like to do for exercise? Do you have any medical conditions? What are your fitness goals?
Answer those questions...and then we can really get started!!!

The answers you have seen already are OK...they just might not apply to you personally!

Suggestion #1-If you are not sure of what you are doing...see a pro (a personal trainer). I harp on this on a regular basis because of the well-meaning but often misleading advice from folks who may not know what they are talking about. As you live in Chicago and probably spend loads of money to go warm water diving...or lots of money on your local diving "in season"...is it not worth putting out a few bucks to help achieve your fitness goals...

Suggestion #2-IMO a fitness program for diving should include a balance of cardio AND resistance training. The cardio work will help increase the efficiency of your lungs and heart...hopefully leading to better air consumption. The resistance training will build your muscular endurance...and I would personally ensure a concentration on the hamstrings (kicking) and core development (your abs/lower back) just for stability AND to "schlep-resist" your back! You do not need 18" guns (thats biceps for the layman) to dive...Some variation of circuit training would work great for this purpose. The nice thing about cardio work is that it's cumulative during a workout...5 minutes x-trainer...5 minutes resistance...5 minutes x-trainer...you get the idea.

Suggestion #3-I NEVER put my clients on a stationary bike. They are NOT back friendly and do not provide much of a full body workout. Go to any gym and you will usually see people sitting there reading the paper while "working out" on the life cycle...not really very productive. Either do the real thing on a bike that has been adjusted for you...or use an elliptical x-trainer/treadmill instead.

Suggestion #4-If you don't like going to the gym...there are plenty of alternatives available. As somone mentioned earlier...swimming is a GREAT general fitness activity...and is non-weight bearing which is important to folks with damaged body parts (not that you have any...but my motto is train SMART!).

Suggestion #5-You are probably inundated with information regarding diet and wieght loss. Ask Oprah just how effective all that crap really is. The bottom line is a whole food diet (i.e. in a simplistic way avoiding unnatural foods...bleached flour...white sugar...premade food etc etc) combined with exercise to achieve your weight (and wetsuit waist!) goals. If you want to try a fun and revealing experiment...tabulate how much sugar you go through in a day...you will be shocked...especially if you like to drink soda (pop for you midwest types).

Suggestion #6-Do yourself a favor...see a professional for the best results! As I have mentioned a couple of times in other posts I can offer suggestions for specific areas of improvement...but for this sort of general query it is a good indicator that the individual could use a bit of real guidance from a pro to get the best results.

If you have any questions feel free to ask. I am a sports therapist and personal trainer NOT in the Chicago area (in fact...not even in the USA these days!) and have nothing to gain by promoting my fellow pros.
Best of luck
Ted

 

[scuba-punk]

Check out the website, www.divefitness.com - lots of good information. I'm starting with Cameron's "Zero to Hero" workout and it's been really good. I've never been much of one to exercise, but right now my physical conditioning (well, lack of it) is keeping me from doing the type of diving that I would like to do. That's my 2psi.

-Frank

 

[JustAddWater]

Nice website.
I'm pretty good about keeping up on my workout schedule year round; 3-5 times a week. My gym is conveniently located between work and home. I kick myself in the rear though (if I were limber enough) for not making a serious stretch routine a priority. I plan on improving that this year...tomorrow,.....or the next day.

 

[Snowbear]

How do you make sure your wetsuit will still fit after the off-season?
Are there any sports that contribute to making diving easier (with the exception of swimming, which is kind of a no-brainer).
I assume anything cardio could help with lung capacity, but maybe some of you have other ideas/suggestions...I'm all ears.

It's January in Alaska and I'm still diving - though NOT in a wetsuit!! Brr!!
Since there is no off-season for diving, does that mean I don't have to work out?
Kidding aside - in summer - logging, maintaining and working horses, building my house and generally otherwise staying active keep me in reasonable fitness.
In winter - shovelling snow, keeping the firewood pile stocked, maintaining and working horses, staying warm when it's -24 F outside keep me fit.
Sometimes I even use the workout facilities at work - if we're not too busy and I feel motor-vated wink

 

[carebear]

Thank you for all the helpful advice so far. Actually, I have never considered working with a personal trainer as I used to work in a health club but that was in college...years ago (ahem)...so I could use all the help I can get!
As for my current fitness situation, I play racquetball, not entirely well but the female raquetball champion of the US lives near me, so I have met her and she gave me a few pointers (not that I was willing to play with her!).
I have a gym membership and ride the elliptical machines pretty often, but I do have a tendency to get bored. I love swimming, but I am a wuss in the winter and don't want to have wet hair when it's freezing out.
I admire those of you who brave dry suit diving, but it is just not for me. I'm not that thrilled about quarry diving to begin with, so I'm not going to invest the $ for a dry suit so I can...whoopie...do more of that.
Percentage of body fat...good question...I believe it's somewhere in the lower 20s..I recently lost about 20lbs and am in pretty good shape. I have been working out 3-5xs a week since my late teens. My question was motivated by a desire to improve my diving, and of course a desire to fit in my wetsuit once winter is over!