Physical fitness and diving

[Scuba Scott]

While I share your strong interest in fitness, I'm afraid this bar would be far too high for many divers, including some really excellent divers. Running and diving place very different demands on the body.

Of course I do not plan to impose that standard on anyone else but after determining I was possibly to old to dive I started to get back in shape. Running was one of the exercises I chose and when I arrived at that fitness level that just happened to be the point I noticed diving getting easy.
Keep in mind I normally dive cold water wearing a drysuit and lots of weight. I have to climb over rocks to get in the water then I have extra drag in the water from the drysuit. After the dive I need to carry all my gear up over the hill to the parking area. So this fitness standard is specific to my diving and has more to do with getting to and from the water.
If I was diving off a RIB from Cane Bay where getting in the water was as easy as falling off a toilet then I could have a different fitness standard.

 

[uncfnp]

Not specific to diving but a bit of a wake up call to many of us in general...

"A large study in the journal Epidemiology Research International 1 quantified the effects of various health risks on the likelihood of dying for a group of 50,000 men and women. Low fitness stood out as the biggest predictor of death, more powerful even than smoking, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Think about that for a moment. That means that if you’re a middle-aged, obese smoker with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, the single best thing you can do to improve your health is exercise." from "Dr. Jordan Metzl's Workout Prescription: 10, 20 & 30-minute high-intensity interval training workouts for every fitness level" by Jordan Metzl

 

[DustyC]

Not specific to diving but a bit of a wake up call to many of us in general...

"A large study in the journal Epidemiology Research International 1 quantified the effects of various health risks on the likelihood of dying for a group of 50,000 men and women. Low fitness stood out as the biggest predictor of death, more powerful even than smoking, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Think about that for a moment. That means that if you’re a middle-aged, obese smoker with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, the single best thing you can do to improve your health is exercise." from "Dr. Jordan Metzl's Workout Prescription: 10, 20 & 30-minute high-intensity interval training workouts for every fitness level" by Jordan Metzl

I'd be inclined to believe that a smoker with Metabolic Syndrome would do better to stop eating the diet that caused Metabolic syndrome, than having Metabolic Syndrome and exercising. Exercising helps, no doubt. But it didn't cure my Metabolic syndrome. Ignoring the food pyramid fixed it.

 

[archer1960]

I totally agree with you. We know that most of us generate bubbles and most of us don't get bent!
However, I am not aware of a study (that considered cofounding variables of fitness and age) that showed that increased body fat leads to DCS. So the statement made in the article is either 'hearsay' or based on a study that I am not familiar with.

Also, those dives were conducted wet and not in a lab. The endpoint, as you correctly stated, was not DCS. However, there are some very prominent scientists that will argue that increased bubble load is also increasing your risk of DCS.

C

Yes, increased bubble load is generally considered to be an issue, but some believe that lots of fatty tissue is also a risk factor independent of the bubble load. DAN believes it to be a risk factor even though it hasn't been medically proven.

 

[Nianne]

On my last diving vacation, I found out that you don't only need to be in good physical shape but also in a right state of mind, so swimming and yoga are probably the best "training" for diving !

 

[uncfnp]

Yoga is beneficial in several ways. It strengthens core which helps with back issues, lifting and possibly trim positioning in water. Breath training is useful for both control and for the mental calm that is practiced with the breathing. Once in the habit, doing the breaths underwater help put you into a calm state without any conscious effort.

I think that even if you don't want to or can't do the physical positions of yoga practicing the Pranayama alone (and there are web videos for this too) can be beneficial.

 

[dreamdive]

Yes, increased bubble load is generally considered to be an issue, but some believe that lots of fatty tissue is also a risk factor independent of the bubble load. DAN believes it to be a risk factor even though it hasn't been medically proven.

Again, unless there is some scientific study to back it up, I am careful about hear-say. Excessive adipose tissue alone has NOT been proven to be a risk factor. Even DAN has to back up their claims. Now, there are studies that have not looked at adiposity isolated from age and fitness level! Although that is changing, usually older and less fit people carry more weight. It appears age and we have strong evidence that fitness are factors in DCS development.

This article below has not made it yet to the non-for profit org TRERO. I am not trying to advertise for my husband here. The article was written 1/2015. The references at the end may be of interest. I was surprised by this myself.

Add Helium - The Rebreather Epicenter

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

One of the least discussed aspects of scuba diving is that of fitness and diving. While many sources simply state that divers should be fit the question then becomes. how fit ?

Physical fitness and diving

Actually, it's not one of the least discussed aspects of scuba diving ... particularly not here on ScubaBoard. We have an entire forum dedicated to discussions about diving fitness ... Dive into Fitness ... it also covers diving nutrition, since that's an important part of maintaining fitness as well as health.

Several years ago, Cameron Martz wrote a book called Fitness for Divers ... https://www.amazon.com/Fitness-Divers-Cameron-L-Martz/dp/0977071901 ... it's an excellent resource for anyone who's interested in maintaining an active diving lifestyle, particularly those who want to pursue diving in more challenging climates or environments. It's been discussed and recommended many times right here on ScubaBoard over the years. Mr. Martz also maintains a website called divefitness.com that contains a ton of good information on diving fitness, including many articles that provide specific information on workouts, pool exercises, stretches, as well as more general information on exercise and nutrition specifically intended to help divers maintain better fitness for diving ... Fitness and Exercise Articles Just for SCUBA Divers

The article you linked is nice ... but it's a bit short on specifics that would be helpful to the typical scuba diver. It's like a lot of the "least discussed aspects of scuba diving" ... such as air management, or even buddy diving. Everyone will tell you that you should ... but very few go into details on how to do it. Personally, I find the articles that go into more detail to be more helpful.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Chip Elliott]

My wife and I go to the gym 3 nights a week and take the Group Power course. It involves some serious weight and cardio training and I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it.

As far as running goes, I have metal in my left ankle and left leg, repairs after having a ladder break under me and falling 2 stories to the asphalt driveway, (long story), so running is out. This class (and I am not affiliated with it in any way, shape or form) is really fantastic. It has helped me tremendously with walking "fully loaded" and with my stamina. It has also attributed greatly to my weight loss of 105 pounds.

I truly believe that without these workouts and without the weight loss, I would not be diving.

 

[emoreira]

Part of the answer to the first question How much fitness ? can be seen in the WRSTC Medical Statement.
http://wrstc.com/downloads/10 - Medical Guidelines.pdf
under CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS.
"The suggested minimum criteria for stress testing in such cases is at least 13 METS."