Best Aerobic Workout for Diving

[dumpsterDiver]

I think that one of the most important ways to quickly reduce air consumption is to deliberately breath slower and deeper. I think this is a more efficient way to breath and I feel that the slower breathing helps to calm the diver which also slows down the metabolism. Another "trick" to lower air consumption is to move slow and if you do start to become out of breath, stop and rest for 15-30 seconds well before the workload becomes at all uncomfortable.

And while I'm on my soap box, it seems that so many divers view a reduced air consumption rate as a metric of how good of a diver someone is. Certainly experienced divers have better consumption than novices, but in my opinion air consumption does not matter too much to me because I plan my dive appropriately.
Who cares how much air I use, I have a big tank and I run out of no-deco time even with nitrox...

Another observation that took me a long time to acquire, "extremely fit and athletic divers CAN use a hell of a lot more air than an unfit one". I've seen thin, very well conditioned student divers, who are very nervous suck up an ungodly amount of air, while the fat, calm lady quitely sips from her tank. I assume that this could be related to a greater tidal volume for a well conditioned athlete.

And lastly, don't we all hear from the fitness gurus that if we increase our muscle mass, then our basal metabolism will increase and we will be happily "burning fat" while we rest? I assume this is true, but doesn't it indicate that the diver with more muscle will naturally burn more air??

 

[CameronMartz]

I've seen thin, very well conditioned student divers, who are very nervous suck up an ungodly amount of air, while the fat, calm lady quitely sips from her tank. I assume that this could be related to a greater tidal volume for a well conditioned athlete.

And lastly, don't we all hear from the fitness gurus that if we increase our muscle mass, then our basal metabolism will increase and we will be happily "burning fat" while we rest? I assume this is true, but doesn't it indicate that the diver with more muscle will naturally burn more air??

First off, tidal volume has almost nothing to do with O2 consumption. That's like saying a car with a bigger gas tank will burn gas more quickly than one with a small gas tank. All that matters is the rate that O2 is being scrubbed from the blood by the body. Someone with larger lung volume will breath less frequently at the same metabolic rate than someone with smaller lung volume.

Second, tidal volume is not changed by fitness but is determined by genetics. You can change the surface area of the lungs (thus allowing them to exchange more gasses in a single breath), but your lungs already take up the maximum amount of space that your ribcage and other organs will allow.

Third, yes, increasing experience/water comfort is the quickest way to reduce air consumption. I have never seen anyone claiming otherwise. Whatever your experience level, however, increased fitness can reduce breathing rate for the same workload.

Lastly, a diver *using* more muscle will potentially burn more air, but fitter muscles mean that you use less of their total capacity for work to get a job done. This tends to balance out metabolically.

To correct a fitness myth commonly quoted by even fitness professionals, basal metabolic rate is most strongly correlated to total body mass and is only weakly correlated to lean tissue mass. This is one why people who lose weight have to eat less as they shed fat pounds. Increased muscle mass means you burn more during exercise, however, which is the real place strength training helps you to increase calorie burning.

Cameron

 

[dumpsterDiver]

First off, tidal volume has almost nothing to do with O2 consumption. That's like saying a car with a bigger gas tank will burn gas more quickly than one with a small gas tank. All that matters is the rate that O2 is being scrubbed from the blood by the body. Someone with larger lung volume will breath less frequently at the same metabolic rate than someone with smaller lung volume.

Cameron

I never said that oxygen consumption is directly correlated to tidal volume, however I did state that I wonder if the larger tidal volume of an athlete allows them to breath air from a tank much faster.

That is my whole point. The thin (very nervous) athletic diver, sitting on the bottom doing no work can be breathing twice as much air as the fat (relaxed) lady doing the same non-activity. Obviously in this example the athlete is probably not consuming more oxygen, he is just breathing a lot more air than he needs because he is very nervous. His lungs are quite capable of pumping a lot of air in and out and he can do this with a relative ease.

Also your comment about tidal volume being fixed for an individual may not be entirely true. Elite freedivers do numerous exercises to try to increase their maximum lung capacity,,stretching of the chest muscles and ligaments, packing and also just general practice and training. Maybe the term "maximum lung capacity" is not technically equivalent to "tidal volume" I'm really not sure.

 

[CameronMartz]

I never said that oxygen consumption is directly correlated to tidal volume, however I did state that I wonder if the larger tidal volume of an athlete allows them to breath air from a tank much faster.

That is my whole point. The thin (very nervous) athletic diver, sitting on the bottom doing no work can be breathing twice as much air as the fat (relaxed) lady doing the same non-activity. Obviously in this example the athlete is probably not consuming more oxygen, he is just breathing a lot more air than he needs because he is very nervous. His lungs are quite capable of pumping a lot of air in and out and he can do this with a relative ease.

A nervous diver is breathing more rapidly because his/her metabolism is higher, not because nervousness by itself is causing an increase in breath rate. Again, gas consumption is tied to metabolism, not lung size. Overbreathe your metabolic rate (i.e., "hyperventilate") and blood CO2 levels will fall, leading to LOC.

If you compare a very nervous athlete with a very nervous non-athlete, I don't think you'll see the effect you're refering to. Compare a not-so-nervous athlete with a not-so-nervous non-athlete, and you'll likely see the effect I'm talking about.

Also your comment about tidal volume being fixed for an individual may not be entirely true. Elite freedivers do numerous exercises to try to increase their maximum lung capacity,,stretching of the chest muscles and ligaments, packing and also just general practice and training. Maybe the term "maximum lung capacity" is not technically equivalent to "tidal volume" I'm really not sure.

Yes, with this very specific training, a small increase in lung capacity can be achieved. This training actually just increases the force with which they can work against the elasticity of their ribcage and other organs at maximal volume. The increase in available volume is only useable with the packing that you mention, not with normal breathing effort, and does not represent an increase in cardiovascular fitness. Likewise, cardiovascular training does not increase lung volume.

As you guessed, "tidal volume" refers to the volume of gas being exchanged by the lungs during breathing, and it is mainly a function of metabolism and breathing frequency. You can have a large tidal volume but a slow breath frequency and still have a low total gas consumption.

The maximum volume of gas the lungs can hold is refered to as "forced vital capacity."

Cameron

 

[dumpsterDiver]

A nervous diver is breathing more rapidly because his/her metabolism is higher, not because nervousness by itself is causing an increase in breath rate. Again, gas consumption is tied to metabolism, not lung size. Overbreathe your metabolic rate (i.e., "hyperventilate") and blood CO2 levels will fall, leading to LOC.

Cameron

I will concede that I can't argue against this logic.

 

[fairybasslet]

While fitness certainly plays an important role in air consumption, there are several other technique-oriented factors to consider. You might want to read the article I have at http://www.divefitness.com/html/articles.html, titled "Breathing Heavy: How to reduce your gas consumption." You should also check out the "Weekly Workouts" section of the website to see if any of those programs suit you.

Cameron

Thanks for the cool website
Yes,that was a good question with lots of good answers. I've always had pretty good air consumption. Only had one "buddy" complain that I was cutting into his bottom time. Man, he had like 1300 dives to my 60 or so, and it was my first trip to the Flower Gardens!! Yeah, I was nervous. Especially doing that first 5 ft giant stride off the Spree! So I sucked down the air pretty fast on that first dive. But his complaining kind of shook my confidence. Like after the 3rd or 4th dive, we were only about 200 psi apart. But he claimed that only occured because he has a slow leak from his first stage. So even though I always worked out before that trip in September, I have added to my routine to increase my fitness level. I used to just do the elliptical and machines at the gym, but I've added a fitball and pilates class to my routine, plus I moved onto free weights and core training. I've also mixed in the bike and plan to add swimming. If I could get up early enough on a Sat. morning to make an 8am yoga class, I would do that. But I'm afraid I'm not that disciplined. LOL I do miss the yoga though. I used to take classes twice a week at night from the rec. center in town. But they changed instructors and I didn't like the new guy. I suppose I could try and do it on my own. LOL.
I also found out about a tai chi class at the gym on Friday evenings. Maybe after the new Stargates are over, I'll try those out. I also took a tai chi class once for 8 weeks or so and really liked it. I don't know how that might help my SAC, but I figure the relaxation and slow disciplined movements might help my trim

 

[ScubaGypsy]

I've brought this thread back open because I am searching for an answer in terms of swimming for diving fitness. I swim a mile 2-4 times per week but do so at a relaxed but regular pace. I also strength train 2-3 times per week for an hour per session with a personal trainer (I was very lame when I was doing it alone!). I don't run or play basketball anymore as I had knee reconstruction (ACL) in 1998 and now I get swelling in either one or both knees if I push too hard.

My question is, what type of swimming routine is better for diving fitness? Is it distance or interval training?

 

[CameronMartz]

My question is, what type of swimming routine is better for diving fitness? Is it distance or interval training?

Interval training in any activity will ultimately result in a higher adaptative response by the cardiovascular system than steady-state training. You are "setting the bar" higher in an interval workout than with LSD (long slow distance), though there are places for both in a good swimming program. LSD training is great for developing technique and range of motion while providing active recovery from interval training. It is also believed to provide a form of energy system training, teaching your body to spare glycogen and more readily burn fat for fuel (note: do *not* confuse this with the mythical "fat burning zone" garbage <g>).

That said, the best workout for diving is whatever workout you'll do consistently.

Cameron

 

[tkring]

I chose interval biking at 40 minutes this past winter and it helped greatly on our January dives.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

I've brought this thread back open because I am searching for an answer in terms of swimming for diving fitness. I swim a mile 2-4 times per week but do so at a relaxed but regular pace. I also strength train 2-3 times per week for an hour per session with a personal trainer (I was very lame when I was doing it alone!). I don't run or play basketball anymore as I had knee reconstruction (ACL) in 1998 and now I get swelling in either one or both knees if I push too hard.

My question is, what type of swimming routine is better for diving fitness? Is it distance or interval training?

I swam a few times per week for a few years at a fairly aggressive pace (although I could never quite keep up with the youngsters on the swim team) and was told by a coach that I should interval train once per week. It was not easy but it made a difference; I need to incorporate interval into my current (elliptical) aerobic workout.