Best Aerobic Workout for Diving

[Hoyden]

The human body was made for walking and running so naturally IMO, the best exercise is sprinting and jogging. You'll be surprised by how quickly you can build up if you rest properlly and push yourself.

I'd say that the idea that the human body was made for walking and running is debatable - it is certain that it was not "made for" walking and running on hard surfaces. As you age both you and your joints will appreciate it (last longer) if you try to minimize the pounding your joints (feet, ankles, knees, hips and spine) take. As an old (43) lady who used to do all of the joint pounding exercise that I could (years of competitive hard court tennis, rugby and running) I sure wish that I had been a swimmer instead. I swim now and think that it has the double benefit of increasing your in-water comfort level along with increasing your cardiovascular fitness. I have a pretty low boredom tolerance and hated lap swimming until I got my Ipod safely rigged for water and started listening to audio books while swimming. Yoga can also help you develop better breath control and nothing beats more diving for decreasing your SAC.

Jackie

 

[coach_izzy]

I'd say that the idea that the human body was made for walking and running is debatable -

No it's not debatable. It's a fact that the human body is composed mostly of class 3 levers, more suited for speed developement rather than force production. (compare humans to other primates, which can develop far more force at a similar or smaller body weight, it has to do with their lever systems)

it is certain that it was not "made for" walking and running on hard surfaces.

It depends. If you are not conditioned for it, or rush to this stage, you will lament it later on. Also if people run only neglecting their strength training or periodizing their loads properly, they will develop overuse injuries in no time.

All this info can be found in the wonderful works of Roger M. Enoka, namely "Neuromechanics of Human Movement". Good health and happy diving :14:

 

[pipedope]

The three most important things you can do to improve your SAC are;

1. Dive
2. Dive more
3. Dive More

After those come general conditioning but you will find that the diving will help in itself.

Learn good diving technique and strive on each and every dive to get better and more efficient at all the skills of diving.

Other excersizes are a poor substitute for diving but are good to do when you cannot dive.

Seriously, there is no substitute for water over your head.

 

[MakoMermaid]

Swimming... especially if you do interval sets instead of plain lap swimming. If you haven't learned flip turns yet, they're really good for building confidence in the water.

 

[Oceandvr]

Variety is the spice of life or so they say. I like to cross-train with several different activities such as swimming, tennis, inline skating, snorkeling, running, weight training and more. Diving more and dive training helps with the air consumption too.

 

[coach_izzy]

Variety is the spice of life

Bingo! Well summarized. The human body has an amazing learning ability, thus, it's necessary to keep it challenged (we're not talking about skill acquisiton here, which is all about efficiency) with variation in routines. Mentally, it's also refreshing and gives different perspectives. Happy Diving.

 

[angelnature]

Hi All,

It is great reading all of your posts as I have only done a few short dives, and I do get a bit panicky with my breathing and was told a good excersise work out with a peg on my nose would help me no end. I must say after a good bout of laughing it really does work and helps the breathing technique. Its nice to see people sharing their experience on such a good forum.

Take care for now and happy healthy diving to you all
Debs in Manchester UK

 

[Fresh_Aire_Up_There]

Good question and good stuff....Thanks all!!

 

[liberato]

A lot of people doing so-called cardio work are not getting their heart-rate up into an efficient training range. I am a fan of heart rate monitors, at least to initially see what kind of workout is actually required to get and keep your heart-rate in an effective aerobic range. When done right, an hour spread over a week is all you need for a great training effect.

 

[coach_izzy]

A lot of people doing so-called cardio work are not getting their heart-rate up into an efficient training range. I am a fan of heart rate monitors, at least to initially see what kind of workout is actually required to get and keep your heart-rate in an effective aerobic range. When done right, an hour spread over a week is all you need for a great training effect.

Excellent point! 1 hour done with the right intensity (as in interval high intensity training) spread evenly over a week will do A LOT more for conditioning than 7 days of 1 hour conventional "Cardio"

The use of heart rate monitors however, is not a good indicator of performance using this type of modality. Heart rate monitors are excellent when using a determined percentage of VO2, which is an indicator of Oxygen Utilization, and not for interval training which has a lot more to do with the lactate treshold.

It's VERY easy to go well beyond so called "target" heart rates with this type of training, and that in turn initiates changes at cell level (where the fueling for energy systems are processed) but the changes that take place do allow one to sustain a higher workload for a longer period (thus using more calories), In fact, athletically fit individuals trying to engage in interval training by adhering to target heart rates find that trying to stay within their "determined" heart rate zones is barely a challenge, and use the heart rate monitors more for assesing the intensity of their bouts.

Just wanted to make clear that this an advanced form of training, and not suitable for beginners who will better off and safer by adhering to the conventional training modalities. The problem here is that most people never get out of that stage and halt their progress after a few months.

Thank you for bringing up such an important point. Happy diving!