Cramps, causes and prevention

[danvolker]

In the words of Simon and Garfunkle: "Slow down, you Scuba too fast!"

I'm not trying to take a thing away from Dan, but it's my opinion that most divers work too hard. Way too hard. Waaaayyyy too hard. They swim circles around me and wonder why they use ungodly amounts of gas, and don't have any energy after the dive. Slow down! Slow waaaayyyy down. Learn to avoid currents and trying to keep up with that race horse buddy.

Haa

Just so you know Pete, I do some of my dives with Sandra at the BHB....macro dives where she might move 20 feet in 2 hours....and she has done this up to 6 hours on a tank...high tide to high tide....Meaning, I do go extremely slow sometimes....though my brain starts to explode after about 2 hours of it
As I was saying earlier, the ONLY times I have ever cramped, is when I am going extremely slow like this.

 

[dmaziuk]

Haa

Just so you know Pete, I do some of my dives with Sandra at the BHB....macro dives where she might move 20 feet in 2 hours....and she has done this up to 6 hours on a tank...high tide to high tide....Meaning, I do go extremely slow sometimes....though my brain starts to explode after about 2 hours of it
As I was saying earlier, the ONLY times I have ever cramped, is when I am going extremely slow like this.

I'm sure there must be a word for it, when you're holding your knee bent calf up pretty much static for 6 hours... even though the effort is minimal due to buoyancy. Can't be the quite the same as "regular" swimmers leg cramps.
Another fun bit about swimmers is they cramp up fairly regularly and at some point just learn to live with it. Usual ways to deal are changing the kick and hitting the wall harder at the turn to "knock it out".

 

[The Chairman]

the ONLY times I have ever cramped, is when I am going extremely slow like this.

For me it's when I eat refried beans. Oh, not those kinds of cramps??? I have seen lots of people with cramps UW and all them were going a lot faster than I was. All of them! I, ahem, 'rest' my case.

 

[danvolker]

For me it's when I eat refried beans.

Right....I had heard you were a master of Gas Management

 

[scubadada]

In the words of Simon and Garfunkle: "Slow down, you Scuba too fast!"

Feelin' groovey?

 

[The Chairman]

Right....I had heard you were a master of Gas Management

When they fry, I let it fly! :nuke:

Feelin' groovey?

That's the only way to dive!

 

[dumpsterDiver]

For me it's when I eat refried beans. Oh, not those kinds of cramps??? I have seen lots of people with cramps UW and all them were going a lot faster than I was. All of them! I, ahem, 'rest' my case.

Well in that situation can you blame them for avoiding the area behind (or just above) you?

 

[BRT]

Haa

Just so you know Pete, I do some of my dives with Sandra at the BHB....macro dives where she might move 20 feet in 2 hours....and she has done this up to 6 hours on a tank...high tide to high tide....Meaning, I do go extremely slow sometimes....though my brain starts to explode after about 2 hours of it
As I was saying earlier, the ONLY times I have ever cramped, is when I am going extremely slow like this.

I'm with Dan on this one. I used to cramp from swimming too hard but now my problem is my muscles cooling down. I cramp in my easy chair after work in the summertime. Drink a lot of water and all of a sudden I'm cramping. Potassium helps it.

 

[TMHeimer]

I'm with Dan on this one. I used to cramp from swimming too hard but now my problem is my muscles cooling down. I cramp in my easy chair after work in the summertime. Drink a lot of water and all of a sudden I'm cramping. Potassium helps it.

Yes. Generally my cramping during dives comes from a lot of finning, but not always. Likewise, I will cramp at odd times, like in a chair or in bed. General rules apply to a lot of people, but not to all.

 

[Scubagolf]

H2O. Does not require a lot. Maybe 6-8 oz. before each dive. Works for me.