JTH2711
Registered
Well what kind of regimen do you suggest?
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I think that we have enough of "big brother" telling us what we can and cant do. I am a big boy, and excercising should be at my discreation. I dont need another agency telling me how much excercise I need or how many push ups or sit up I have to complete to hold a C-card. I might as well go back into an infantry unit then.
I think if someone wishes to pursue any outdoor activity and do it well so that it remains fun and exciting is going to hold themselves to a certain degree of fitness. A year ago I weighed 330 lbs and after the birth of son I realized I needed to get healthy. I now weigh 250 lbs and go to the gym 4-5 times week doing cardio and weights. I had been swimming however the weather made life difficult here to swim and then get out in the cold. I am slated to start cert classes on May 1st. My point is I made myself do this to pursue a hobby I always wanted to and never had.
Well you could argue that about any skill, right? Why do you have to learn mask clearing when your mask doesn't usually get knocked off you face. Why do you learn emergency ascents when your equipment is fairly well engineered and a majority of people may never experience out of air problems. You do it to learn how to be safe and to come back from every dive alive. Being fit is part of that, and it is also probably the single most important factor in avoiding DCI. So while boot camp may be excessive, having to swim a distance within a time limit (ie 300yds in 14 minutes) is not unreasonable, and would require some fitness.
I've been improving my cardio by doing Tae Bo daily,
Mask clearing is a skill. So is CESA. This has very little to do with fitness. A very fit diver could have problems with mask clearing and CESA's, while on the other hand, a out of shaped diver could perform both of these skills with ease.
Swimming is a skill also. I had seen people that are out of shape and could swim 300 yards in 10 minutes easy, while young kids in my lifeguarding classes that are in football, track, CC etc. struggles to make the 300 yard swim WITHOUT any time limit.