Preconceived Notions About Exercise

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FPDocMatt

Contributor
Messages
446
Reaction score
197
Location
Middletown, Maryland, USA
# of dives
25 - 49
I had some preconceived notions of regular exercise, so never did it. These were:

  • Exercise must be done outdoors or in a gym.
  • Exercise requires a time commitment.
  • Exercise requires exercise equipment.
  • The benefits of exercise are only apparent after you've been doing it awhile.
  • Strength training is inferior to aerobic conditioning.
As a new scuba diver, I found that the weight of the tank, the weight belt, the buoyancy jacket and wetsuit were quite significant--about 50 pounds. When you're in the water, you're weightless. But walking to the shore or to the boat with all that weight just about killed me. So I decide to build up my strength.

I started with doing push-ups, sit-ups and squats. At first I could only do about one or two push-ups, and one or two sit-ups. Gradually I worked my way up to 10 of each. The 10 squats were easier.

At first I only did partial push-ups, not going all the way down to the ground with each push-up. Eventually, 10 full push-ups became easy.

The sit-ups I do are straight-leg sit-ups. This way, you don't have to depend on having something to put your feet under. You can do them anywhere.

The amazing thing is that, after one single day of doing 10 squats, the strength in my legs increased noticeably. I was walking with a spring in my step that I hadn't felt in 20 years.

Then, in order to approximate the weight of the scuba gear, I found an old book bag and loaded it with books. I started with a pack weighing 20 pounds. Every week or so I increased the weight. Eventually I was up to 45 pounds. Now ten squats with 45 pounds is a piece of cake.

Within 2 weeks of starting this exercise regimen, I lost 5 pounds, and have kept it off.

I used to be tired all the time. Now I have energy all the time.

So, my preconceived notions were all wrong:

  • It doesn't take time to exercise. To do 10 push-ups, sit-ups and squats takes me about a minute total. I do this three times a day.
  • You don't have to go outside to exercise. I do these exercises in my office next to my desk.
  • No equipment purchase necessary.
  • The benefits are immediate.
  • Strength training is not bad for you after all, and has benefits I hadn't realized, in the added vitality you feel after doing it for even one day.
 
Great to hear Matt

My "day job" I carry, lift, climb. and just about every position you can think of. So i get lots of exercise through that. In my off time, and non diving time, I spend backwoods camping, portaging my canoe, or walking my dog, so I get tons there too.

It is not so much the actual exercise as it is trying to stay active. I will run, but I do not do any other exercises, to stay fit.

I suffer from a wonky lower back now, so before dive trips, I make sure I have stretched out my back, but there is nothing that can be done over that bite from the weight belt
 
My "day job" I carry, lift, climb. and just about every position you can think of. So i get lots of exercise through that.

I have lots of patients who are on my diet program. I require them to do 3 minutes of exercise daily, enough to get the heart rate up or get out of breath is what I say. At their monthly visits, I ask them whether they've been exercising daily. Many of them say, "I get plenty of exercise in my job." But they're not losing weight. So I wonder if there are some kinds of work exercise which are really beneficial and some which are not. For example, the factory foreman who walks all over the plant all day long may not be getting as high-quality exercise as your carrying, lifting and climbing.

In my off time, and non diving time, I spend backwoods camping, portaging my canoe, or walking my dog, so I get tons there too.

I had to look that word up, "portage". portage.jpg

Now that's exercise!

I suffer from a wonky lower back now, so before dive trips, I make sure I have stretched out my back, but there is nothing that can be done over that bite from the weight belt

I had to look up that word, "wonky".

Wonky (also known as Street bass, Aquacrunk or Purple sound) is an often debated term used to describe a tendency to use mid-range unstable synths, complex and unusual time signatures that appeared before summer 2008, among a range of musical genres, including hip hop (particularly glitch hop), IDM, grime, chiptune, dubstep, 90's g-funk, crunk, electro, skweee, breaks & broken beat .[1]

Yeah, that does sound painful. :)

Seriously, though, would integrated weights bite less?
 
I had to look up that word, "wonky".

He may have had something more along the lines of this definition in mind:

wonky [ˈwɒŋkɪ]adj -kier, -kiest Brit informal
1.
shaky or unsteady
2. not in correct alignment; askew
3. liable to break down or develop a fault

I suffer from a wonky lower back now, so before dive trips, I make sure I have stretched out my back, but there is nothing that can be done over that bite from the weight belt

You might consider trying a plank position to see if it will help strengthen your lower back.

Basically, you get in a pushup position, but instead of having your palms resting on the ground, you have your entire forearm from your elbow to your wrist on the ground. Keep your body as straight as you can (no butt in the air) and hold it for 30-45 seconds. Rest and repeat as you feel able. This helps strengthen your core and I feel it's helped me with some lower back pain I used to experience.

YMMV.
 
I'm on my feet constantly in the ER, but I don't really consider it exercise.

However, three days a week I'm at the dojang for about 3 hours. And on days when I'm not there, I still make it a point to spend an hour stretching, working forms, working on the heavy bag or doing speed drills.
The only equipment needed for any of that is a heavy bag, and since my 25 year old son is one of the students, I can do without that if I have to... :)

P3080009.jpg P3080015.jpg
Not bad for someone on the downhill side of 50...
 
Actually integrated weights help while in the water since the BCD/weight unit equilibrates the vector of forces so your lower back isn't stressed during the dive. I used to get back spasms as I was finishing every dive. 100% corrected on the first dive with integrated weights. However, out of the water, walking to shore or boat, weight is weight.
 
Thank you Matt for the awesome contribution! People can say anything they want about exercise but ultimately results speak out loud, more so when they go again conventional wisdom.

There are still many myths in the exercise field, some old, some more recent. Things like strength and endurance as different entities, heart rate zones, functional vs. nonfunctional, length of workouts, etc.

Congratulations to you and please keep us posted. Happy training and safe diving.
 
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