How can a dive pro be in tip top shape

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DiversL

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Messages
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10
Location
Philippines
# of dives
I just don't log dives
How can a dive pro be in tip top shape? If a dive pro pretty much dives everyday, where can he insert time for working out and cardio?
 
Get up early. Go jogging before your work and before it gets hot. Getting up early only sucks the first few times. After that it starts to feel good.

R..
 
I think it depends on the level of “in shape” that one aspires to. If the standard is that of general health for well being and longevity, then I would imagine that watching your diet, getting enough sleep, and not smoking, in conjunction with the physical nature of being on your feet, moving heavier objects, and generally not being sedentary would be sufficient. If it means looking like a magazine model who happens to also dive, then you have to work like a magazine model more and not dive so much. Think of all the people you know who have done something to a high level for a prolonged period of time. They are almost always the most fit for the task at hand, but unless that task directly involves looking physically attractive, rarely do they look like what most people would consider to be tip top shape.
 
My guess would be that anyone working in diving will spend enough time schlepping tanks & weights, swimming, walking around while giving instruction etc that they will already be pretty healthy.
 
Hello! The getting up early is no problem but after daily diving, sometimes deep, won’t that cause agitation of the gasses specially if i do sprints or HIIT?
 
Get up early. Go jogging before your work and before it gets hot. Getting up early only sucks the first few times. After that it starts to feel good.

R..

Or swimming. I'm not a dive pro, but an instructor friend I roomed with for a while would jump in the water and swim a little before work. Of course, the house was right by the water, which is not the case for many people, even dive pros.
 
You could be like the dive "pro" yesterday at Hudson Grottto that was giving his pre-dive/site briefing while smoking a cigar.
 
First, I'll say that from my experience, not all dive pros are in tip top shape, but all that I've met/been on courses with are in at least good shape. Enough to get the job done safely.
I also agree that if a dive pro is working daily he/she probably needs no extra exercise to get into even better shape.
Cardio and other exercises could be done in spare time.
If the pro has a day job and also teaches dive courses there may not be much spare time, unless you got up early (which may lead to lack of proper sleep).
I haven't met anyone here (or in the U.S.) who actively teaches dive courses every day. Maybe in the tropics.
 
I see where you're coming from - respecting off gassing, and exercise. I recall reading in my 'deep course' that the general recommendation is that you shouldn't do any strenuous exercise right after a dive - especially one where you went particularly deep, or otherwise got close to your no-stop limit.

But from what I recall, that advice was really meant to apply to the first couple hours after a dive - and it's also in relation to strenuous exercise. If you're diving in the morning, there's no reason why you couldn't work a light 5 k run, or an hour session in the weight room into your evening. Likewise, if you're diving in the afternoon, I'm, sure there'd be some time in the morning to get out bed early and do dedicated work without impacting your ability to dive safely. From what I've heard, the cautions about this area really in relation to the extreme ends of the scale. (i.e. don't push your no-stop time to within a minute or two, surface, and try to PB your half marathon time.)
 
I guess I'd add, that, yeah. As others have said - it depends on what you mean by being in tip-top shape. If you're devoting your whole life to maximizing physical performance - that means a ton of time in the gym and exercising. And you can't really combine that with being a dive pro (or really many jobs).

As an example - I have a few friends here who are really into ultra marathon trail running. Super fit people all around. But they also have to devote almost all of their free time to running and training. Logging hundreds of kilometers a month and thousands of meters of elevation. Even if a dive pro had the requisite time available - it's probably a pretty bad idea to dive throughout the day, and then run 800 meters up the side of a mountain.

I was pretty into it too, for a while - until I started to dive regularly. While I still do trail runs, I know that the two hobbies aren't 100% compatible, and that means my friends are going to be leaving me in the dust during our races. I'm OK with that.
 

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