Fundamentals training when older

[elgoog]

@sea_otter mom did Fundies this year and she's in the same age range. She had a great time.
One of my local buddies is in her 70s - we did the DPV class together a few months ago and she regularly does dives with double tanks and a stage/deco bottle from the shore. She had done Fundies 10 years ago.

If you’ve got the stamina for 4-5 days that start early and end late, you will be fine.

I think this is an important factor - physically as well as mentally. I'm far from a naturally talented diver and have had to put in conscious mental effort to try and learn most of the skills (leave aside getting comfortable doing them - that took a lot of time in the water after the class). The payoff is well worth it.

For me, I found the diminishing returns threshold is anything more than 3 days in NorCal water. I'll echo the points @rjack321 and @Lorenzoid made about either doing it in warmer climes or splitting the class. You don't even need to split it in part 1 and part 2; many instructors run the "full" classes in the split weekend format. I'm a big fan of splitting classes if it's possible.

For the record - also a whippersnapper

 

[jadairiii]

If you are fit enough to dive, you are fit enough to take the class. And well worth it. I was 54 when i did Cave 1.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Tech is expensive so most of the techies are old rich dudes who think they are all James Bond so you will be totally at home

 

[Jcp2]

I’m closer to Felix Leiter than James Bond.

 

[lv2dive]

@kensuf , you are an atypical 50 year old though. You are in better shape than most 25 year olds!

I agree with the general premise, however - in general the class can be more mentally taxing than physically exhausting. Not in terms of the academics, but in terms of trying to internalize what you are learning. I like the option of breaking up the class into Fundies 1/2 for people who don’t have prior exposure to GUE.

I turn 50 in a few weeks. I'm doing Fundies part 1 starting next Wednesday and finishing part 2 in March.

 

[Lorenzoid]

If you are fit enough to dive, you are fit enough to take the class.

I don’t quite agree. I can feel exhausted after a long day of diving and classroom. I can usually do it all over again after a good night’s sleep. But 4-5 days of that routine can kick my butt. So as I tried to say above, I think more than the level of stamina needed for a dive day or two could be helpful—not necessary but helpful. In other words, anyone fit enough to dive is “fit enough to take the class,” but being alert and feeling good will help one get as much out of it as possible.

 

[lermontov]

I think any course is good for mental stimulation and benchmarking yourself against a standard -no harm in fine tuning

 

[happy-diver]

With a dive skills technique book in one hand and cash protruding from
the other, whilst choosing which dives to purchase, stimulates my mind

rather than stimulating other peoples pockets completely unnecessarily

 

[sea_otter]

My mom is 75, and she did great with her Fundies class - in challenging Monterey conditions!

 

[JimboIL]

My mom is 75, and she did great with her Fundies class - in challenging Monterey conditions!

My mom doesn’t scuba dive, but she did sky dive for her 80th birthday. I was rather proud of her! Jim