Diving and Physical Exercise

[scubajunky17]

HI all,
Whenever I dive I always do a little bit of training too as I am on vacation. Pressups, dips,pull ups etc
on my last trip someone stated that it is dangerous to do this.
I just wanted some clarification on this if anyone can give it.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Aviyes]

Juggling Physical Exercise and Diving — DAN | Divers Alert Network — Medical Dive Article

 

[scubajunky17]

Thank you

 

[Frackingawesome]

on my last trip someone stated that it is dangerous to do this.

I 100% agree with that person... you might do something stupid when working out and hurt your self... then you might not be able to dive... Besides if you need to be in shape your not doing scuba diving properly...

 

[scubajunky17]

There seems to be a bit of controversy on the net. I am a phys Ed teacher who trains strongman and is a bit of a fanatic, it would only be dips,pull ups and press ups.
I'll find it hard not to train for three weeks !

 

[Lorenzoid]

There seems to be a bit of controversy on the net.

I would trust the advice from an authority on dive medicine, such as DAN in the link above, over unknown sources. If I recall the DAN article correctly, the bottom line is avoid strenuous exercise immediately after diving.

 

[ReefHound]

I would trust the advice from an authority on dive medicine, such as DAN in the link above, over unknown sources. If I recall the DAN article correctly, the bottom line is avoid strenuous exercise immediately after diving.

I would too but sometimes strenuous activity after a dive is unavoidable, especially if you're a working boat DM. I think the threshold is probably higher than most would think.

 

[scubajunky17]

I'm talking about doing a couple of sets of dips or pull ups in the evening three or four hours after my diving.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I'm talking about doing a couple of sets of dips or pull ups in the evening three or four hours after my diving.

For me, based on DAN's no doubt conservative advice of 24 hours for exercise that involves force on the joints, that would be cutting it close. However, their advice probably doesn't take into account how much nitrogen remains in the tissues at the time of the exercise; 3-4 hours after a 30 minute bimble on a 30 foot reef is different than 3-4 hours after a major deco dive.

 

[Blasto]

I'm also used to doing some daily exercise, and it's also high-stress stuff like push-ups and pull-ups - they just happen to require the least equipment and preparation. Not really the best stuff to do.

What I try to do to mitigate it when diving is get it all out in the morning. It's also best to limit such exercise to just maintaining fitness rather than intentional microtrauma - there's plenty of time in the rest of the year for the latter.