Diving specific weight training

[Manatee Diver]

So I've been going to the gym for usual reasons. But I was thinking beyond the usual general strength training about adding some exercises that might benefit the hardest part of scuba, moving this heavy crap around.

I was thinking that upright rows for lifting tanks from the ground into the back of my car. And hammer curls to help swing my tanks onto my shoulder.

Ideas?

 

[HamTrainChickenLaser]

Squats. They help everything.

 

[Tigerpaw]

Farmers Walk - Grab a heavy set of kettlebells one in each hand, start at one end of the gym, then walk to the other end, turn around and come back. Repeat as many times as you can. Increase the weight as your training progresses. Not only is it good for grip strength, it also simulates carrying two tanks, one in each hand. It's part of my routine and I can carry steel tanks, one in each hand with no problem. AL80's are no problem at all.

I've also discovered that doing cardio exercises help with your breathing and SAC rate. I do a lot of high intensity and cardio training with a mindset that it will help me in scuba. As a result my SAC rate is low and I'm generally am not tired from diving, even in high current situations.

Good luck

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

The book 'Fitness for Divers' by Cameron Martz is a great source of info on strength, cardio and flexibility training tailored for divers...

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Do lower back work. Hyper extensions on a bench and light deadlifts. Squats as was mentioned.
Compound exercises would be better for overall skeletal muscle strength.
I used to do a lot of military presses so I could carry my kayak straight arm up and also heft it up on my lumber rack easily.
Most of the muscle fitness needed for diving is going to be for topside stuff.
Think about the motions you use and the muscles employed then choose the exercises that match that action the best.
As far as frequency, that all depends on your age and your recuperation ability.
The older you get the more time you need to recuperate. When I was into heavy lifting I divided my body up in thirds and did three days on and one day off. Now I divide my body up in five parts and do one body part each day and work out six days a week, but light. Each week something gets worked twice and that rotates around each week.
Increase your protein intake with high quality protein. I eat a lot of fish, eggs, and chicken. I gave up red meat a while ago. I eat no bread and no sugar and try to eliminate all the ultra processed food completely. Pretty much raw vegetables or as raw as I can, a little fruit, and protein. My life isn't so much about gourmet tasty treat food anymore, it's more about feeding the requirements of my body.
95% of all this is diet. You are what you eat.
This diet sermon may seem over the top but I can't stress enough how much diet is a massive part of muscle and body strength and health.
They are tied together.

Underwater all the weight is off and you can relax.
That's why old farts like to boat dive. At some point you get too damn old to lug crap doing beach dives. I'm not there yet but steadily moving that direction. Weights definitely help keep me beach diving at 62 yo.

 

[oldschool45]

Interesting subject. I've been startring to tailor some of my workouts towards functional purposes kinda like Physical Therapy.
Some things I do for injury prevention and others are more targeted. I really like the kettlebell walk idea. I'd add to that using 25 or 45 pound plates and only grabbing them using your finger tips(from the sides). I also think planks are a great all around core exercise for running, kayaking or scuba. Hammer and cross-chest curls are good, I figure if I can curl 45's then swingging 43 pound steel 100's is nothing.

Cardio for me has been interesting as I ocassionally like to freedive and the breathing you deveolp with distance running is counter productive to breath holding. However for scuba its great. I like to do HIIT and interval training (for Vo2 max) along with my lifting and distance running. I was reviewing my dive logs from last month's trip to the Jupiter area and even when I was kicking against the current or reboarding in swells my heartrate(Garmin Decent) never skyrocketed to the point that it would destroy my SAC rate. Those numbers have improved over last year's Keys trip.

Eric thanks for the note on nutrition! My A1c might be playing games but its still low enough and we don't have a long enough baseline to tell if its going to be a problem. When I was distance running (1/2 marathons) I could just about eat anything and my bloodwork would be perfect but if I was eating junk you'd pay for it 2 hours into a run. So I'd eat better to make the runs easier.

 

[grantmac]

Romanian deadlift, split squat, reverse lunge/ballerina lunge.

Anything to improve stability in your knees and hips plus increase strength in your posterior chain.