Does diving count as a workout day or a couch day?

[scubafit]

I beg to differ.
Come up here from Carlsbad one weekend and help us to collect purple urchins.
Those are work dives and a workout if there ever was one!

Hi Eric.

Curious about the purple urchins. Why are you collecting them?

There is always a way to train on dry land so that your activities underwater don't feel so challenging.

I might like to join you.

Gretchen

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Hi Eric.

Curious about the purple urchins. Why are you collecting them?

There is always a way to train on dry land so that your activities underwater don't feel so challenging.

I might like to join you.

Gretchen

We're doing purple urchin removal for kelp restoration.
In Sonoma, Mendocino, and Humboldt counties they've increased the limit from 35 purple urchins up to 40 gallons. There is a purple urchin overrun right now and there are vast areas of barrens. The DFW is encouraging people/divers to clear them so the bull kelp can grow back. We are working one particular cove, Stillwater Cove Regional Park in Sonoma County. We have about 100 people signed up as volunteers to do various operations from diving to shore support. Not all 100 people show up to each dive that's just how many are signed up, but we get between 6 to 24 people show up to our dives which are every Sunday weather dependent.
It's all mostly shallow work, but it is hard work, and at the end of the day you're spent. It's very fullfilling and satisfying to see our progress.
Urchin diving is like a combo of pulling weeds and popping bubble wrap. It's actually a lot of fun.
Divers new to purple urchin diving tell us how hard the work is, but we're used to it.
So far since 9/17/24 we have collected 21,231 lbs. in that one cove. The urchins go to people who eat them and the rest go to compost.
Urchin diving is definitely not a couch day, but the next day sure is!
Our Instagram page is @PURP_707

 

[Nemrod]

Should have been a survey . I am voting that most scuba diving is more akin to sitting on a couch and lifting a beer. A real workout , not.

I guess I am getting old, I had some sort of events, had atrial fibrillation and so they put a monitor on me for two weeks. I did have an event with a nearly 250 BPM. And my resting pulse is like 40. So the cardiologists eyes were as big as saucers and he referred me to a specialist, specialist. I am okay, think I was just having my third or fourth mid life crisis. Someday I may get old but not now. He did tell me that my lifelong fitness is why I have such a huge range in my heart rate. Though, I tell you, at 250 BPM, I was not feeling so good and had to sit down in the middle of a shopping center floor while it was going on. And nobody stopped to ask if I was okay, they just walked around me like cattle . After a while, I felt better and got up and went on about my day.

 

[scubafit]

Hi Divers,

Diving is physical activity and yes it utilizes calories. IT IS NOT A WORKOUT. I have been defining fitness for divers since 2000. A Workout requires a certain intensity and physiological environment for the purpose of achieving an adaptive response from the body. This intensity is not appropriate while diving. Diving physiology, individual health profiles, and our equipment also make it important not to exert unnecessarily or adopt a "workout mindset" when diving. If the type of diving or the conditions of diving feel strenuous, the best recommendation is to perform actual fitness workouts on dry land to prepare for diving activities. If you would like to learn more visit www.scubafit.com. It is a multi-agency and PADI Distinctive Specialty and approved by International Sports Sciences Association. Unfortunately, the concept is sometimes used by folks online and in blogs as a marketing tease.

Hope this helps.
Gretchen

Hi Divers,

A fitness program for diving is preparation in advance, not during a dive vacation. I recommend a minimum of three months of a workout program for the type of diving. It is best to make fitness a part of your lifestyle. That way you will be ready for diving without starting from nothing, and you will experience improved physical fitness over time. Keeping in mind that exercise is the great equalizer, known to prevent illness and reverse aging. During a dive vacation, no workouts! Light physical activity such as a casual walk on the beach is good though. You don't want to just sit around, and eat and drink. I enjoy stand up paddleboard and kayaking and will sometimes - ONLY LIGHTLY - not in challenging conditions hang out on a board or cruise a lagoon. Or just walk around in the resort pool. If diving feels strenuous all the time there needs to be a change in the fitness preparation for the type of diving. If an unexpected strenuous event happens while diving, then fitness training should provide enough physical reserve to handle the circumstance. Fitness helps the physical, mental, emotional and dive training. Hope this helps.