Does Fitness Have Anything to do With Diving?

[Teamcasa]

After sitting on the sidelines on this issue I feel it is time I have to jump in. Despite the rhetoric, aerobic fitness and diving do not go hand in hand that often. Diving for the most part is a leisurely activity and with good diving skills, even a significantly overweight diver can dive safely. Does this mean I recommend that overweight divers not bother to work on their fitness level? Nope. About the only time it comes into play is after you (or your buddy) has screwed the navigation up so bad that you ended up 300 yards down current from the boat, forgot your SMB and have to swim back pulling your buddy.

Raw strength is far more important and useful in the regular dive day. Many times I’ve had to lift a bone skinny waif up a ladder or pull them out of the surge or surf. Frankly, I’d much rather dive with someone who has the physical strength needed to rescue me (or someone else) than some tiny bone rattler that looks good in a bikini.

Like Bob, (only taller and a little heavier,) I dive frequently and am often called upon to help the marathon runners up out of the water. If you lift my gear box with the HP100 tank attached into the back of a pickup or lift a diver back on the boat complete with their gear on, you can dive with me.

 

[24940]

Am I fat? Yup. Am I fit? Depends on your perpective, I suppose. Should I be diving? Well ... how many of y'all can claim 2,000 dives in seven years? It ain't killed me yet ... and I ain't feelin' much like slowing down yet either.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Bob,

I've known commercial drivers who drove big rigs, jacked up on amphetamine for years on end who are still alive. How many drunks have driven for years without any issues? Is smoking a good thing for divers? I know some smoking divers who have never had an issue diving.

Sorry, but a single data point doesn't make much of a case.

Do you get winded gearing up, doing a 50yd surface swim in the calm or hiking your kit back to the parking lot? These are the issues I see and am concerned about. I could care less what you look like in speedos.

I am far from being a fitness freak, but I do believe that the better shape I am in, the safer I will be as a diver and the more likely I will be able to handle the physical rigors of a rescue.

For those who feel it is a personal decision and nobody else's biz, think again. I've bagged a body (not a diving incident) and it makes a lasting impression. In all honesty, I would pay to have the memories removed.

It's not a judgment, it's an observation.

 

[HBDiveGirl]

"Does Fitness Have Anything to do With Diving?"

My answer: Depends on how you dive.

I dive extremely hard and refuse to have my diving limited by any of my abilities that I can control and improve. I work out hard and consistently so I can dive that way: Hard and consistently.

Cardio, weights, skills... I do what I can to open up my range of possible dives.

Others are satisfied to dive within the limits of their physical fitness.
That's great.

That's just not me.


~~~~
Claudette

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Bob,

I've known commercial drivers who drove big rigs, jacked up on amphetamine for years on end who are still alive. How many drunks have driven for years without any issues? Is smoking a good thing for divers? I know some smoking divers who have never had an issue diving.

Sorry, but a single data point doesn't make much of a case.

Do you get winded gearing up, doing a 50yd surface swim in the calm or hiking your kit back to the parking lot? These are the issues I see and am concerned about. I could care less what you look like in speedos.

I am far from being a fitness freak, but I do believe that the better shape I am in, the safer I will be as a diver and the more likely I will be able to handle the physical rigors of a rescue.

For those who feel it is a personal decision and nobody else's biz, think again. I've bagged a body (not a diving incident) and it makes a lasting impression. In all honesty, I would pay to have the memories removed.

It's not a judgment, it's an observation.

Sure, no arguments from me. I just think it's more a matter of degree of fitness than one of "you're fat, you shouldn't be diving".

In most cases you really can't judge someone's fitness level by looking at them. You can make some generalizations, but in an awful lot of cases you'll end up being wrong.

Furthermore, there's way more than simply physical shape that factors into someone's fitness to dive ... an overweight diver with good skills is generally going to be a much safer choice for a dive buddy than a fit diver with poor skills. A heavy, but typically active person with good judgment and attitude will generally be a safer diver than the macho guy who takes excessive risks.

You can't just focus on one thing ... especially when that one thing is biased toward someone's appearance.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[gcbryan]

In my opinion fitness is a personal thing. You can choose to not dive with someone but other than that it's their business. Diving is a relatively benign activity for someone who is overweight. Rock climbing is an area where being overweight is more or less a disqualifier...not diving.

Even if someone is overweight or has heart disease running in their family or whatever, what are they supposed to do...not dive...not do the things in life that they enjoy? Just because if they die it will ruin the day of the rescuer?

Of course there are extreme examples such as novice 300 lb divers swimming against current. There is more wrong with that example than just being somewhat overweight.

I just think it's very hard to stand on the beach (boat) and judge that one diver is more at risk than another or than oneself since there are so many variables.

 

[Hank49]

...over sized beer cans. Hmmmpphh.

 

[grazie42]

I don´t think anyones disputing the fact that there are great looking women who don´t have the strength to lift a ham sandwich or the CV-fitness to walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded or that there are "fat" guys who can do both (propably while carrying the thin girl).

Why the focus on bodyshape? It seems to me that those focusing on the bodyshape are doing so to avoid talking about the issue...

Everything else being equal a fitter diver will have more oppurtunities to dive and have more fun doing it than an unfit counterpart...we can start trying to define what it means to be "fit to dive" (again) or how to spot unfit divers but those threads never get very far nor are they "productive", IMO...Each and every diver needs to take responsibility for their level of fitness (and evaluate whether they can "accept" their buddies level of fitness) just as they do (or should) for all other aspects of the dive...

Personally I strive for maximum enjoyment and minimum effort in all my diving but if get an oppurtunity to dive in a high-flow cave or get on top of a wreck only to discover that there´s a ripping current, I want to be in good enough shape to feel that I can safely do the dive. Each to their own...

 

[grazie42]

Here´s the US-army policy on "overweight recruits", don´t know if it has anything to do with this discussion but thought some might like to read it...also some trends in standards of applicants...
What's the official Army policy on overweight recruits? - By Jacob Leibenluft - Slate Magazine

 

[JeffG]

I just think it's more a matter of degree of fitness than one of "you're fat, you shouldn't be diving".

I went diving once with a women who was big. Real big. Hugely obese. The DM's catered to her and carried her gear around for her, otherwise she wouldn't be able to participate. She was probably a hop/skip/jump away from a heart attack.

Now...I am one of those DIR nazi's that think fitness plays a role in my diving.....but

She was participating in an activity instead of going to Vegas and chowing down at the buffet.

In the water was the only time she felt good. Her joints finally got the weight off them.

So I say...more power to them. Go for it.

 

[leapfrog]

Here´s the US-army policy on "overweight recruits", don´t know if it has anything to do with this discussion but thought some might like to read it...also some trends in standards of applicants...
What's the official Army policy on overweight recruits? - By Jacob Leibenluft - Slate Magazine

Hello to all fellow divers again. Thank you grazie 42 for starting to bring this issue into focus. As said before (see my earlier post on this thread): "Does Fitness have anything to do with Diving?" The answer is still, YES

I would like to take this subject back to Step 1, Phase 1. Almost everything we know about RECREATIONAL DIVING stems from the trial and error methods used by the U.S. Navy (remember when you did OWD?) and to a lesser extent the British Royal Navy. The world's best diving training facility is in Panama City, FL. It is the US Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center. The Navy also trains divers in other centers, primarily Coronado and Little Creek (SEAL Teams). Of course most of you are going to say "What the hell has Military Diving got to do with Recreational Diving?". The answer is "a lot more than you think". So I thank Grazie 42 for letting us in on the fact that the Army is bringing its standards down. This is an unfortunate effect of the necessary political correctness for politicians in positions that oversee the Armed Forces to get reelected and the fact that an officer who is not seen to be supporting the integration of the obese into the Armed Forces or women into combat units will not reach flag rank and certainly have no chance of becoming a Captain in the Navy. So let us look at the standards that the NAVY DIVE COMMUNITY has for accepting someone to even enter dive school let alone qualify as a 2nd Class Diver. Then go tell the NSW Community that fitness and strength have nothing to do with diving!

As a recreational diver I have had to pull a 230lb unconscious man out of the water and over rocks to save his life.(I weigh 165lbs) I have had to jump on top of someone panicking at 60ft going for the surface at one hell of a rate of knots, while dumping the air out of their BCD and trying to stop them from killing me in the process. I have had to bring people back home on a dive with my Octo in their mouth for 20 minutes because they "got confused about the air they had left" and gave the wrong signal when asked. The list goes on.....

Unless you are DISABLED or OLD, in which case I will carry your kit on my back to and from the water with JOY, nobody who cannot run two miles without stopping, carry their own kit for ten minutes to a shore dive site and then back again from the dive site without suffering a herat attack should be diving.

As far as smoking goes, just read the Recreational Diving Enciclopedia! If I were a certification agency I would ban smokers from diving. Period. It is more or less the equivalent of drink-driving.

FACT: Cardiovascular events cause 20 to 30 percent of all deaths that occur while scuba diving.

THE TRUTH: Prudent diet and regular exercise should be habitual for divers.

WHO SAYS SO?: DIVERS ALERT NETWORK in collaboration with CDR JAMES CARUSO, MD, USN

WHAT IS THE MINIMUM DIVING FITNESS REQUIREMENT?:

Swim 500 yards (457 m) in 14 minutes or less, using sidestroke or breaststroke.

Perform 42 push-ups within 2 minutes, with the chest touching the ground on each repetition.

Perform 50 sit-ups within 2 minutes.

Perform 6 pull-ups with palms facing out. (No kipping or swinging is allowed and the chin must clear the top of the bar on each repetition.)

Run 1.5 miles (2.414 km) in 12 minutes and 45 seconds or less.

WHAT IS MINIMUM REQUIRED OF A PADI DIVEMASTER/INSTRUCTOR?

400m swim < 11 min
Floating on the surface 15 min with your hands out of the water for the last 2 min
800m swim with Mask snorkel and fins without using your hands/arms < 18 min 30 sec
100m diver towing < 4 min 20 sec

In a nutshell: FITNESS HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH DIVING!