Getting to decent fitness

[UCFDiver85]

Here's my opinion: I played baseball last year. Before conditioning I weighed 190 and wasn't as strong as I had been in the past. After conditioning I weighed 180 but was much stronger and toned. I'd say the first really important thing is to eat right. Try to eliminate regular sodas, drink lots of water, and limit your intake of beer (i know it sucks!). Drinking water alone will flush alot of waste out. Try to eat healthy, and if you need to snack then go for fruits.

As for the training...it might be difficult since you can't run, but there definitly are other methods. As mentioned before, weight training would be REALLY good. Weight training can turn alot of fat into muscle. Secondly, I would try swimming alot or biking. However, one of the most effective things I used in the past is kayaking....it sounds crazy but kayaking is a very intense workout. You won't have to use your legs except to maintain balance, and it really is an intense upper body workout and get a great sweat and cardio going. I know some college teams actually make their players kayak in the off season to build strength. Any of the things I mentioned would really work, good luck!

 

[pasley]

Diving as exercise - my story.

2001 June Certified BOW. My June APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test)
Running 2 miles in 18:30 and doing 40 push ups and 40 sit ups in 2 minutes each.

Between June 2001 and June 2002 Here is my exercise program: I go running exactly 4 times (I hate running, jumped out of planes for 8 years and knees don't like running any more). I go diving almost every week off the beach in SoCal. June 2002 APFT 16:30 for the 2 mile run! What an improvement.

June 2002 - June 2003 - I started running 3-5 times a week. Aug APFT 15:37 (in Phoenix at 80 degrees F), but at home I had been running closer to 12 minutes), 70 Push ups and 59 sit ups.

Bottom line, diving weekly IMHO is good for you. Even if it may not really do anything, who is going to complain?

 

[ColdH2Odvr]

Be careful about mixing diving and exercise. Exercise before or after diving has a MAJOR impact on post dive bubble formation. Simple stuff like walking shortly after a dive can cause a significant Doppler bubble count increase.

 

[Straggler Dave]

Be careful about mixing diving and exercise. Exercise before or after diving has a MAJOR impact on post dive bubble formation.

The opposite impact though... Exercise before the dive has been shown to reduce incidence of DCS...

 

[bridgediver]

The opposite impact though... Exercise before the dive has been shown to reduce incidence of DCS...

Dave - can you provide any details or references to this? I had always been lead to believe the same as H2O.

thanks

 

[RiverRat]

Hey there Wijbrandus,
I'm a new diver too (only 20 logged dives) but can offer some advise related to my progress so far. I too have been on a quest to better my health and lose weight. I've so far lost about 25 lbs. and that has helped me feel so much more energetic! For me I decided to change my eating habits, cut out bad stuff, soda, McDee's etc. No fad diets but just decided to eat healthier foods. It has helped my metabolism big time. I've also incorporated stretching and lite exercise and plan on getting back into more biking etc. In any event you may already know that fat floats and bone/muscle sinks. If you lose body fat (and possibly gain more muscle weight) you will require less weight to sink.
Pipedope had a good point:
"SAC is actually more a function of comfort and skill in the water than fitness"
As an example I just got back from G. Cayman not too long ago. I was on my first deep dive over 60 fsw, new gear (BP/W) and I'm usually a little excited/anxious on my first dive anyway. That first dive I was overweighted (15# on the belt) and only lasted 21 minutes. Hooved air bigtime. Anyway, I continued to drop belt weight until I attained neutral buoyancy with only 3# on the belt! I was fortunate to have picked a great dive op (fisheye) and was able to "tune" my rig fairly quickly. I logged each dive in detail and was truly amazed that as I steadily dropped belt weight and became more relaxed (as a result of improved confidense, trim) that my SAC rate improved dramatically! I was starting to get 35 minute deep dives (multi profile 100 fsw - 60 fsw)
with 1000 psi left in the tank! I need more dives to get a better average on SAC rate but I was getting a rate between .51 and .61 on some of the better dives. I think you're on the right track to get your fitness up but also strive to get your trim worked out and don't dive overweighted. Try to get to neutral buoyancy. That was key for me. When I started those dives overweighted I was finning way to much and adding air to my BC (wing), then dumping air (my profile on one dive was up and down, up and down..) adding...dumping...adding...etc. When I got to neutral I was diving with NO air in my BC. Started to use my lungs and was amazed at how much control those suckers have! (almost had to get your s*** together on the deep swim throughs) In OW classes I was using a rental BC with 28# lead on the belt. My trim was horrible, I looked like the Concorde on takeoff. For me getting the weight off the belt and up on my back using a heavy backplate (FredT) made a world of difference also.
Anyway, good luck with your progress

 

[pasley]

The opposite impact though... Exercise before the dive has been shown to reduce incidence of DCS...

I had not read this before either, but checked the DAN website. They recommned waiting 4 hours after exercising before diving.

I know that exercise will reduce your blood pressure for seveal hours after. Example, I went running at 06:00 a.m. and then saw my doctor at 9:00 a.m. BP was 85/54, nurse took it twice with electronic cuff and was quite concerned. My normal is 98-101/58-60 and the doctor understood I am just in better shape than most 49 yr olds she saw. Explanation, the exercise infuses the muscle tissues and therefore lowers the BP.

Checked the DAN WEBSITE (https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/faq/faq.asp?faqid=133) here are their thoughts:

Q: Is there a problem with working out before or after I go diving? I love to dive, but I'm in training and don't want to miss a workout.


A: Nitrogen absorption and elimination is largely a matter of temperature and circulation. Gas exchange works very well at constant temperature. After diving when body tissues have been loaded with nitrogen, activities such as running, weight lifting or a heavy workload can shake up the bottle of soda, so to speak. So exercise after diving requires that you give tissue nitrogen levels time to drop, making bubbling generation less likely in the tissues. You should always start off a dive well rested with muscle that is cooled down and not calling for more oxygen and blood flow.

Exercise before diving may be your best bet. We all enter the water warm and take on nitrogen at a similar rate. Once in the water we begin to cool, vasoconstrict, and take on less nitrogen. Which means after the dive, we are still cool and not off gassing as a mathematical model may predict. This would appear to favor a diving after exercise procedure. In the 90’s, an altitude study by Mike Powell Ph.D., found that if you waited 2 hours to go to altitude after doing a series of deep knee bends, the number of Doppler bubbles produced at altitude deceased to a baseline level after a two hour wait.

Although there is no definitive answer, a two-hour wait might be considered a minimum waiting guideline for diving after exercise. A more conservative suggestion would be four hours to allow you body to cool down and rest before you add a nitrogen exposure.
Remember to rehydrate after exercise. Although dehydration doesn't cause decompression illness, increased fluid losses decrease you’re off gassing efficiency, so be sure to get plenty of water on dive and exercise days.

 

[ColdH2Odvr]

The opposite impact though... Exercise before the dive has been shown to reduce incidence of DCS...

I beg to differ here. This belongs more in the ask Dr. Deco section but here goes... The reason for exercise adding to DCS risk is the formation of micro bubbles. Bubbles don't form spontaneously under conditions you’ll encounter diving, they require a seed or micro bubble (bubbles don’t form in the body of the champagne, but at imperfection sites on the glass). So if bubbles don’t form spontaneously, where do the micro bubbles come from? Bubble formation requires pressure drops on the order of several thousand atmospheres, though your body won’t see these kinds of pressures changes they can be created locally through phenomenon such as cavitation (pop your knuckles) and vortexing in the circulatory system. It’s like kneading bread, kneading introduces air bubbles into the dough. As CO2 evolves from the yeast it diffuses through the bread, if it finds a bubble the bubble grow otherwise it just diffuses out of the bread. Exercise before diving is like kneading your blood.

Mild exercise following diving (arm movement etc.) decreases DCS by maintaining blood flow throughout the body (perfusion).

If you’re interested in decompression theory, gas exchange, etc., keep and eye out for Dr. Deco’s advanced decompression course.

 

[MosheDyan]

As it appears the thread is about to get hijacked to bubbleology....let me turn it back to the issue at hand....improving the individuals health for diving...and life too (nice bonus eh?).....

I would STRONGLY suggest consulting a pro....by a pro I mean a certified and insured Personal Trainer. You will get loads of useful advice in this forum; however, is it really applicable to YOU? Forums, books, workout tapes, diets...there are a million of them out there and while they all may have individual merits how are you to know which one is for you? Which is suitable for your particular body type?

I happen to be a certified personal trainer (kinda goes hand-in-hand with Sports Therapy). A good personal trainer will take the time to get a complete medical background, fitness level, likes & dislikes (exercise-wise that is!), current nutrition, risk factors (i.e. high blood pressure, diabetes etc) and YOUR GOALS! He/she will then come up with a complete program including nutritional guidance (if so qualified) and will escort you through it...demonstrating the exercises and providing methods of measurable progress (increase in resistance, reduced body fat percentage etc). He/she will also provide motivation if you need it!

Before you start worrying about the cost....consider what it is worth to you to be able to stay U/W longer...and increase your overall health! I suspect you will find the cost to be minimal.

I will be happy to answer any SPECIFIC questions for you....or anyone else (i.e. what exercise can I do to help increase my kick strength etc etc)...but IMHO you should see a pro for the best results.

<edit>
I had to fix a poorly written statement. What I wanted to add is that choosing a personal trainer can be somewhat difficult depending upon local standards for certification. In the USA I would advise getting a referral from a sport medicine MD....the ACSM is also a good place to look for a local referral. Just make sure they are compatible personality-wise...and are actually qualified...not very many people at your local 24 Hour Fitness (or whatever your local gym is) actually have a clue what they are doing...especially the staff!

 

[pasley]

...Mild exercise following diving (arm movement etc.) decreases DCS by maintaining blood flow throughout the body (perfusion)...

I have no knowledge or training in this area so all I know is what I read. I look to the experts like DAN and Dr. Deco for information on this subject.

What is the source of the above position that exercise following a dive will decrease your DCI risk?

What I read is that DAN (Divers Alert NEtwork) does not agree with your position and cautions against exercise for several hours both following a dive and before. See my post above for the quote from DAN on exercise and diving.

It appears that they are not claiming exercise causes the bubbles to form, but rather are concerned about the circulatory changes exercise brings.

Now on a different note: For a good arobic exercise, make love vigoursly and often.....even if it doesn't work, who is going to complain!