How to obtain a basic scuba fitness level?

[Artimas]

I was pretty unhappy with my level of fitness while diving this past summer. I usually did OK because conditions were calm, but on one dive in particular, I needed to swim against a fairly strong current and quickly became extremely winded. I also have had more trouble climbing the boat ladder with my rig. There is no question that I'm out of shape, and perhaps dangerously so if conditions are rough. That's bad, because I HATE to exercise. It's going to take an unusually tough commitment from myself that, being honest with myself, I'm not sure I can do.

I didn't used to have trouble, even without formal exercise, but I suppose my age (55) is catching up with me. I need to do something about it for next season. Most of the fitness regimens I have seen are geared toward younger individual and seem to emphasize stuff like body building and sexiness. I'm way past that!

Can anyone direct me to a site that would have an age appropriate fitness program for scuba? I'm not looking for a heavy duty body building workout, just something to keep my fitness level safe and be able to hold my interest.

Thank you very much!

 

[Gene_Hobbs]

Cameron Martz has some good articles and weekly workouts. His book is good too if you like what you see on his site.

 

[bleeb]

One relatively simple and one of the most dive-appropriate activity is to just go swimming a few times a week. In case you weren't aware of it, every exercise works out different muscles, and swimming laps would help develop and condition those swimming muscles you use for diving. Another useful type of exercise for divers is strength training for the lower body and back, to help carry around tanks and gear.

Do you have particular likes and dislikes? Do you prefer indoors or outdoors, or want a mix of both? Since you mention "next season" it sounds like you're somewhere cold, and some people like winter sports, while others hate breathing heavily in cold air. Tell us some more about what sort of physical activities you like (besides diving . One of the things that makes keeping to an exercise program much easier is to pick things you actually like doing.

The standard warning: If you haven't been exercising regularly, you may want to check with your doctor first. Hopefully you don't have anything major wrong with you if you're diving, but your doctor may have opinions about certain types of exercise you should avoid, like running if you have any hip or leg issues.

 

[J.R.]

That's bad, because I HATE to exercise. It's going to take an unusually tough commitment from myself that, being honest with myself, I'm not sure I can do.

.

Well... the advise to swim is a good one but the issue you mention above is the most common problem with it... and if you don't enjoy it ya' find all kinds of reasons to avoid it... been there... share your pain.

I can tell you what I do... and you can see if it fits. If it works for ya', cool... if not, nothing lost.

I'm 56. Ran into stamina issues when I started going through Rescue on the way to Divemaster (a bit over a year ago...). Like you I realized I needed a personal maintenance program...

My wife and came to a couple of realizations about exercising...

1: Most people want too much too quick... which leads to setting "goals" that they force themselves to try to meet.
2: Failure to meet these goals leads to dissappointment and frustrration...
3: Frustration leads to quitting.

So... we started with a different approach. We set 'floors'. A floor is the amount of exercise you can do without it hurting. To set the floor we started swimming... a few laps... rest... a few more laps. Quit.

Next swim... go for the 'floor'... no more... no less. When you do the floor then quit. REPEAT.

Now... after a few days of doing this... you're gonna' start getting BORED. Too easy... so just do the floor and a little extra. Not enough to hurt... just enough extra to feel comfortable.

Eventually you'll find that the 'extra' starts growing... you'll blow through the 'floor' easily... At this point you can raise the floor... not the full level of the 'extra'... but to a comfortable level...

I think ya' get the picture.

The big thing is to set yourself up to succeed and not to fail... if you're having a lousy day... do the 'floor'... that's the actual goal anyway... anything MORE you do is bonus stuff... give yerself a pat on the back for having achieved more than you set out to do... (yea... sounds hokey... but it works)

When we started I could do the 400 yards for the divemaster test... but was pretty winded and it wasn't all that impressive a time... We swim 3 times a week and... yesterday, I did a 3 mile non-stop swim in the pool... and I can now do the 400 yard swim in under 10 minutes. ... and our "floor" is 3/4's of a mile... [We use all "low impact" strokes... sidestroke, breast stroke, backstroke... the goal for us is distance not speed...] Normal swim is 1.25 to 1.5 miles.

One other point with this technique... "time" always seems to be a factor in an exercise program... as your distances and durations increase I think you'll find that you've adjusted your lifestyle to accomodate your exercise period...

... and... when you're done... give yourself a treat. For my wife and I it's generally a mocha...

... hope you find some value in this...

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

Camron's book is an excellent resource, and a great place to start.

some random tips:

Start slow: your aim should be only to be in better shape than you are now in a year’s time.

Walk before you run: If you want to try jogging then start by walking 5-6 times a week for at least 30 minutes. Walking, then walking with short jogging intervals, is needed to get your joints and bones ready to handle the strain for further exercise. Ditto take it easy the first few months for other exercises: remember it takes time for your joints to change and bones to increase in density. Too much too soon is the best way to get injured.

Make it a habit: I found once I got to the point of 4 exercises a week it became a habit that I looked forward to.

Keep a log: record your exercises to monitor your progress and provide motivation: I use a Polar heart rate monitor that downloads my exercises and fitness tests to an online log - this has provided a great deal of motivation as I see how much I'm training every week/month and can watch my fitness scores change over time.

Use a heart rate monitor: A heart rate monitor keeps you training in the zone that provides maximum benefit - and you would be surprised just how easy that level is when you are starting out.

Aim for three main cardio works outs a week: studies have shown for basic cardio fitness three 20-30 minute sessions a week gives just as much improvement as 5-6 sessions: the extra exercises just adds strength.

Exercise damages your body. Rest make you fitter: It’s when your are resting that your body recovers and makes all the changes needed to adapt to the additional strain of exercise: alternating exercise days and rest days (maybe with light walking) is a good way to start.

Forget that 'aging' BS: A lot of the decline that people put down as 'age' is just a result of a less active lifestyle compared to when they were younger. There is no reason why in 5 years time you could not be fitter at 60 then when you were 40 or 30.

Best of luck. There’s quite a few threads on this in the fitness section of the forum.

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[PvtStash]

I've been exercising for about a year ana half now , all cardio, on an elliptical machine. When I first started I was able to do 2 minutes... that was it... horribly out of breath, heart hammerin' away, sweaty (hard to believe sweat after 2 minutes!)...; I would get off the machine for 2-3 min. to catch my breath (mostly) and then Back on for another 2 min. ... I'd do this for about a half an hour (with only half of That time being On the machine)...

135 lbs. and 18 months later... I Can go 2 hours without a stop... (I Dont very often, more typically an hour, but I Can).

It amazes me how quickly the body responds to meet the challenges... It was only a couple weeks before I was able to do the entire 30 min. on the machine, and when That became too easy I started "stepping it up" incrementally... I dont even start sweating until I've been on the machine for at least 15 minutes now...

I've gotten to the point now where I no longer wish to "step it up" by increasing my time on the machine... it just gets to be too much of my day tied up , so I'm starting to shift my cardio workouts to incorporate a lil' strength training.

Baby steps... dont get hurt before your healthy enough to resist getting hurt!

 

[covediver]

I too like Cameron Martz book, Fitness for Divers. I refer to it from time to time.

And age does have a way of sneaking up on your stamina, as I found out when I started playing water polo a few weeks ago at the local college. I am a good distance swimmer but that game is something else.

In addition to Cameron's book, may I also make the suggestion that if you do chose to swim as part of your program, chech to see if there is a Masters swim club near you. "Masters" in this case means "over 18" not "olympic calibre" swimmers, although some can be. Not to worry, you won't be swimming in their lane. Masters offers the advantage of structured workouts, stroke evaluation and improvement, and a social activity. Swimmers are assigned to lanes based on abilitity, so in a 1 hour work each lane has a distance and pace that is appropriate. As you improve, you move into the next lane. Or, for fitness swimming, stay where you feel comfortable.

You can swim on your own and there are workout flip cards avaialble, but I find that if I swim with a group it means I am more likely to go. I also swim with fins in the pool where I teach lifeguarding on alternating days with my masters group.

 

[leapfrog]

Lots of really good tips from people here. I take my personal fitness very seriously and I help a small group of divers with fitness issues to improve.

The basis of any diving fitness program is cardiovascular training. The "walking" tip is excellent. Try walking steadily and firmly for half an hour. Do that for two weeks. Try to pick a route with the minimum number of stops (i.e. traffic lights or roads to cross. It's important to keep it continuous. Wear trainers and sweats so that you get used to them.

After two weeks, when you have been walking for 15 min. run 5 and walk the last ten. Gradually replace the walking for running.

Another important aid is to have a scale at home to weigh yourself every morning. As you do more exercise you should start to lose weight.

Keep a log of your training and weight.

If you want more information, please PM me.

 

[SkipperJohn]

I've been exercising for about a year ana half now , all cardio, on an elliptical machine. When I first started I was able to do 2 minutes... that was it... horribly out of breath, heart hammerin' away, sweaty (hard to believe sweat after 2 minutes!)...; I would get off the machine for 2-3 min. to catch my breath (mostly) and then Back on for another 2 min. ... I'd do this for about a half an hour (with only half of That time being On the machine)...

135 lbs. and 18 months later... I Can go 2 hours without a stop... (I Dont very often, more typically an hour, but I Can).

It amazes me how quickly the body responds to meet the challenges... It was only a couple weeks before I was able to do the entire 30 min. on the machine, and when That became too easy I started "stepping it up" incrementally... I dont even start sweating until I've been on the machine for at least 15 minutes now...

I've gotten to the point now where I no longer wish to "step it up" by increasing my time on the machine... it just gets to be too much of my day tied up , so I'm starting to shift my cardio workouts to incorporate a lil' strength training.

Baby steps... dont get hurt before your healthy enough to resist getting hurt!

This is my workout pretty much. I dont know anything about scuba specific workout, but I know a thing or 2 about fitness. I have no access to anywhere where I can swim unless it's July & August. I started out lifting around a year ago (for the first time in my life). I am 56. In my 30's I ran even finished a few marathons. In my 40's I did Tae Kwon Do. From around 46 to 54 I did nothing but grow weak and fat. Once I lost the inches I wanted to I decided I needed cardio. I cant run for long periods due to back issues. I would highly recommend an elliptical machine. It is low impact and really works out a few more muscles than running with it's unusual motion. Go to a gym with TV's. The time passes quickly. The absolute best advice I can offer is bring a friend. I go with my son. The time we spend together in the gym is the only time we see each other. & we have a ball!

 

[Artimas]

I want to thank everyone for the input. It's all been helpful. I don't have reasonable access to a pool, but can probably find a gym nearby. I especially like the Cameron Martz site. I think that's the route I'll try.

I hope I can persevere. It won't be easy for me. Perhaps I can find a partner to go with.

Thanks again to all.