PADI certification: So, I'm worried about nothing

[Javik]

Continuation of another overly long thread, but with a better subject line
Eardrum pain from water slap?

On Friday I went to go see my general practitioner doctor, to have him look over the PADI medical form. He knows all the stuff I discussed in the other thread, and his attitude was, "Eh, I see no problem. Yes, you had ear issues and a tube in one ear as a child, but it's been decades since then, so don't worry about it. When you go diving you don't need to stand for hours for any reason, so, eh." Doc signed off on it, no problem.


I felt good about that so I went to the local YMCA in town to swim some more. I have never really tried doing the certification swim all the way so I decided what hell, let's just see what happens.

Turns out actually I can complete the PADI certification for mask, fins, and snorkel, which is 300 yards/meters, or 6 laps there-and-back in a 25 meter pool.


Then I decided, oh what the hell, lets continue doing laps until the pool closes and just see what is possible.

So on Friday evening Feb 26, 2016, I managed to go about 65 laps (there and back) in about 2 hours 15 minutes in a 25 meter pool. So that's 25m * 2 * 65 = 3250 meters, 10662 feet, 2.019 miles. Wow.

So while I wasn't trying to time anything, that works out to a basic PADI qualifying mask/fin/snorkel swim of 300m in about..
3250 meters / 135 minutes = 24 meters per minute
300 meters / 24 m/min = 12 minutes


And actually it was probably further. The lap swimming was so boring that I kept wandering off to thinking about something else, and..... where was I? Dammit! Go back to the last lap number I remember clearly. So it could have been more like 70-75 50-meter laps.

I'm not sure what to do about the lap counting to make tracking the laps easier. I'd need some sort of number tracking gizmo I can carry in the water with me. Hmm, where would I find that.

Amazon.com: swim lap counter waterproof


So what do you know, a slightly obese, 42 year old, sedentary, non-ripped, pot-belled, nonathlete, computer nerd, chair sitter can absolutely trounce the basic PADI requirement no problem at all. Yes, it surprised me too.

Though it was certainly not fun. Repeated incredibly painful leg cramping, including one so bad my left leg basically went immobile for a minute or two and I could not even move it. But I figured out that if I alternate between finning and arming, rather than dumbly trying to use both muscle groups simultaneously all the time, my leg cramps have time to rest and go away, while I use my arms. Then go back to legs after a while. So I kept going... but very... slowly...

Also as usual, after about 90 minutes in the water my skin is softening up from being in the water, and getting more tender. I used my 2mm ankle-high fin booties to reduce fin chafing, but alas it seems the booties have a very tough thread used to sew them together and that tough thread is annoying on my toe skin too, just like the hard silicone split-fin toe pocket. I apparently need to try some more fin bootie manufacturers, and find one that doesn't have sewing across the top of the toes. Gonna have to start a collection to try to find the best one, apparently.

Wow, I ached after that, Friday night. But, pop 400 mg of Ibuprofin after a full meal around midnight, and the deep muscle/tendon/joint ache goes away for about 5 hours.

I suppose I will go to the pool again soon, and see how far I can go in 3-4 hours of lap swimming.


Also, I figured some things out about the basic certification swim which go unstated, and can be used to my advantage, and may be helpful for other old flabby donut eaters that are concerned about qualifying.

I will probably write up a guide with these tips eventually, after some more hours of slow sedentary lap swim research in the pool.

 

[oly5050user]

You still have 10 minute tread to complete..

 

[agilis]

With a mask, fins, and snorkel in a warm Y pool you should be able to snorkel almost indefinitely, float resting when necessary for brief periods. Soft full foot fins are probably more comfortable than booties, easier to use when surface swimming, I think.

Those PADI standards are watered down . If I remember correctly about 5 full laps without a mask, fins or snorkel was the preliminary test you had to pass before beginning basic certification, to demonstrate that you had adequate water skills.

That was a long time ago. Things have changed. Don't become complacent or overconfident. Keep working at it. Being completely at ease in the water is the key to many things.

 

[The Chairman]

You still have 10 minute tread to complete..

If he can do all that, the 10 minute tread will be a cinch.

First off, nothing beats Vitamin I. It more than takes the edge off while Tylenol does nothing for me.

Secondly, I use the Garmin Vivoactive to track all of my activity. It is pretty generous in how many laps I do, but that's OK. It motivates me to hit the water.

Now, when it comes to diving: don't swim so much. Use only your fins, even for turning. Many instructors don't stress this, but it's not that hard to figure out, especially if you look at some frog kicking youtubes. The slower you go, the more you'll see, the further your air will go and the more fun you will have. Don't swim so much and don't use your hands except to handle gear like your BC inflater.

 

[Landau]

Congrats on the 3km + swim Javik

I'm not a very experienced diver, But am a very experienced swimming instructor. You master the number one thing needed for swimming. Confidence in the pool.

Almost every adult confident and comfortable in the water can swim a long way. Not necessarily fast, but far.

Landau

 

[The Chairman]

You still have 10 minute tread to complete..

You master the number one thing needed for swimming.

It was kind of funny, but at the end of last year I met an Olympian, Jon Olsen and he gave me a great tip: Work on my trim! It was like I was hearing me talk to my students. Get flat as you can while you scuba.

 

[dmaziuk]

Repeated incredibly painful leg cramping, including one so bad my left leg basically went immobile for a minute or two and I could not even move it. But I figured out that if I alternate between finning and arming, rather than dumbly trying to use both muscle groups simultaneously all the time, my leg cramps have time to rest and go away, while I use my arms.

Stretch, swim more, pop a Nuun into your water bottle and drink that between sets. Fin kicks tend to put unusual stresses on unusual muscles so it'll take conditioning (working them and stretching them) to get rid of the cramps. Electrolytes and hydration won't hurt.

A pull buoy: Pull buoy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia keeps you in trim while working arms only.

 

[TMHeimer]

My usual advice for cramping is take a daily over the counter Potassium pill. You may even consider the dreaded split fins. Since combining these 2 things a few years ago I can't really remember any cramping at all.

 

[Neilwood]

Javik - one thing to remember when scuba diving is it is unlikely you will be diving for the same 2 1/4 hours that you swam for in the pool at any one time. More than likely (especially when starting to dive) you will end up blowing through your air in about 30-40 mins followed by time on the surface then more diving. That means your body gets a chance to recover both skin wise and muscle wise. Make sure you drink something on the surface (preferably something with electrolytes in it) and cramp will probably not be a big issue.

You will also probably not be finning as hard underwater as you would on the surface - the best tip I can give to someone is the Netdoc one :" Slow down and when you think you are going slow enough slow down some more". There is a lot down there to see and the last thing you want is to be swimming that hard past something that you miss it. It is not a race - if anything the winner is the guy that swims most efficiently (slowly) and uses less gas therefore gets better bottom time than the guy that races everywhere underwater and blows through his gas in 20 minutes.

 

[The Chairman]

@Javik About those tender toes: I wear nylon socks with my dive boots. I saw them self destruct on a liveaboard and I was putting all sorts of bandages to keep on diving. Since I've gone to those very thin nylon socks, I can dive day in and out for weeks at a time with no problems.