Recently certified at age 58

[TMHeimer]

Welcome! I got certified last year at age 47. I have bad knees/sciatica. I either boat dive or dive at our local quarry. At the quarry, wheels are my friend. I have one of those collapsible wagons and they make all the difference. Not sure about conditions where you dive, but use a cart if possible.

Yes, I too have used a cart. I would think one of those wagons with the giant wheels for in sand would be better. Pretty much gave that up since you have to leave it unattended during the dives. Except for very rare situations, I gave up the cart and just gear up from the van's trunk and walk into the water. If the dive presents a really long walk, I'll pass. Though I'm lucky that I can still walk a long way geared up at 63 if I choose to. But maybe you don't have any sites that are walkable? Walking directly from car to water keeps all sand and junk completely away from your second stages.

 

[billt4sf]

I don't carry my gear any more. Never. (Really bad back). But I dive in Indonesia, there are plenty of people looking for work. It would be equally easy to arrange in any vacation resort I believe. Even on shore dives, I don't carry my gear -- someone carries it out to the water and helps me put it on. On a boat I tell them that I have to gear up in the exact place from which I backroll. At the end of the dive I take the gear off in the water and hand it up.

Once I accepted that that's the best thing for me to do, I stopped feeling defensive about it.

The one time I cannot do this is on a dive where you jump in and then put the gear on. It's difficult in that situation because I have a crotch strap, so I avoid those type of dives.

- Bill

 

[Tanya Cavaness-Heldman]

@Tanya Cavaness-Heldman , where did you get certified, and where do you plan on diving?

Where you got certified can help us understand what your current experience has been. Where you plan on diving can help us understand what your expectations are.

The more info we get, the better targeted the advice can be.

If you're doing beach dives, hiking has been a good exercise for me. I've heard cycling is really good as well.

Thank you for your response.

I live in Los Angeles and did the pool part of my certification here. I went to Cozumel to do the open water dives. Cozumel was amazing and I'm so thrilled to have discovered scuba. My husband has wanted me to give it a try for years. As many people feel, I was terrified I would panic. Not only did I not panic, I find scuba to be one of the most calming things I've even experienced.

I mainly plan on doing boat dives in warm water. My problem is that once I have my gear on, including the tank, I cannot stand up. I imagine most boats have a little seat and then you need to get up to sit on the edge in order to do the backward entry thing. Not being able to stand up just felt humiliating. I've been told I should not feel that way, but I really want to be independent and not the old lady who needs help.

To help build up my strength, I've put sand bags in a backpack and doing squats. I'm starting with 10 pounds and plan increasing it as I'm able.

Thanks again for your response. Scuba divers are such a helpful group of people.

 

[flyboy08]

Welcome and congrats! Hire a personal trainer or toy boy, whichever might be cheaper

 

[billt4sf]

I recently have been going to physical therapy for a back issue. One thing they taught me was how to do squats in a certain way that uses your abs and buttocks and helps your back and doesn't hurt your knees. Turns out, a lot of us with many birthdays can't actually stand up on our own very well.

Anyway the point is that you might want to seek out a physical therapist about it. Pretty much everyone in the clinic was doing this exercise. Helped me a lot!

- Bill

 

[Damselfish]

I mainly plan on doing boat dives in warm water. My problem is that once I have my gear on, including the tank, I cannot stand up. I imagine most boats have a little seat and then you need to get up to sit on the edge in order to do the backward entry thing. Not being able to stand up just felt humiliating. I've been told I should not feel that way, but I really want to be independent and not the old lady who needs help.

I wouldn't say most, boats vary a lot. There are some you backroll off the edge. (If you are diving from an inflatable, you backroll right from where you are sitting, there is no edge to get up onto.) There are many where you walk to the back and do a giant stride. But on most boats the usual routine is going to involve standing up with your gear at some point. However, lots of people have bad knees, backs, whatever, and dive staff at warm water resorts are used to helping them in whatever ways work for the boat and conditions. They might be able to bring you your gear while you are sitting on the swim platform. Or maybe while you are sitting on the stern, which would still probably involve standing up with your gear but it might be less awkward there. Sometimes they will lower your gear into the water and you can put it on there, then reverse that when coming up.

By all means, work on building up your strength. There's also generally a little technique involved and practice may help. In the meantime, don't be shy about asking for the help you need. You won't be the first person.
If your air consumption is decent you might also consider using a smaller tank like a AL63, which warm water resorts will often have at least a few. It's a few pounds lighter which may help a bit, but it's also shorter, which you may find much less awkward if you're not tall.

 

[Dizzi Lizzi]

Awesome! You rock! I think it takes a certain amount of bravery to do this at our age. I was 54 and for a fleeting moment thought I could not do it when I realized how hard physically it was re the gear. It's all about adapting, working smarter not harder and accepting help. I now hand up my weights before getting back on board. I use a roller bag, and I rarely shore dive. Lots of good info has been given, these people are the best, always ready to help. Take that help, it makes them feel good , and allows us to keep on diving

 

[MichaelMc]

Being in shape is the best, and safest option, along with moderately light gear. To stay in shape I swim in the pool with fins and do Astanga yoga, which is convenient to do at home in the morning. My professed fitness goal in shore diving is being able to walk back to the car with my gear, . But lots of people here wisely talk about being smart not gung ho and hurting oneself. Hurting yourself means no more diving, .

Side mount could let you stand and jump in without your tanks on, but at the cost of having the crew hand them down after you're in, so maybe that is not a solution you like. Like one 63, or a 40 and a 19. Or one or two 50s. See the sidemount forum/threads for more. But it is a bit more complex than back mount. It lets you split up when you deal with the weight, but does not reduce the total.

Really similar, even easier for the crew, is having the crew pass your inflated BC down and slipping into it in the water. Having only some of your weights in the BC, and the rest on your waist belt would help with this. I suggested the crew just toss my rig in and I would get into it in the water on a boat where the crew individually geared divers up at the backroll points. I didn't get any real response, but it was only my first or second dive with them. It might have worked fine with some discussion and reassurance prior. They may have concerns of how well it will work out instead of having you fully geared up before they let you get in the water.

Carts for shore dives, for sure.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Thank you for your response.

I live in Los Angeles and did the pool part of my certification here. I went to Cozumel to do the open water dives. Cozumel was amazing and I'm so thrilled to have discovered scuba. My husband has wanted me to give it a try for years. As many people feel, I was terrified I would panic. Not only did I not panic, I find scuba to be one of the most calming things I've even experienced.

I mainly plan on doing boat dives in warm water. My problem is that once I have my gear on, including the tank, I cannot stand up. I imagine most boats have a little seat and then you need to get up to sit on the edge in order to do the backward entry thing. Not being able to stand up just felt humiliating. I've been told I should not feel that way, but I really want to be independent and not the old lady who needs help.

To help build up my strength, I've put sand bags in a backpack and doing squats. I'm starting with 10 pounds and plan increasing it as I'm able.

Thanks again for your response. Scuba divers are such a helpful group of people.

I think the sand bags in the backpack is a really good idea and should help you build the muscles you need. If the weight on your shoulders is troublesome then you could possibly use a waist strap to distribute some of the weight. The squats sound too scary to me but I have arthritis in my knees. The more I read the more blessed I feel--I have a bad back too however I can walk all around with a tank on my back, no problem, as long as I don't twist anything too much, and I have no trouble climbing up a boat ladder with all my gear on. There has been much discussion lately about how our backs don't hurt while diving Plus I'm wondering if nitrogen has an analgesic effect

 

[Aquavelvet]

I was first certified when I was 49. At the time a single Aluminum 80 felt extremely heavy on my back. About that same time I also started practicing Yoga, initially Vinyasa style and later Hatha as well. The yoga helped tremendously at rebuilding muscle and core strength. It also helped me breathe in a relaxed and efficient manner so I didn't use my air so quickly under water.

When I first started using twin tanks as part of my early technical training, I went with Sidemount. Nowadays, at age 55, I'm also quite comfortable carrying back mounted doubles. I routinely use old LP steel 72s for extended recreational dives and LP steel 85s for light technical dives. I also have sets of HP 100s and HP 120s for more advanced technical dives. The trick was to keep diving and keep exercising to build strength.