I'm a 51 year old woman, am 5' and weight about 115-120 (depending on how "good" I've been lately). My cholesteral is good; my blood pressure is good (on the low side); don't smoke. When boat diving I can lug the weight of the gear and lead without complaining - but I noticed on our recent trip to the Keys that I was really hoping for someone to grab my tank to help me get up and out of the water at the end of my dive. Once on the boat I was fine - it's climbing that short ladder out of the water that gave me trouble. (for reference, I was wearing a 5 mm suit with a 5/3 hooded core warmer, and 18 pounds of weight).
We are looking at a live-aboard - thinking about a trip next summer - and the ladder/stairs on the boat are a bit more than what I'm accustomed to. I understand that the ladder on a live-aboard will be more like "steps" than a more vertical ladder? I'd like to do the right sort of weight training to target the muscle groups most important for carrying the weight and getting out of the water. It seems obvious that leg strength will be important, but what about shoulders and biceps?
If anyone wants to be specific about which exercises to do that would be great. I started yoga - and that seems to target strengthening some muscle groups as well. Because of my age - and being female - I know it's important to do weight bearing exercises anyway to increase bone mass to prevent/decrease osteoporosis. So fire away! Thanks in advance!
Kimela
If you have not done any weight training for several years and you are a typical, somewhat sedentary 50 yr old, petite women... then you will likely experience some significant strength gains if you train properly. The key is that it is going to take a while to attain those gains. In order for you to reach your goals, it is much more important to avoid getting hurt rather than trying to progress rapidly. Getting hurt, or super sore, pulling muscles, strains, will slow your overall progress more than training with a little less intensity.
If possible, try to train at least 3 days per week and try to never do less than twice a week. Long term, consistent dedication is more important than any specific training regime for a typical person.
My advice is to concentrate on abdominal muscle exercises and low back, probably every day that you training. These are chronically weak areas in many people, so do those. If you are not going to dedicate a huge amount of time to trying to sculpt your body, then you should do 3 times a week aerobics.. biking, swimming, jogging, elipitical, stair machin ... 15-20 minutes minimum. Having excess aerobic capacity and well conditioned legs is very beneficial for scuba.
If you have limited time, you should concentrate first on exercises that move a lot of weight and involve a lot of muscles. For example, a leg press is very beneficial.. try to do 25-35 repetions, which will require a relatively low weight and will reduce the chance for injury. Lat pulls, similar to a pull up on a machine, involve back, biceps, shoulders all in one exercise. Again high reps.. 12-18.
Push ups or bench press is also a basic exercise that works the chest and triceps.
Next, leg curls on a machine, will greatly reduce the incidence of leg cramps.
If your knees can take it, you might try lunges, they will definitely help with leg strength and balance and control, which are important on a ladder.
If you have more time and energy, then you can do curls, work with dumbells, deltoid lateral raises etc. but these are lower prioroty than the bigger exercises that move more weight and involve multiple muscle groups.
