SoCal dive fitness

[Mo2vation]

I agree it does involve alot of things. I am in very good physical shape and can do situps and pushups like crazy. my cardio is good and my pulse is 60. But for some reason I use tons of air...thus the pst 120 tank that aaron gave me a hard time for. I frequently get whooped in air consumption, so its not only physical shape that matters.
My air is getting better though!

John

You look like a big guy - and with your muscle mass and workout schedule, your furnace just burns hotter than most. Even with your snoozing BP of 60, you're still burning more calories than most of us cuz you're carrying around more lean muscle mass.

A lot of gas consumption, all things being equal (relaxing, experience, streamlining, etc.) has to do with your BMR. Those of us who are active have a much higher BMR, so its kinda funky... dive with someone who's a little fluffier and softer and sometimes they use less gas. Go figure.

I dive the 130. I moved to it before I started seriously addressing my fitness issues as a way to get more BT. Now that my SAC in the open ocean has improved (about .45 - .50) I get mad BT on that thing.

It also means we can eat dive boat food without fretting much about it sticking around too long...

---
Ken

 

[pasley]

I agree it does involve alot of things. I am in very good physical shape and can do situps and pushups like crazy. my cardio is good and my pulse is 60. But for some reason I use tons of air...thus the pst 120 tank that aaron gave me a hard time for. I frequently get whooped in air consumption, so its not only physical shape that matters.
My air is getting better though!

John

So your real question is not so much about physical fitness as it is about air consumption. You SAC rate of 0.45-0.50 is from what I can gather good. So you really are dong fine.


In general terms things that affect air consumption are: Dive a dry suit? Mastery the BC. Constantly needing to add and dump air to control you buoyancy. Over or under weighted. Waiving your hands around in the water trying to maneuver or assist yourself swimming or just to stay off the bottom. moving lethargically from place to place - Good, sports car model - Bad. Taking normal breathes at a normal rate exchanging most of the air in the lung- Good. Small sips of breath using only the top of the lung not good. Normal is better and will use less air than the small sips. Exchanging more air in the lungs on each breath eliminates more Co2 and reduces the impulse to breathe again. Small shallow breaths leave lots of Co2 in the lungs triggering the “can’t breathe” feeling and a more rapid albeit shallow breathing. Bottom line you run through the air faster. Any one or combination of any of these will affect air consumption. Some body types use more air. Most likly culprit of less than ideal air consumption is definatly not diving enough. That is probably the true culprit, go diving more.

 

[SNOBORDJON]

So your real question is not so much about physical fitness as it is about air consumption.
So where is you air going?

I have not had the pleasue of diving with you yet so I will ask the usual questions all of which impact on air consumption. Do you dive a dry suit? Have you mastered the BC yet? Do you need to constantly add and dump air to control you buoyancy? Is you weight right or are you over/under weighted? Are you waiving your hands around in the water trying to maneuver or assist yourself swimming or just to stay off the bottom? Do you lethargically move from place to place or are you sports car model? Do you breathe normally or do you breathe small sips of breath. Normal is better and will use less air than the small sips. Exchanging more air in the lungs on each breath eliminates more Co2 and reduces the impulse to breathe again. Small shallow breaths leave lots of Co2 in the lungs triggering the “can’t breathe” feeling and a more rapid albeit shallow breathing. Bottom line you run through the air faster. Any one or combination of any of these will affect your air consumption. It could just be your body type uses more air or you just don’t dive enough. That is probably the true culprit, go diving more.

Well here's the story. after certification in Jamaica, I did another 6 dives but I was always renting gear, sometimes weight belts, sometimes integrated. But I couldnt get much feel for any consistent routine.
I got my own gear just before march. with weight integrated Pro QD BC, and also got a PST 120 steel tank. I dive with a 2/3 wetsuit and a 6/3 hooded vest. I weigh 220 and was using 28 lbs, but after getting the steel tank I dropped to 20 Lbs.
I have 22 logged dives now, so I guess 11 dives with my own gear.
Unfortunately 8 of those dives were beach dives in Laguna during march, with poor vis and lots of surge. I did have to adjust my buyancy (add/ dump) a good amount though because I had a hard time judging the surge etc, and had a few night dives in poor vis as well. I usually take slow deep breaths, but find it hard to pace my exhaling at night. maybe the breaths are too big?
I do feel that I could control my buoyancy much better after last sunday at casino point. Phil and I did 3 dives and my breathing improved as well. I felt that I could hover over rocks etc and back down again just through breathing. I kept my arms under my stomach for the most part except to collect the beer cans laying around.

During the first dive, with a 3200 fill, we had a max depth of 69ft, but spent most of the dive between 40 and 50ft. Bottom time was 62 minutes with about 500psi left.
The second was a little better, 67 depth 58 min with 700psi left.
the third dive is hard to gauge because we called it early
My dive buddy had usually about 100-200psi less but on a steel 80 tank.

I hope it will still get better. what would ou suggest. Do you think it will improve much?

John

 

[pasley]

Do a search on SAC rates, I and others have taken a survey form time to time to get a feel for what others do in relations to ourselves. 0.50 SAC is better than many. I usally run 0.43-0.45 depending on the day, weather, mood, currents etc. On a very mellow dive I have been known to get below 0.40 into the 0.36-0.39 range.

I can improve your air consumption. Go diving. Want to go tomorrow (Thursday)?

 

[ICY ICE]

my cardio is good and my pulse is 60.

Your BBM has be lower than 60, I'm at 55 and I don't cadio more than I dive, or do the gym thing 7 days a week.

Must be the mass, it must be the mass.

How complicated the human body??? Everything a doctor tells you always has loop holes or statistics. I remember my last physical, I told the nurse that I swim 25 laps everyday, she acually believed me; couldn't convince her otherwise(when my guilt set in).


Which brings me to the next part of this topic: What you eat makes a difference, a balance meal goes a long way.

My simple diet: Daily vitamins, water and a Jamba Juice with an energy boost.

 

[Godly_Diver]

Hi everyone,
I am new to diving(20 dives since Aug 04) and just started my beach dives here in Laguna Beach area....I am a 43 yr old male in excellent shape, I used to be(quit in 97) a personal fitness trainer at a Physcal Thereapy center in the CO rockies and worked with top level athletes(pro tennis players, natioal skiers, snowboarders, NFL and NBA payers and hard core weekend warriors) learned how to train athletes who recovering from injuries, staying in shape in off season etc. Did this for about 6 years. It all comes down to one simple principle; moderate to advance level weight training, cardio training and healthy nutrition. No need for fancy, complicated stuff, keep all at basic level.
If you are diving regulary choose a more advance level training program, if diving once a week or less then a moderate training program will keep you in shape. Also, always change your routine to keep your body not get used to the stress level. Don't eat junk food and try to avoid processed food products, eat at least 4-5 times a day, small balanced meals and drink a lot of water.
There are tons of training programs available on line for Free...if anyone interested I'll be happy to recommend a few.
Happy&safe diving....

 

[SNOBORDJON]

Do a search on SAC rates, I and others have taken a survey form time to time to get a fell for what others do in relations to ourselves. 0.50 SAC is better tan many. I usally run 0.43-0.45 depending on the day, weather, mood, currents etc. On a very mellow dive I have been known to get below 0.40 into the 0.36-0.39 range.

I can improve your air consumption. Go diving. Want to go tomorrow (Thursday)?

Sorry melvin, just got the message. I dont think I can get out until the sat morning dives. Are you planning on going?

John

 

[SNOBORDJON]

Sorry melvin, just got the message. I dont think I can get out until the sat morning dives. Are you planning on going?

John

OK I researched the sac rates like you suggested. Here's what I found:

keeping in mind that even though the max depth was 69, we averaged about 45 ft deep.

I calculated .584 based on 2500psi used on a 120 tank with average depth of 45ft for 62 minutes. This was the formula:

# Lets do a sample problem:
# Assume an 80 FT3 tank
# You used 2000 psig at 100 feet in 20 minutes
# Calculate the volume used in total like this: (2000 psi X 80) / 3000 = 53.3 FT3 total consumed.
# Calculate the atmospheres like this: (100/33)+1=4.03 ata.
# Divide the total volume used by the time: 53.3FT3/20=2.665 FT3/minute consumed.
# Convert this to Surface equivalent by diving the consumption per minute at depth by the Atmospheres like this: 2.665FT3/min / 4.03 ata = .66 FT3/min.
# The .66 FT3/minute is your surface consumption rate.
# If you want to plan a dive to 130 feet you can calculate how much gas you will consume at that depth like this: (130/33)+1 = 5 atmospheres.
# 5 X .66 =3.3 FT3/min ---> ie you will breathe 3.3 ft3/minute at 130 feet.

Thats pretty bad huh? .58

John

 

[Mo2vation]

I don't think there is a "BAD" SAC rate. I mean, it is what it is. There are many things you can do to reduce it, and you will - like Mel said. Diving more is the first. You're pretty new, and likely still in that wonderlust stage of checking everything out - look at the fishie, look at that cool snail, look at that kelp, look at that hottie in our dive group, etc, etc, etc...

BTW - don't ever lose that wonderlust.

But you will learn efficiency and streamlining, and economy of motion, and deep breathing techniques, and all that.

.66 isn't "BAD" - its just not the sipper that Mel and some other lifers are. You won't be there next week, or even after your next dive.

I hate to keep saying this, but a great place to get your dive groove on is the Dive Park at Catalina. You can get mad BT, drain a tank to zip and really dial in your weighting, trim, buoyancy, kicks, equipment, etc. Its protected, safe, free of surge and you can just go in and work in the prettiest shore dive in SoCal.


.66 isn't bad. Its just new. This isn't a race. But (being in sales and never being satisfied with our performance) you'll blow it away very soon.

Anytime you wanna go to Cat and drill, I am so there.

---
Ken

 

[SNOBORDJON]

I don't think there is a "BAD" SAC rate. I mean, it is what it is. There are many things you can do to reduce it, and you will - like Mel said. Diving more is the first. You're pretty new, and likely still in that wonderlust stage of checking everything out - look at the fishie, look at that cool snail, look at that kelp, look at that hottie in our dive group, etc, etc, etc...

BTW - don't ever lose that wonderlust.

But you will learn efficiency and streamlining, and economy of motion, and deep breathing techniques, and all that.

.66 isn't "BAD" - its just not the sipper that Mel and some other lifers are. You won't be there next week, or even after your next dive.

I hate to keep saying this, but a great place to get your dive groove on is the Dive Park at Catalina. You can get mad BT, drain a tank to zip and really dial in your weighting, trim, buoyancy, kicks, equipment, etc. Its protected, safe, free of surge and you can just go in and work in the prettiest shore dive in SoCal.


.66 isn't bad. Its just new. This isn't a race. But (being in sales and never being satisfied with our performance) you'll blow it away very soon.

Anytime you wanna go to Cat and drill, I am so there.

---
Ken

Right on. I appreciate it, hopefully we'll go and I'll take you up on it.

John