Women and everything being heavy in scuba diving

[DevilEyeDog]

While many found the original question offensive because of how it was worded I understand why one would ask.
Women and men are built differently and men will be stronger all the time if they worked out the same. Of course there are plenty of men who are weaker in strength then women, but women can't argue that if a man and a woman worked out the same the man would be stronger.

It was only in the past few years that a woman set a record deadlifting 600 pounds in a weight competition. Meanwhile the deadlift record for men was broken in 2016 with a record of 1,102 pounds. So fair question, but the wording was off-putting.

I have no qualms saying women have to work harder in this sport, but we've come up with ingenious ways to work smarter. Like so many have pointed out we find the rock that we can set our gear up, sit down and slide in to our gear on when men put it on the ground. I started only 2 years ago and while I'm an avid long distance runner I needed to build up muscles I didn't know existed to carry my steel 100 tank and weights. I did a lot of squats, leg lifts and leg exercises so I could be comfortable with carrying my gear up and down the rocky 0.2 mile hikes we have here in New England to shore dive. It wasn't easy, but proudly I can say I figured it out. I can now exit the ocean in my drysuit, carrying a steel 100 HP on my back and 34 pounds of weights in my vest and wearing 2 pound ankle weights and climb up a vertical rocky terrain for 0.2 miles like anyone else here in New England.

If you love the sport you work at it. It's not easy for women to carry all the gear and anyone who says it is worked on getting it easy. And yes, if a stronger man wants to carry my tank who am I to argue? I'd carry one for them if they were struggling, but I'm smart. I'll accept the help because I'm a woman and can't physically build the muscle mass a man can.

 

[pelan-pelan]

Enjoyed this thread - and a lot of common sense. Getting fit - really helps. Women aren't weaker than men, but they are a different shape. (Do I win a prize for observation?) And they may be shorter. And their strongest muscles tend to be core and lower, rather than in shoulders. I can do fine with a bit of thought and ingenuity, and I make a point of hefting my own gear. But carrying gear out onto a dive boat with a heavy swell over 1.5 metres is not my key strength. The thing that gets me is getting a good grip. My hands are small - I can't reliably pick up a wine bottle (or wide whisky glass) single-handed. My grip is fine, but it is the size of the span. That said, years of manual work has given me a super grip for undoing small caps and taps and ferreting out bits and pieces that have dropped through the boards on the floor of the boat.

Have some sympathy for the big people - it must be difficult for some great big soccer playing 6ft 6 ins giant to understand how someone smaller could even have the strength to lift a whisky glass. Life must be so confusing!

 

[Kimela]

The thing that gets me is getting a good grip. My hands are small - I can't reliably pick up a wine bottle (or wide whisky glass) single-handed. My grip is fine, but it is the size of the span.

I agree (so I grab that glass with both hands or grab the bottle by the neck!)! When we first started diving we bought a couple of those big lights/torches that you just slide the lever back and forth with your thumb to turn it on/off. I thought there was something wrong with my light because I had to use both hands to slide that lever! It was the size of my hand. I didn't have the reach or the strength in the very tip of my thumb to push it side to side. Thank goodness we discovered better lights!!

 

[eleniel]

I tried to get certified years ago but didn't end up doing the open water dives because I physically was too weak to even carry one tank more than a few feet, let alone walk wearing a tank and all the gear. I was fine in the water, of course, but just couldn't lift anything outside the water. For reference, I am 5'8 and weighed maybe 90 pounds at the time - it was sad how little I could do. I ended up taking a few years off, building some muscle and gaining a bit of weight and went back to it when I was in better shape.
I'm at the point now where I can handle all my own gear, I just may need to take an extra trip or two that my dive buddy doesn't have to make. It's not usually a big deal and I try to set my things up so I can gear up not far from the entry point - this is really more of a problem with shore diving than boat diving.
When boat diving, I may need help standing up if the deck is wet but otherwise haven't had any problems.
At this point I have more issues finding a wet suit that fits for length without the crotch being down at my knees.

 

[Wingy]

Women are far less likely to be risk takers than the fellers.

Say whuhhhh???

 

[Cali_diver]

Say whuhhhh???

She hasn't met me yet either! My husband thinks I am crazy!!!

 

[Marie13]

Say whuhhhh???

"Hold my beer and watch this" seems to be almost exclusively a male phenomena in my experience.

 

[Wingy]

Strange...I generally feel the most alive when I'm closest to killing myself

Have you never encountered female wing suit flyers? Mountaineers? Volcano climbers or for that matter Volcano divers??? Never seen any of the big wave surf circuit girls? No Cambodian paintball players with left over grenades from the Vietnam war? Circumnavigating and racing sailors? Jockeys? Firefighters? Fighter Pilots? Soldiers? Rock climbers? Babysitters?

 

[Cali_diver]

Strange...I generally feel the most alive when I'm closest to killing myself

Have you never encountered female wing suit flyers? Mountaineers? Volcano climbers or for that matter Volcano divers??? Never seen any of the big wave surf circuit girls? No Cambodian paintball players with left over grenades from the Vietnam war? Circumnavigating and racing sailors? Jockeys? Firefighters? Fighter Pilots? Soldiers? Rock climbers? Babysitters?

I think she is just referring in general to stupid people, not necessarily women who are risk takers. Most of the women I travel with are risk takers and I love it!! The worst is when you get a woman on board who has to be hand held and coddled. The eye rolling almost hurts!!

 

[JasmineNeedsGills]

I tried to get certified years ago but didn't end up doing the open water dives because I physically was too weak to even carry one tank more than a few feet, let alone walk wearing a tank and all the gear. I was fine in the water, of course, but just couldn't lift anything outside the water. For reference, I am 5'8 and weighed maybe 90 pounds at the time - it was sad how little I could do. I ended up taking a few years off, building some muscle and gaining a bit of weight and went back to it when I was in better shape.
I'm at the point now where I can handle all my own gear, I just may need to take an extra trip or two that my dive buddy doesn't have to make. It's not usually a big deal and I try to set my things up so I can gear up not far from the entry point - this is really more of a problem with shore diving than boat diving.
When boat diving, I may need help standing up if the deck is wet but otherwise haven't had any problems.
At this point I have more issues finding a wet suit that fits for length without the crotch being down at my knees.

Same here! The first time I was training, I was about 55kg and - I kid you not - needed my buddy's help to shift a 7 litre cylinder. Now I can easily handle the cylinders, but alas I'm no longer as - ahem - svelte as I once was, and getting a new wetsuit is proving more... interesting... than I thought would