Diving Fitness

[SurfLung]

- There's an article in the latest HDS magazine by Stan Waterman on diving for seniors. The gist is that, once in the water everything's pretty easy because of the weightless environment.
- Two years ago, I started swimming at the YMCA to get in shape for diving. And I discovered something that never bothered me when I was young... Catching my breath when my chest was below the surface. I'd have to stand up in the shallow end to get my lungs out of the water... Then I could breathe easier.
- It didn't take too long to get the breathing muscles back in shape BUT, I can see how a swimmer can get behind and not be able to catch up with his lungs breathing against the weight of the water.
- Sealing the deal on this, Jill and I were on a snorkel boat off Key West and sure enough some guy my age (58) got himself in trouble and nearly drowned...
- Mr. Waterman's probably kept his lung fitness by diving regularly all these years. Any of us who's had a long period since diving should probably spend some time regaining this lung fitness.

[Ron]

You raise an interesting point. I am not a dive doc, but it would stand to reason that the increased pressure on the lungs would have to be overcome by the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. Charlie, another vintage diver on here, does a lot of breathing exercises for free diving. He has some pretty impressive swim times and distances. Everything is easier when you are in fighting shape

[Nemrod]

The surest way to have me go phobic is to have something pushing on my chest. I do not know why but it causes me to get very upset. Not panicked but very uncomfortable, even the slightest pressure. It is one of the reasons I switched from horsecollar BC to wings. Sternum strap, oh, no thanks on that.

I see so many people in terrible fitness, it is a serious problem among middle age and up men particularly. It isn't that it does not affect women but men tend to remember what they could do as being the same as what they can do.

My weekly routine is about 75 miles on the bike (indoor or out) and three hours elliptical or more and usually about 5 miles in the pool. Lately I have kicked that up to about 6 miles. I am around 200 miles for the year thus far. I used to run but any plans on continuing that came to a sudden halt as I slammed into the pavement at 35 mph with a pit bull hanging on my ankle.

But tonight I felt lazy and skipped everything because I am playing with my new regulator.

It is not needed to go to an extreme but clearly doing 30 to 45 minutes of aerobic workouts per week is a good thing and some weight loss does not hurt. Lifting weights, IMO, is mostly a waste of time. If a person only has a few hours for workout per week, spend it on aerobic workouts, not pumping iron.

Swim, bike, run.

Nem

[swimjim]

once in the water everything's pretty easy because of the weightless environment. LOL, Stan Waterman has earned what ever. He probably has handlers. I saw him at Our World Under Water last year. No offense to Stan, but he hardly even rates for frail. That said, physical fitness is something you must keep up if your going to dive. Once your in the water, piece of cake right? What about if the currents kick up? What if you F up and swim with the current first and then have to kick against it? A lot of things can happen that will cause my pager to crank up.
Diving fitness is something you must continually work on. If you have a weak spot, work on it. Otherwise, golf is a pretty fun game. I do recoveries, but I do not enjoy it. Keep me bored please.

Jim

[sthtxdiver]

@ Ron thank you for all those kind words (compliments) i figured im not getting any younger but keeping an active lifestyle all year round surely makes my life and my love for diving alot more easier and enjoyable ps my workout consists of swimming ,jogging,wts ,breathing exercises on land and water 6-7 days a week

when im not getting wet http://www.expand-a-lung.com/

[SurfLung]

- I've seen that breathing exercise thing before and thought it was just a gimmick. So... It is a good thing for vintage lungs... Bryan should sell them in the VDH store!
- My wife claimed I had an advantage swimming laps with my mask and snorkel... I was thinking to get some snorkel practice and make my exercise more like a fun diving activity. Anyway, I fitted her up with a nice VDH mask and snorkel... And she said she couldn't catch her breath... Felt like she was breathing through a restriction. So, maybe swimming laps with a snorkel is giving me better breathing exercise than I thought?

[sthtxdiver]

I myself use a snorkle most of the time due to the fact i suffer from neck stiffness thats the reason i use the expand a lung on dry land and do underwater breathing exercises when finished doing laps .ps I do overall rom exercise body,heart, and lung

[Nemrod]

- I've seen that breathing exercise thing before and thought it was just a gimmick. So... It is a good thing for vintage lungs... Bryan should sell them in the VDH store!
- My wife claimed I had an advantage swimming laps with my mask and snorkel... I was thinking to get some snorkel practice and make my exercise more like a fun diving activity. Anyway, I fitted her up with a nice VDH mask and snorkel... And she said she couldn't catch her breath... Felt like she was breathing through a restriction. So, maybe swimming laps with a snorkel is giving me better breathing exercise than I thought?

I could not use a snorkel, I would have to back way down. Too much restriction, even with the large barrel snorkels. I exhale with my face under under and as I roll my body I inhale sharply and deeply. I can breath to either side but prefer to the left. Open water swimming requires breathing to both sides so I practice that some. I sometimes use lead weighted hand paddles and I have some Speedo fins I occasionally use but I never lap swim with a mask or snorkel. I am much faster in a crawl than snorkel swimming with fins and get a better and more complete workout.

James

[SurfLung]

[quote="Nemrod]I could not use a snorkel, I would have to back way down. Too much restriction, even with the large barrel snorkels...
James[/quote]

- You're making me proud of myself... I actually go pretty hard with the mask and snorkel... No fins... I haven't thought the snorkel was restricting my breathing but if it is, I'm getting a better work out than I thought. Unlike jogging, it's pure fatigue that stops me now and not pain (shinsplints, hips, etc.) And you're right, I can move through the water pretty darn fast. I usually lap my wife 2-3 times in our 50 lap workout (thank heavens she's there as everybody else laps ME! )

[Ron]

IMO, swimming with a snorkel and dive mask is harder. That is why the military makes you do it. Heck, sometimes they make you do it with just one or the other, which is a real drag. JES is a physiologist, and I'm sure that he can illuminate us. I would bet that it has something to do with the dead space of the snorkel, the relatively lower position of the body in the water when you use a snorkel, and the general restriction provided by the snorkel. I know snorkel swimming made me a lot better at breath hold diving, along with practicing tolerance tables.

[Nemrod]

I agree that swimming laps with a snorkel restricting air intake would be harder. But, there is more to it than that. OK, let me make a silly analogy. If you take a race car and then restrict the engine with a straw sized intake then the car will never test it's aerodynamics and suspension or push it's driver's skill. I swim for whole body workout and cardio. Restricting my carburetor artificially with a snorkel restriction would slow me down so much the rest of my body would not be able to operate at a level that would stress it. It might work my diaphragm and increase my O2 starvation capacity (actually, it is CO2 that triggers breathing) but it would not be a good workout.

Well, much as I hate it, off to the Y, gotta do two miles tonight to stay on target.

Nem

[SurfLung]

- I think there's a difference of training and seeking optimum performance. The race car can't get stronger by exercise. But, athletes always increase the workload to strengthen the muscles... Adding weights for weight lifting. Adding distance or an incline for jogging... Training at high altitudes, etc.
- Of course they go with the minimum workload when they want optimum performance... As in a race or other competition.
- Anyway, I'm not racing*. Using the mask and snorkel makes this a practice session for diving and takes some of the boredom out of putting in time on exercise.
(* Except when I lap my wife! )

[Nemrod]

You have a good point. Train, at least some, with the equipment or specific to what you are doing. At this past SD IX I got into a strong litle rip off the end of the jetty. Since I was in vintage regallia including a horsecollar and a snorkel and a weight belt, items I frankly rarely use other than at a vintage dive function, well, swimming face down against that rip I quickly became uncomfortable, starved for air and the horseollar pushing on my chest. Normally, I use a wing and a plate and do NOT ever, EVER have a snorkel anywhere near me much preferring to partially inflate my wing and swim on my back.

So why was I swimming against the rip instead of across it like it says in the Basic Skin and Scuba Handbook (Bible)? Because, there are boats go through that pass that would run't me over, I was getting skeered being so far from shore and besides, there are bull sharks out there . Anyways, fate smiled upon me and what goes out on a tide, some times comes in though not as surely as gravity and I made it .

But, it is a good plan to train some with the fins and snorkel, especially if you are planning on using them for real, duh. SeaRat does some sort of fin swimming and uses a centrally located snorkel with racing goggles. I was gonna ask him if that snorkel had a ping pong ball it it but decided he might not see the humor, . I should not pick on people who can beat me up!

I also got stuck with being the temporary masters team swim coach. Only two more weeks and the regular fellow will be back and I can demote myself to civilian status. Oh well, time to air up the tires, the sun is out high and the Kansaw wind is in my favor, time to hit the bike, 50 is on my mind but may not be in my legs. Shall see.

Edit Sunday, in keeping with the new concept of O2 starvation I have taken to cycling with a snorkel:



Now, if you think people look at you oddly when diving the twin hose, this is good for some triple takes. And, oh by the way, the snorkel is genuine USD vintage J tube snorkel, this is vintage after all.

Nem

[sthtxdiver]

looking good Nemrod !!! thatll catch ppls attention

[SurfLung]

Touche... That is really rich!