Most
sports today benefit from
physical training; this is especially
applicable to technical diving. You don't have to be a
Mr. Universe or a Mr. Olympia, but being in better
condition does help you to be a more efficient technical
diver. When recreational diving a diver uses one tank
but on some of the dives performed technically up to six
could be required; different tanks with different gases.
A much more cumbersome weight to carry whilst on the
boat, particularly when it's time to attempt standing
up!. Once a technical diver enters the water they will
normally add a couple more tanks for decompression. All
of these extra tanks and equipment takes up more space
causing the diver to use more energy. So streamlining
your equipment is very important. Your gear should be
close to your body to help reduce drag, this is the same
scenario as with racing cars. The less drag you have the
more efficient the vehicle making it faster. Along with
being streamlined you need to ensure that you are able
to access everything quickly, just in case of an
emergency.
The more energy a diver uses underwater results in a the
higher Partial pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide
levels within the body which can be very dangerous if
not monitored and kept within safe levels. Carbon
dioxide controls your breathing rate and if your
breathing gets out of control is what usually causes a
diver to panic. Oxygen can cause a diver to go into
convulsions if the partial pressure gets to high which
can come about without any warning. On the surface this
is not much of a problem but underwater if the diver
experiences convulsions they may spit out the regulator
which can obviously result in drowning. This could
happen more easily to 'out of condition divers' where
poor physical condition reduces stamina, with the
increased exercise increasing the CO levels. Excessive
amount of Carbon Dioxide also increases the likelihood
of 'Decompression Illness'.
I spend my time when not diving or teaching at
'INTERNATIONAL GYM' working on my physique, however I
personally avoid training the day before and after any
decompression diving. I also avoid any type of heavy
lifting on the actual day itself. Claes Martinson, a
technical diver and physical fitness instructor can give
you a few tips on different work outs, diets and such
that can help you improve your technical diving.
Some predisposition factors for Decompression Illness
- Loss of body fluids - Dehydration is one of the main
causes of DCI; this can be caused from urination,
perspiration, breathing dry gases, alcohol or drug
consumption.
-Poor or impaired circulation, which can arise from
prior operations, accidents, old age, previously
suffering from DCI and obesity.
-Carbon Dioxide build up - Equipment not properly
maintained or prepared, poor physical fitness or heavy
exertion.
-Physical Labour- heavy lifting or task loading
resulting in over use of joints and muscles.
-Ignorance - not knowing how to use, or adhere to dive
tables.
Physical Fitness - Key Points
-A
diver should be able to stand up and swim with all their
equipment on. If you are unable to do so then you should
not dive with it. There are limitations to how much and
which equipment you should dive with.
-Make sure you get plenty of sleep the night before a
dive.
|
-Avoid
heavy lifting or work.
-Do not smoke prior to diving.
-All drugs (prescription and non-prescription drugs) should
not be taken for at least twelve hours before and after a
dive.
-Drink plenty of fluids before and after diving.
-Eat a good meal to give you plenty of energy for the dive.
-Gain experience slowly by gradually increasing maximum
depths or skill levels.
-The dive team must be physically and emotionally fit to
dive well.
All of
this is taught in 'American Nitrox Divers International'
courses, where you will learn about equipment
configurations, oxygen and nitrogen levels and much more. I
choose ANDI as the organization I like to represent.
The
above predisposition factors for decompression illness show
that you can reduce the risk in three out of the five points
by maintaining a reasonable level of fitness: And your
overall health will improve! Nobody benefits from being
overweight, so lets start talking about diets. Simply put, a
diet is what you eat. A common misconception is that when
you diet, you're only eating things like boiled eggs and
pineapple, (just an example). Following a fad diet like that
will never achieve any goals.
What to eat: Gain or Lose Weight
Protein: Try to get two grams per kilo of body weight
per day from sources such as chicken, lean meats, eggs, low
fat milk or fish. Also a good whey and casein protein powder
is an easy way to get your protein intake up.
Carbohydrates: Get most of your carbohydrates from
wholegrain bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, vegetables or oats.
A few pieces of fruit every day are also good for you.
Fats: Stay away from Saturated fats which come from
animal products. Good fats are Monounsaturated (olive and
canola-oil) and Polyunsaturated (fish and vegetable oils).
To Lose Weight.
There are many different ways to 'diet'. I prefer to cut
down my intake of carbohydrates for between five and seven
days, getting 50% of my calories from fat and the other 50%
from protein. Following this with one or two days consuming
as less fat as possible resulting in an intake of
approximately 40% from protein and 60 % from complex
carbohydrates.
The Zone Diet: Your calorie intake should be
equal parts protein, carbohydrates and fat.
Low Fat Diet: Doesn't work for me. My energy
level is a roller-coaster ride; I have to eat every two
hours to stay sane. Might work for you though. There's only
one way to find out! You could try to have your first three
daily meals of protein and carbohydrates followed by three
consisting of protein and fat. Separating carbohydrates from
fat will minimize the output of insulin, which is very
important when trying to reduce fat.
One thing to remember is drink LOTS of water.
How Much To Eat.
Many small meals are better than a few large ones; Aim for
around six a day.
Clean up your eating habits and learn how to count those
calories.
Buy a good food scale and keep a food log so you know what
works and what doesn't.
After a week or so of clean eating reduce your daily calorie
intake to equate to 500 a week until you lose no more than a
kilo each week; losing any more than that is loss of muscle
mass.
To gain weight
Increase your protein intake to exceed 2.5 grams per kilo
per day.
Increase food with approximately 500 Calories per day for a
week until you see an improvement in bodyweight. There's no
point in getting to fat so pay attention to you're waist and
not just the scales! To gain muscle you will also gain a
small amount of fat.
How to train
Cardiovascular fitness is very important for the technical
diver as it reduces air consumption, which not only enables
diving with smaller and therefore lighter tanks, but it also
reduces the risk of decompression sickness.
 |
To increase your Cardiovascular capacity you need to raise
your heartbeat for 15 minutes or longer. Participate in
exercises such as jogging, cycling, swimming, step machines
or skipping. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you do
it!! Aim for three to four times per week. You can do the
less demanding forms of exercise for longer periods or the
higher ones for shorter. Varying your training makes it more
fun. Try a round with a skipping rope for one minute (full
speed) followed by a rest for 30 seconds. Repeat this cycle
until you've had enough, next time try to increase the
number of 'rounds'. Try the same with running and walking;
it works very well.
Strength
Also important but you don't have to look like a body
builder. A well-balanced weight training program with a bit
of extra work on legs, back and waist is what you need.
Some Good Exercises
Legs: Different kinds of squat, hack lift with a
barbell, dead-lift, leg-extension, leg-curl, standing and
seated calf-raises.
Back: Bent over rowing, chins, dumbbell rowing.
Waist: Sit-ups, hanging knee raises, wood chops,
side-bends.
Chest: Flat and incline bench-press, dumbbell
presses, flies.
Shoulders: Standing laterals, standing dumbbell
press.
Biceps: Biceps-curl, incline dumbbell curl.
Triceps: Dips, narrow-grip bench press, pushdown.
As you can see I prefer 'free' weights as they give you more
'real' strength which is more useful for carrying those
additional tanks.
Sets: Large muscles: 6-10. Small muscles: 3-5. Doing
too much is counterproductive. Quality, not quantity is what
matters. It's also highly recommended to get a doctors
approval before starting any fitness-program and even then
restrict training to no more than twice a week.
Its VERY important is that you know how to train and how
to do the different exercises. You can get seriously injured
if doing it incorrectly so if you're not 100% sure, get a
personal trainer or ask somebody knowledgeable at your local
gym. You don't try to teach yourself diving so apply the
same attitude in the gym?
More in-depth information regarding training, nutrition,
fat loss, etc, can be found at T-mag.com
Claes
Martinsson
Moose Divers
75/28 Jomtien Soi 5, Moo 12,
Banglamung, Chonburi 20150. Thailand.
Tel/Fax. 038 231874
Mobile. 09 832 8732
Email: scubamos@loxinfo.co.th
Bruce Konefe I.T.#47 ANDI
Mobile: 01 299 2968
Email: andibk@loxinfo.co.th
In
the next issue of Thai Diver Claes will be looking at
some simple exercise routines that can be done anywhere and
Bruce will report on another expedition of discovery.
|
