I have always been interested in fitness. As a young man, it was all about competitive sports, most especially football and baseball. As a little boy at the beginning of games my mother would make sure my jersey was tucked in, my ball cap or helmet was on straight and that all was in order. Then this sweet daughter of Ireland would look me in the eyes and say, “remember honey, winning is not everything, but loosing is nothing”. Yes, the youngest of three athletes who, like our father, all played college ball; we grew up rather competitive! We all played a host of other sports, tennis, racquet ball, squash, gymnastics, golf (the world’s hardest game!), 1 and 3 meter diving and more. Even my wife Coleen was a competitive figure skater and college tennis player. There was never a time we played to lose or “do our best”. Just win. Like my greatest football coach exclaimed after working himself into a foaming mouth; “…the only thing that matters at the end of the 4th quarter, is the score!” Our poor children did not have a chance! To them, second place is the first loser!
As I have grown older, the accumulative results of years of injury and surgeries have forced me to behave a bit saner. (Although, after breaking 4 vertebrae at Colorado’s Mary Jane in my mid 40’s Coleen asked me if I could live my life over, would have I have done athletics differently. Of course, I responded, I’d been 10 times more intense!) Well, anyway, now it is all about fitness. I don’t care to try to live longer as much as I want to enjoy each day and die healthy. So here are some ideas from " Doctor Farr,The SCUBA Instructor”.
The Starting Place:
Estimate where your physical abilities are, and ratchet down a bit from there to find a good starting place. A visit to your doctor to discuss your goals and methods may well be advised first.
Perhaps the place to start is with this thought:
Avoid Injury: Not only in the world of SCUBA, but in the world as a whole. Injuries can pose some challenges which may complicate your life and lengthen the road to your goals. They can also make SCUBA diving difficult and increase the chance of DCS or re-injury. And that is never a good thing! Weakened muscles, vertebral disks, tendons and ligaments are prone to subsequent injury and also may have a more difficult time exchanging gases due to scar tissue or vascular impairment caused by the injury and the healing process. This may also be true of mended bones. If your back is like mine, it injures more easily now than before. Well, actually this is true of my entire body. Just this week I helped a friend and patient of mine move an older, large, tube style TV. I am still paying the price in pain and loss of mobility and strength. I was planning on making some dives this coming weekend using twin 80’s (about 75 lbs/34 Kilos). Not now. There is no way I am strapping those on! Singles will have to do. I am rather disappointed. The other impact of the TV faux pas is this; I have to retreat some on my daily exercise as well. At 56 years old, I just do not heal like I did in my youth (or as in my 40's either.) Remember, stay well within your limits. I will make continual examples of this principal throughout this post.
Set Reasonable Goals: When I was 45 years old, I used to get in the “leg sled”, you know that chair you sit in at about 450 angle and use your quads to push weights up to a full leg and foot extension.
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| This is not the sled I used. I just like the picture! |
I always did 3 set of 10 reps, 985lbs/445K on my lite days and 1075lbs/488K on my heavy days. Now, I don’t do it at all. In place of running 10 miles/16K I swim 2,000 yards/1828 Meters and sit on a recumbent cycle for 45 min. 15 pull ups in the place of free weight standing curls, etc. etc. etc. As competitive as I am, it can be difficult to swallow. But trying to relive my former days would be crippling.
Cardiovascular Training:
Let’s face it; you do not have to be in good shape to dive. We have seen the diver wearing the weight belt which is three feet longer than you are tall. I don’t even want to know how much lead they need to wear or breathing gas they use. But, they are enjoying themselves and that is the point, isn’t it? Don’t you imagine how much more enjoyment these divers would have if they did not struggle with poorly fitting gear, getting winded just walking a short distance and could use less gas? Not to bring up, that according to DAN heart attack is the most likely cause of diver fatalities. So what is good cardio training? For most adults non or low impact training is the better way to go. They include speed walking, cycling, swimming, elliptical and stair master machines. I am sure there are others. Each has advantages and limitations. So perhaps a mixture is the way to go. Cycling is emphasizes quad strength, but does little for glutes and abs. Swimming increases range of motion and “lengthens” muscles but is limited in fat loss. Speed walking gives good leg and hip exercise but can aggravate joints and damage your meniscus. And none of them do much for your upper body. However, they all can get your heart rate up where it needs to be and minimize the chances of injury when compared to running, step aerobics and “plyometric” style exercises. It is useful to keep in mind, that the majority of the benefits of all aerobic training ends when your heart rate decreases. This is why resistance training is a good idea.
Resistance Training:
The classic resistance training is weight lifting. I would still use free weights if I could. But I can’t do much with them because of my back. So I use the machines; and only the ones that support and protect my spine. I still can get a surprisingly good workout! Chest, glutes, arms, shoulders, legs. You name it. I even get in 15 pull ups. The one thing I must avoid is any axial compression (compressive forces to my spine). Why, resistance training? Not so you can look like a body builder, but for fat burning. Here is how it works. Muscles require protein to build and repair. They burn sugars to contract. (All muscles do is contract by the way.) But at night, when you are fast asleep, they repair and grow bigger. That is right. And guess what they use for energy? Your fat stores, especially when you have not eaten any carbohydrates in the evening and just prior to going to bed. This is why a healthy combination of aerobic and resistance training is the best way to lose weight and get fit. Ask any trainer. They may not understand all the physiology and cellular biology behind it, but they know the results like few others.
Stretching:
There is nothing in fitness I dislike more than stretching. Yet, if I skip on the daily minimum I need, I will know it all day long. The benefits of stretching include, better range of motion, preventing and relieving muscle spasms and “stiff muscles”, increased vascular circulation, recovery and healing of tissues and real importantly, decreasing the chance of injury. I am sure there are more. There are some important things to remember about stretching. You can hurt yourself by over stretching. By both the distance your stretch and intensity you stretch with. Always be able to breathe easily at any given point in the stretch and you will mitigate the chance of injury. It is very important to enter into and exit out of stretches slowly. Our muscles are equipped with a protective reflex called the proprioceptive reflex; in the area where your tendons and muscles join there is proprioceptive sensor which is sensitive to sudden stretching. When suddenly streached it sends a quick message to your spinal cord which responds by causing the associated muscles(s) to contract. Even if when we force our way past the reflex, the message is being sent. As soon as you relax, the muscle will actually tighten, undoing all the good and more you have done. The result is a less flexible muscle! Oops!
Perhaps the best way to stretch is by using either Yoga or Ti-Chi. Both, when taught by a responsible instructor will be very beneficial and frankly, kick your butt! These are exhausting and are actually a great way to burn calories. My youngest daughter (a former Junior Olympic level volley ball player) now teaches Yoga. She alters poses and moves according to my limitations. It is the best thing I have found for my back health.
Diet:
It is such an ugly word, isn't it? I am not talking about going out and finding the latest, greatest fad, but rather a permanent behavioral change. It is not all that hard once you admit the change will be good for you. Look at the bigger picture than what is on your plate. For example: did you know people who smoke have about two times the mortality rate than non-smokers? While the medically obese have 4 times the mortality rate of non-smokers who are not obese? Who would have thought all that delicious food poses a greater threat to your health than tobacco? Trim and fit people live healthier and longer. They also have an easier time maintaining ideal buoyancy, use less energy, breathing gas, wear less lead, don’t have to spend extra money on special order equipment and save on the food and drink bill. Hummm, no down side here.
Look at populations with good eating habits: Latter Day Saints (aka Mormons) abstain from alcohol, tobacco, coffee and black tea. They avoid caffeine, excess meat and emphasize, whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables. They also enjoy some of the lowest levels of cancer, heart disease, diabetes etc. while living longer and healthier than nearly any other group. This pretty impressive considering most of Latter Day Saints live the industrialized countries of North America, Central and South America and Western Europe. Areas not know for low rates of illness. There are of course other groups to learn from as well: Seventh Day Adventist and other vegetarians and certain limited areas of Asia. What do they have in common we can learn from? They don’t over eat, they eat more natural foods less processed foods including whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and fresh dairy with minimal or no meats. And they do it day in and day out. This does not mean you can’t have the occasional treat, like say a large pepperoni NY Pizza! Just don’t live off the stuff. And only eat what you need. Take home boxes and left over’s good too.
Conclusion:
It is pretty simple to see. First, you must see the need to change; your style of food consumption or exercise or perhaps both. Many may just have some room for improvement; others need a whole new approach.
Eat less and better. Exercise more. Live healthier, and dive longer!
I’d rather see you underwater than underground.
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