Bluntly, the more serious I've gotten about my diving, the easier I want it to be. And that means getting into better shape. Cold water diving around here means 90+ pounds of gear stacked onto a stiff drysuit, and shore diving in that rig was a right bastard for me at my decrepit age of 46. Aerobic conditioning and a weight training schedule for just over three months have already made a
significant difference, and I'm loving it. For the first time in my life, exercise isn't boring drudgery, it has a goal and results, and the more I see that goal achieved, the more motivated I get.
I doubt I'll ever meet GUE standards (
) but I'll keep pushing until diving is pure fun and (almost) no part of the experience leaves me out of breath or struggling with weight. I love shore diving, so I need to be able to hump that load of crap down trails, over rocks, through rough surf...and back again, which is the
really hard part.
Rebreather diving has helped motivate me, as I certainly do
not need anything more to worry about when flying a Rebreather. RB diving is a more serious business than OC and if I can take poor fitness out of the equation, that decreases task loading.
I admire and envy the hyperfit among us, but we all have our useful skills. I've been into extreme sports since 1974 (starting with hang gliding, back when it was dangerous) and "panic" is a word that has long since left my vocabulary. There's nothing wrong with top level fitness but it's not the only thing that makes for a good diver. I might also note that even before I started with a regular routine, my air consumption was considered unusually low for a guy my size (240, 6'3"). I've even been warned that as my aerobic fitness increases, I may burn
more air, but I can live with that.
My confession: the trigger for this lifestyle change was an accident--basically caused by my flagging physical strength--that injured my elbow and knee...the day before I was to go to Cocos Island for a 10 day liveaboard trip. The trip, for which I had not purchased cancellation insurance*, was a
total loss. $5000 completely down the drain, plus weeks of physiotherapy. Lots of time to think, and to swear it would never happen again.
(Note: I recently got Cameron Martz's "Fitness for Divers" which is excellent, and I've modified my routine to better fit his system.)
*: Yes, I'm a twit. Tell me something I don't know.
