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DIVE FITNESS
The
DAN
Guide to Healthier Diving
Maintaining Fitness
on a Liveaboard
Exercise for dive travel
B y J e s s i c a a d a m s , P h . d . , a n d s t e P h a n i e d e l t u f o , B . s .
to avoid an increased risk of decompression sickness, dan
®
recommends that divers avoid strenuous exercise for 24
hours after making a dive. during your annual physical exam
or following any changes in your health status, consult your
physician to ensure you have medical clearance to exercise.
NOTE
I
n the Winter 2012 issue of Alert Diver, we described
fitness as a transient phenomenon. That means the
choices you make every minute of every day matter —
even the choices you make while on your dream dive
vacation. Unfortunately, there is no “vacation mode” for
your metabolism, and no one can take your body running
for you while you lounge on the deck between dives. When
you put your training on hold, fitness decline is a slow but
sure process. Don’t let your dream vacation be the start of
your fitness demise. A liveaboard dive vacation poses par-
ticular challenges to mitigating the effects of detraining.
The exercises described here take into account you are on a
dive vacation. If you choose to add exercise beyond diving and
stretching, incorporate them as far from your dives as possible.
Make sure the intensity is very low as well — not more than 50
percent of your maximal effort. Intense exercise is NOT recom-
mended in the hours preceding or following your dive.
To get the most out of the space and time you have, shift
your focus from traditional exercise routines to simply being
healthy. Keep the “fidget factor” in mind: Every movement
counts. Make smart choices each minute; it’s not just about
what you do during workouts but the accumulation of
movements every minute of every day. The goals are low-
intensity toning and fitness maintenance.
Hydrate and Fuel Up
When spending a lot of time diving and in the sun, be sure
to drink plenty of water. Sports drinks and sodas contain
many empty calories, which have little or no nutritional
value and will make you feel tired faster. Juices have nutri-
tional value but can increase your caloric intake very quickly,
so be selective. Making sensible food choices will provide
you with more energy for diving. The human body fre-
quently confuses thirst and fatigue with hunger, causing you
to crave excess sugars. In general, a good indication of suf-
ficient hydration is clear or light-colored, odorless urine.
Activities for Small Spaces
Try to improve your posture and stretch a lot — it feels
really good. Take the opportunity to try any yoga moves you
might know. It’s so easy to get caught up in the daily grind
of waking to the alarm and trying to get out the door on
time that we often fail to stretch in the morning. But this is
your vacation; take a moment to do so in your bunk (or on
the floor or deck).
Posture
Most people know maintaining good posture is important
for wellness. However, few of us practice it on a daily basis.
A dive vacation is a good time to increase your overall kines-
thetic awareness (knowledge of where your body is in space)
and begin to make good posture a habit. Start by taking a
moment to consider your current posture. Next, align your
back by bringing your shoulders up toward your ears and
then dropping them down and back. Then briefly contract
(tighten) your abdominal muscles. Try to consciously do this
each time you sit down to discuss and log your dives, eat,
have a cup of coffee or read a book. After about 1,000 repeti-
tions (which accumulate faster than you think), this practice
should become natural.
Basic Stretching
Lie on your back and reach way up over your head while
pointing your toes, and hold for 20 to 30 seconds. Then roll
over onto your stomach, press your hands onto the floor
beneath your shoulders, and push your shoulders up while
keeping your hips in contact with the ground. You should feel
a stretch along the front of your body and through your mid-
section. Breathe deeply, and take a moment to focus on your
body without considering what you may look like; stretch
whatever area feels tight. One of the greatest barriers to fit-
ness is concern over how we look or where it is appropriate to
exercise. It is always appropriate to care for your body.
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sPRinG 2012