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Exercise ball exercises for scuba diving will help your propulsion, maximize your down time, and help prevent injuries.
Fitness for diving
includes
cardiovascular fitness to maximize respiratory efficiency and minimize
oxygen consumption, flexibility to reach your own valves, and strength
to lift your scuba equipment and fin efficiently. Dive research
suggests that poor fitness is one contributing factor behind many dive
injuries and drownings. It is beyond the scope of this
website to address all aspects of diving fitness, but we will look at
the "core".
One of the most strenuous portions
of a dive occurs before you even
enter the water. Full dive gear can weight up to 30 kg out of water so
it's important to strengthen the muscles required to lift this load
from the dive centre to the boat, on a rocky boat, and up a narrow
ladder.
Once in the water you
are
weightless. Neither feet nor hands are in
contact with a stable surface so all propulsive forces originate from a
stable trunk. Finning takes more strength than people realize and even
with a lot of strength training behind you it's difficult to train for
that specific environment. Finning uses the front and
back of your legs, so you also need balanced leg strength, which is
difficult to achieve with land exercises. Without proper preparation,
you will fatigue quickly, especially if you're finning upstream.
Exercise
ball exercises for scuba diving will help
- Streamline your stroke, less lateral and vertical
movement reduces drag.
- Allow for stronger kicking and propulsion.
- Optimize efficiency of movement and therefore reduce
oxygen consumption and prolong your bottom time.
- Reduce the frequency of cramping.
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Calf
cramping often occurs when diving after some time off. Cramps can cause
distress while diving or can be bothersome enough after a dive to cause
you to pull over on the drive home. Contrary to popular thought,
drinking more water
and eating bananas does not solve this problem.
An effective program of stretching and calf strengthening done with or
without the exercise ball will diminish the likelihood of developing
exercise associated muscle cramping while scuba diving.
Sport
Specific Core Training for Scuba Diving
Perform three sets of
each exercise
as described three times per week and within 4-6 weeks you should
notice a difference in your endurance and power under water. If you
find the exercises very easy, feel free to progress them as each
exercise ball exercise description suggests.
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