How "Fit to Dive" do you consider yourself?

A question I'm throwing out there, like a stone in a pond. My intention is not to point anyone with the little finger as I'm certainly not the best example myself of how things could be done. Allow me a couple of lines.

 

Whenever we want to take up a new activity or sport we assess its accessibity (whether it's your thing or not) by a number of factors e.g. cost (I'd like to be driving a race track but my bank account would properly only last one lap), do I need to take courses (one can't go flying a plane without a proper theoretical background), is it dangerous (sure I wanna go climb Mount Everest but I'm afraid of heights), do I have the physical conditions,....?

 

I hear you ask, and what does that have to do with diving or even UW-photography?

Well, all (or at the least the majority of) UW-photographers are divers, and as I like taking UW-pics myself, so I thought I post it here.

 

In comparison to other activities or sports I find diving to be a very accessible activity at first sight: obtaining an Open Water certificate is fairly simple:

-course is easy both theory and practical excercises

-it only takes a few days

-it's relatively cheap

-it's offered in alot of popular holiday destinations with dive centers luring in tourists to go and look at fish

 

Nothing wrong with that...but then comes the next step and that's where I come to my question:

In order to sign up for a course one has to fill in a medical form....

"Do you have any previous or current illness"...if "no", please sign and pay, if "yes", go see a doctor...

Ok, you are there on holiday and you don't want to waste any time or you made your mind up beforehand that diving is the thing for you...and then you run into these medical questions...Are you honest with yourself when ticking the "yes/no" box ?

It is within the human nature to switch to "denial mode" and to fool oneself to avoid alot of hassle in order to obtain something, in this case your diving certificate.

 

Taking it a step further...you're young and goodlooking, invincible and immortal...and you managed to get your diving certificate without having had to ly to yourself. But then comes the day you're hair becomes grey, joints are aching (and not because you've got the bends)...

At this stage (or even before), do you think back of that medical form?

 

Except for the lucky few (bastards) who can spend more time IN the water than on dry land, diving tends to be an activity most people only do during their holidays. (one, maybe two, and if you're really earning well and have lots of days off maybe 3 diving holidays per year)

What do you do in the time between diving holidays?

Do you have a medical check-up once every year (or 2 years)?

Do you do anything to keep your physical condition at a certain level? (I think I'm not alone when I say that some of us jump on a plane as soon as we come from work and holiday starts and go diving without having done any exercise at all)

 

When you think of that, is diving still the same easily accessed activity as when you first got your Open Water certificate. We all know that diving can be much more physically demanding than just watching a clownfish, e.g. having to deal with a current. Doing UW-photo/videography makes it both physically and mentally more demanding.

 

I know that there are relatively few diving accidents, but if your medical status/physical condition is not quite what it should be, you're at risk of running into much greater trouble while diving than with a land based activity e.g. when you have a heart attack while playing a game of football with your friends, you fall on the field, CPR, ambulance....when you're underwater...hmm, drowning, brought to the surface with an AMI and DCI ( )...doesn't even have to be a heart attack, simply getting short of breath is a totally different situation with air around you than when surrounded by H20...

 

Anyway, to cut a (too) long story short: Do you consider yourself "Fit to Dive"? Do you have yourself regularly checked? Do you keep physically fit?

 

Let's hear it

 

Bart

 

 

PS: I took up swimming again 2 months ago...too embarrassing to get cramps in the calfs during the 1st dive

I think people would be amazed how many folks lie when on vacation about pre-existing conditions. Here in Cayman there used to be (may still be) a very good network, whereby when one dive shop had someone fill out the waiver form with a condition on it not conducive to diving (and they may already be certified) that dive shop would call the others to give his name as that diver would undoubtedly go to other dive shops once realising his mistake and then lie about the condition.

 

Now as Drew will tell you .. I am not in the best shape for diving right now .. but technique for the variables in the sea and experience can help that a lot ..

 

Unless you travel with your tank and a compressor .. you will find that all places renting out tanks and air will ask for a waiver to be signed .. this will have a medical question such as you pointed out.

 

If you have to answer yes to that question there are two ways of getting around it .. 1) be truthfull and the dive shop will have a local dive doctor they recommend so you can ask him .. you would be surprised if you take the 10 minutes to go see him how lenient they are and will recommend what is best for you. Not many dive doctors I have met will say you can't dive but they are better than normal doctors at pointing out dive related risks.

2) The other way around it is to lie .. and have no one discuss with you the risks of diving with your ailment and possibly put yourself at risk, the divemaster you dive with at risk, your buddy at risk, and the dive shop you use at risk. Lying is selfish.

 

btw Divemasters can spot things like bypass scars on the chest, asthma inhalers, diabetic tests etc .... diving has come along way in the 16 years I have been diving and has been more aware of what ailments run what risks so there is no excuse to lie anymore.

 

I personally don't keep in shape for diving, I will do everything I shouldn't the night before, I will get in a hot tub after ... I am just stupid .. and thats the worst ailment to dive with ever

 

How to Be Fit to Dive is a good question .. if you went to a doctor he would probably tell you Diving incurs the risk of getting eaten by a shark, sting by a ray, or getting Bent (DCS). None of these are reduced by physical fitness. Ok some may argue DCS is .. but lack of fitness won't cause it but it may limit your saturation levels due to body fat content which hold Nitrogen bubbles in longer. I think we all know though that the fitter you are the easier and safer diving will be .. if anything being in the best shape you can be will make the diving less effort and hence more enjoyable.

 

[DAN Divers Alert Network Article]

 

and if you google there are a few others too.

Although this thread has a tinge of kool-aide...

 

I am in the gym 3 days a week. As a careful technical diver, I consider my skill set a bit of overkill for recreational diving, and I practice emergency proceedures a couple times a year, from loss of gas to loss of bouyancy. I get a physical every year including a VO2 max cardiopulmonary exam. And, at 300 dives a year I try to stay concurrent.

 

I would tentatively place myself in the "fit to dive" catagory. I would think that most on this board, with their high dive rates, would qualify as "fit to dive" as well.

 

All the best, James

Fitness to dive is a personal responsibility. Scuba diving generally does not require exceptional fitness. As another instructor friend of mine say, "It's an extreme sport for lazy people".

 

There is a difference between general health and level of fitness. Each has its level of importance in diving. A reasonably fit student died during training this year while at the quarry. He had a heart attack. Safe diving requires reasonable health. Certain diving conditions also require a higher level of fitness. It's also true that for any physical activity, greater fitness often leads to greater enjoyment.

 

I'm part of the gray haired crowd. Half my joints ache in pain on a daily basis. Medicine keeps my blood pressure low. I swam a mile this morning, then donned mask, fins and snorkel and did 800 yards in under 14 minutes in a pool lane. I've recently towed someone in that coudn't make it against the current. They were younger than me, but most people are.

 

Part of it is personal pride. Part of it is that as an instructor, I feel I need to be in shape in case I need to save someone.

 

I'm also surprised at that lack of conditioning of most of my students, regardless of age.

Hi Giles and James,

 

Thanks for the comments.

Perhaps I should've mentioned in the thread that I was asking the question with a medical background and interest in diving medicine in the back of my mind.

 

As I said....like a stone in a pond...it creates ripples and waves...a subject that some people rather keep undiscussed.

 

As for the both of you (and many other of the members on this forum), you're the guys who spend alot of time in the water and therefore you're not really the category of people I intended the question for lol. True, maybe this forum hosts the crème de la crème of divers

 

What I meant is, that is that so many people (holiday divers) go diving in all places of the world...who probably aren't aware of the potential risks that come along with diving...

 

Anyway, thanks for the comments, and keep it going

 

Bart

 

PS: @ James: don't think we have Kool-aid here in Belgium, so not sure what effect it has on a thread

 

PPS: thanks for making that point scorpio_fish (sorry, don't know your real name) about the difference in "general health" and "level of fitness"...as the are both included in "fit to dive"...one needs a reasonable level of both, not only for diving....

i'm one of those in water all the time bastards so i am not going to answer..

 

 

off for a 16 mile bike ride

As Giles pointed out, fit to dive is more than just, can you swim a mile or have you had a heart attack.

 

I'm sure you'd find that far more people die/get hurt from doing something stupid, than from some pre-existing medical condition or lack of physical fitness.

Well I'm fat and middle aged but I do spend 4 or 5 days a week in the gym. So I do consider myself fit to dive.

 

This topic (fitness to dive, not pre existing medical conditions) is of interest to me. I think that unfit divers are a danger to themselves, their buddies, and perhaps most important the dive staff that has to look out for them. It has always been my thought that all divers owe it to their sport to be in shape anytime they go in the water.

Some valid points have been made and the discussion started...."I like..." as Borat would say

 

 

As Giles pointed out, fit to dive is more than just, can you swim a mile or have you had a heart attack.

 

I'm sure you'd find that far more people die/get hurt from doing something stupid, than from some pre-existing medical condition or lack of physical fitness.

 

It's probably true that more divers die by doing stupid things than by pre-existing medical condition.

If you're talking about being stung by a stingray or having a shark nibbling at your feet or some other body parts or being dragged away by a current....I would regard those as "extrinsic" factors that have nothing to do with being "fit to dive". I think fitness to dive include all factors that make up a "human being" (intrinsic in other words)...So, if people have a tendency to do stupid things, one might wonder if they are mentally fit to dive. This is an aspect that is rarely assessed whenever takes up diving (perhaps maybe it is within the commercial field, someone from that area might be able to comment). From this point of view the fit-to-dive question is a question to be answered by each person individually: are you aware of your own limitations and are you willing to act upon them...

 

As for the purely medical conditions. I'm seeing it from this perspective: it is not just that a predisposing medical condition might endager you e.g. if you're having coronary disease you might get a heart attack. It's because you are underwater that is an important fact in this scenario. It's the circumstances that determine the severity of the outcome. The consequences of the same medical problem may potentially be more serious underwater than above water and therefore I think it is important to assess fitness to dive in order to miminise the risk of getting in trouble underwater.

 

 

Fitness to dive is a personal responsibility. Scuba diving generally does not require exceptional fitness. As another instructor friend of mine say, "It's an extreme sport for lazy people".

 

I'm also surprised at that lack of conditioning of most of my students, regardless of age.

 

This is what I meant in my first post: at first it seems an activity accessible to all, but then by doing it you see that some are struggling even with basic physical exercise...

As mentioned by others, I think it's due the divemaster and others doing a good job, that some "not so fit" divers have not run into trouble....

 

But it seems that all of you who are responding are indeed "fit" divers...perhaps the "viewers" are getting themselves medically checked or registered at the gym

 

Thanks for all your reactions

 

Bart

If you're talking about being stung by a stingray or having a shark nibbling at your feet or some other body parts or being dragged away by a current....I would regard those as "extrinsic" factors that have nothing to do with being "fit to dive". I think fitness to dive include all factors that make up a "human being" (intrinsic in other words)...So, if people have a tendency to do stupid things, one might wonder if they are mentally fit to dive.

I think you miss an obvious point by jumping to those assumption ... if I put a 300lb unfit guy.. (not necessarily more than a lot of American tourists that come and do this activity) ... in the water at stingray city ... and a 175lb athletic guy alongside him and have the normal hustle and bustle of stingray city going on rays an 100's of people and 20 boats etc ... I would say purely because he is a "big boy" .. i mean 300lb man is more likely to get stung from clumseyness inherited from being large and out of shape.

 

As for fitness to dive .. the original question as you keep reminding us .. stoopidity .. can be caused by lack of fitness .. alertness and awareness are always reduced in a less fit person .. it may not be scientifically proven .. but it's something you can observe easily. If I ever went diving with a group it would be at least 90% of the time the fat out of shape diver .. the guy who likes to talk as if he has dived every dive site ever ... and has wrestled with morays whose heads were the size of his body ... you know the large guy I am talking about .. he'll be the one who comes back with his legs and arms all cut up from abrasive thrashing at the reef as he found him self all discombobulated trying to get a closer look.

 

So my point is .. large out of shape people are more likely to commit these so called accidents that we assume cam come from stupidity .. or extrinsic features of a human. Out of shape people in general as has been said are obviously at more risk .. does this mean that something bad is more likely to happen to them .. no. There are extrinsic activities that the person in better shape may do that will get him Bent for example .. if an athletic guy does a 2 tank dive .. then decided afterwards he wants to go on a 5 mile speed run .. after that hits the gym .. then the sauna and hot tob .. he's probably going to explode from the amount of nitrogen bubbles forming in his blood .. hopefully he was taught well and knows these are dangerous things to do after diving, but some fit people are addcited to exercise even on vacation and so this is a fairly realistic scenario .. the guy in good shape dies .. the fat dude who went to the beach bar and had a few mudslides .. fine .. (even if he probably stubbed his toes walking around ... knocked over a drink when turning to look down the beach ... cut himself on the glass ...burnt himself with his cigar etc etc all after raking his legs on the swim through on his earlier dive) .. physical scars yes .. but still alive.

 

If you want to know a fitness regime for diving .. swimming.. has to be .. it will help with every aspect of the sport .. control in water and level of fitness.

i mean 300lb man is more likely to get stung from clumseyness inherited from being large and out of shape.

ok, hadn't looked upon it that way...bigger volume meaning having a bigger chance at getting stung lol Although I've seen some "larger" divers who are very agile underwater, but that's probably due to their good diving skills rather than their fitness to dive.

 

you know the large guy I am talking about .. he'll be the one who comes back with his legs and arms all cut up from abrasive thrashing at the reef as he found him self all discombobulated trying to get a closer look.

yep, I can picture him Although I wonder if one can make the association between being large and being clumsy...but that would be the topic of another discussion I'd rather not take part in haha

 

So my point is .. large out of shape people are more likely to commit these so called accidents that we assume cam come from stupidity .. or extrinsic features of a human. Out of shape people in general as has been said are obviously at more risk .. does this mean that something bad is more likely to happen to them .. no. There are extrinsic activities that the person in better shape may do that will get him Bent for example .. continued...

Well, have to disagree on this one...if the atletic guy decides to do a crazy activity, than that's an intrinsic (mental) thing, he has control over his own decision...whether it's good control that's disputable. With extrinsic I mean factors that you have no control over...e.g. driving on the road and suddenly a deer decides to cross in front of your car. Being mentally fit to dive has to be seen separately from being physically fit to dive: there are physically fit divers that are also mentally fit as well, then there's the physically fit one who seems to have a few nuts and bolders missing in his upper chamber....and the same goes for physically unfit divers being mentally fit or unfit to dive...

 

 

If you want to know a fitness regime for diving .. swimming.. has to be .. it will help with every aspect of the sport .. control in water and level of fitness.

 

that's why I took up swimming again

 

Anyway, before this topic turns into a heavy debate: I'm not Neptunus who's judging any creatures swimming in his seas when they undertake potentially risky activities.

 

The initial question was if you consider yourself fit to dive and if you do anything to keep yourself fit. Just like one would ask a question about how do you maintain your housing and strobe (how do you keep them fit for diving), just replace "housing" by body and "strobe" by mind...and the question is exactly the same...however if you drown your housing you buy a new one, if you drown your body it's most probably "game over" . By no means do I want to be the person telling others what to do (see initial post...little finger...)

 

As there have been so many medical guides about "Fitness to Dive" I just thought it could be interesting to ask the question out loud

 

I was fortunate enough to spend some time in Aberdeen and learn about the world of commercial divers (saturation diving, etc.) and it's interesting to see that fitness to dive is something that comes along with the job,...if you're not fit to dive no contractor will give you the job and you won't get insurance coverance. So why would a recreational diver not bother about being fit to dive....?

 

Anyway, maybe I should rest my case, grab a tank and go diving....shit, I can't till March 07

I agree with the poster who said that diving is an extreme sport for lazy people. Like in any activity there are infinite variations and depending upon conditions, depth, expected dive time, water temp etc. diving can be mellow to very physically demanding. But for most Caribbean boat diving that most people do is no more physically demanding than a midday stroll. Indeed I've seen many many very out-of shape people on the dive boats I've been on.

 

As for me, I'm in excellent shape living here in Colorado. I'm in the "dive 1-2 weeks/year" category but I spend nearly every weekend and many weekday morning/afternoons in the mountains either hiking, biking, climbing, bc skiing or kayaking. No time or need to hit the gym with so much outside.

 

My only diving related dishonesty is diving while sick. With a meticulously planned trip each year during the late fall/winter I usually am either on the verge of or recovering from a cold/flu with a lot of personal pressure to get the most from the week. So far I have been lucky with my health but I know its not a good idea.

<snip>PS: @ James: don't think we have Kool-aid here in Belgium, so not sure what effect it has on a thread

<snip>

Bart, thanks for starting a thought-provoking thread. I must confess I, too, see too many overweight bottom-dwelling rototillers at warm water destinations and shake my head. Alas, the choice to dive is theirs and the best one can do is avoid the "splatter factor" when something does not quite go well.

 

The kool-aid reference comes from one quite often applied to GUE and the DIR philosophy, which is equal parts gear configuration, diving technique, team philosophy, and physical fitness. The latter is to the extent that smokers (I am not a smoker) are denied a certification.

 

Here's a further definition of Kool-aid.

 

All the best, James

Hi James,

 

Bart, thanks for starting a thought-provoking thread...

The pleasure was all mine

 

The kool-aid reference...

 

Too bad if people can't think for themselves anymore in a critical way...

I have an HSE Professional Diver's Medical every year, which I need to by UK law. However, I am always amazed that I pass (so far) with flying colours. I am told that a lot of people obviously less fit than me pass too. (No Mike, they do not test for senility!)

 

I think that if this is what it feels like to be fit, I certainly would not like to be unfit. Apart from pre-existing medical conditions, how fit do you need to be to use scuba equipment? Once the kit has been carried to the back of the boat, where is the effort? Don't fight it with brawn - use your brain! I think that it is more a question of personality than fitness.

 

Many people quite frankly are not cut out to handle a crisis underwater. I survived a CO2 hit on a CCR, and some other not nice experiences at other times, through strength of personality rather than fitness.

After many years, I can now sit on dive boats and spot the ones who are due for a problem long before they get in the water.

"I have an HSE Professional Diver's Medical every year, which I need to by UK law. However, I am always amazed that I pass (so far) with flying colours. I am told that a lot of people obviously less fit than me pass too."

 

John, I always figured that this means I'm fit enough to get to the divesite with my gear and into the water where I can finally relax! I'm also tempted to agree with you on your other observations, although I have equally seen some exceedingly unfit divers whom I doubt would panic come what may. All this however assumes that a diver is fit enough to dive within the envelope in which they feel comfortable and I do know that this isn't always the case. I reckon my own diving to be pretty low key - generally fairly long but shallow dives with precautionary deco stops as a matter of course. Being dive fit is all about being able to physically cope with the demands of the type of diving you do.

HI,

what are the differences between fit to dive? & dive fit?

doe's anyone have any examples of the differences,I think

both have different meanings.

 

Andy

HI,

what are the differences between fit to dive? & dive fit?

doe's anyone have any examples of the differences,I think

both have different meanings.

 

 

Hi Andy,

 

Not sure if they have different meanings, but that of course could be due to my lack of knowledge of the English language

dive "fit"...only "fit" with a different meaning I can think of, would be an (epileptic) fit, which would automatically render you unfit to dive haha, but that's probably not what you mean. But let's hear it...

 

As you were asking about the differences I went back to the books (Medical Assessment of Fitness to Dive - a physician's guide for recreational diving, international edition, by Wendling e.a., ISBN 3-9522284-1-9) where on p16 you find some general criteria of "fitness to dive".

-Ability to swim

-Ability to communicate

-A good sense of of responsibility

-Absence of diseases that can provoke unconsciousness or disorientation

-Absence of diseases that could be associated with panic

-Absence of diseases that could provoke barotraumas

-Absence of diseases that may be worsened by diving

 

As you've probably noticed, all (or most) criteria have been mentioned in the posts above

HI,

thanks for the reply what I was getting at was that you can be in great

physical shape (fit to dive). As you know the more you dive the better

you become, also when on hoildays especially on liveboards were you

dive 3-4 times aday you get (dive fit) after a couple of days this is what

I mean hopfully it makes sence.

Andy

I dive about 30 times a year. That's usually from about 6 trips spaced throughout the year. Recreational as they come. Here's my issue with the medical form:

 

Do you have or have you ever had high cholestoral?

 

I'm one of the unlucky ones in life whose cholestoral has always been a little high and I now take medicine for it. However, if I answer "yes" on that form a lot of dive shops have a policy of not letting you dive. Now, I suppose I could haul around a medical approval form but its one more thing to get lost. I was told by one dive shop answer everything no or you can't dive with us. So here's the deal, its a don't ask, don't tell policy by most shops. They hand you the form to be compliant with laws however their "wink" says just say no. If you want to know, I'll be happy to tell you of my complete medical history however if its going to require that I miss my rare opportunity to get wet, I'll conveniently lie to you nonetheless. I saw someone post that's dishonest...no it's taking responsibility for my own actions and not pawning the decision to dive on a Doctor or Dive Shop. What dive communities should have instead of a medical form is a liability waiver form. Then as a customer you would speak freely with the DM and advise them of anything that could be beneficial to your rescue should that take place