>I've followed the Tech Diver thread on diving and fitness. I'd second most
>of what you write but I would prefer some emphasis on "know your limits" as
>well as "be an athlete". In Norway I know several divers who are not
>particularly athletic but they are good in that their diving skills make
>them avoid hard work. I'd guess they wouldn't pass rigid tests on surface
>swimming, threading water etc. but we never see them in a situation where
>they have to do that. They dive with their head rather than with their leg
>muscles.
>
>Thinking of the WPB accident, I would be more interested in knowing why it
>was impossible to establish neutral buoyancy than in knowing what athletic
>training it would take to compensate for this malfunctioning rig. Physical
>training is important, but watermanship and proper operation of proper
>equipment implicate you won't have to tough it out on most dives.
>

Poor gear choices were more critical here than fitness, but my guess is that
the poor gas exchange of an obese diver, such as the instructor, would
hamper his attempt to exert enough prolonged power at this depth, to reach
the relative safety of 100 feet, which both Claypool and Roth did.

>Now, in Norway we don't see people with spare tires extending all the way
>around. What is obesity here would be average build in Florida. This being
>said, mildly obese people still may be good in the water. When we talk of
>cardiovascular fitness the question is whether these people just carry dead
>weight or whether they are fat inside blood vessels too. If it's a case of
a
>healthy cardiovascular system with too much insulation to it, this will be
>fine in the water. A test of max. oxygen uptake versus body weight would
not
>reflect such a person's true status since adipose tissue has very low
oxygen
>requirements.

Hans, this is not really true. The idea of VO2 max testing, is to go beyond
just power, or oxygen uptake, and divide it by body weight. The heavier
person( fatter) , even with a well developed cardiovascular system, will
still have relatively poor gas exchange because they have so much more body
mass to keep exchanging gas with.

It would be like me and you being tested wearing a weight
>belt, the entire weight being counted as body weight. I've seen quite a few
>"big" divers who are performing well. However, since Norwegians wouldn't
>know anything about "rolls on the back" we may not appreciate the true
>meaning of "obese". Further, when obesity extends to the inside of blood
>vessels we're talking poor blood flow and risk of heart attack. This is the
>obesity that kills, not the spare tire.

OK, most of the world already knows that the  American population is  among
the most obese of all countries in the world---could you rub this in a
little more :)


>
>Personally I'm a slender diver. I do some workouts but I'm totally foreign
>to martial arts and heavy weights. I hone buoyancy skills and don't have to
>work harder than I want to. Usually, diving calls for wise use of equipment
>rather than huge muscles -- in technical diving even more so. When you
can't
>fight the elements you work with them rather then against them. You may
dive
>in currents that require huge fins and ditto leg muscles -- or elect to do
>as drift dives with no finning whatsoever.

Absolutely true---even the fittest tech diver should NEVER rely on brute
power at depth, when finesse is the far better choice. Bouyancy is an ideal
example.  I'm more concerned about gas exchange rates, but if a diver is fat
enough, just seeing a huge jewfish or something really exciting could get
his heart rate up so high, that at 300 feet deep, he may not have the
ability to process the extra CO2 that this elevated heart rate will
produce----but this would be a non-issue for the fit tech diver.

>Since air at 250' is a dense, narcotic breathing gas we trade it for a more
>suitable mix. We find a better solution rather than fighting the hardships
>of the bad one. Since the gear is heavy we keep it neutral by adding air to
>BC and suit. On the surface we establish positive buoyancy rather than
>treading the water. I'm sure we agree that brains and skills work better
>than big muscles when the going gets tough. As much as we agree on a
>reasonable level of fitness I would like to see some more emphasis on
skills
>and mental control. I believe it's more productive to train mentally to
>avoid "natural selection" than it is to outswim it. Dive with your brain --
>not your legs! (And use your brain before the dive too!) It's worked for 18
>years so far.
>
>I'm sure there's no disagreement here -- just a a different focus.
>
>regards,
>
>Hans, Norway

The fitness issue is only a prerequisite. By itself, it qualifies no one for
tech diving. I'm relating now in another post, to reading skills as you
enter college. To have a reasonble chance in college, you need reading
skills----but reading skills alone will not make you a good student. An
obese tech diver candidate, is like a college student who can't read. He
needs to learn to read, and then go to college. The obese need to train
themselves, to diet, and to become fit---then they should try the tech
diving.
Regards,
Dan

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