Quote:
| Originally Posted by puddlediver I end up pulling myself down the line (not recommended I know). When I get down to the wreck I am exhausted.
Any tips would be gratefully received. |
I end up doing that here a fair bit, sometime the currents in Strangford lough or around the mouth of the Lough in the Irish sea are just horrendous, and 'slack' can be a complete joke. So, we end up pulling ourselves down the line too.
I find if you are in that situation, then your time on the surface was probably a bit rough too, maybe you had to fin hard to get to the shot, and the sea may be a bit choppy also. So, you are quite possibly out of breath even before descending, let alone the exertion of pulling down the shot against the current.
Tip: If you can, catch you breath a bit before descending whilst you hold onto the shot line at the surface. If this is not doable due to the sea conditions, drop down 5-6m and hold you position on the shot and catch your breath. You are better to get your breath back on the surface, or shallow water, before further exerting yourself with the pull down the line in increasing ambient pressure.
When you are on the shot getting your breath, sort your trim out the best you can so that you give as little resistance to the current when you are going down. I find I end up like a 'flag waving in the wind' when I am 'in the flow' of the current.
To improve your performance, which is what you asked
You want to do activities that both send up your breathing rate and put a strain on your muscles. Things like fast swimming in a pool, or hard cycling will do this. Don't go so fast or hard that you can only do it for a few minutes before you feel like you are going to have a heart attack. Find a balance between pushing yourself, but not overly straining yourself. The more of these sort of activities you do, the more you will condition your body to cope with cardio and muscular strength combined. I am assuming of course that you are in reasonable shape to start with and don't smoke - otherwise those may be other areas you need to think about improving first
Oh yes, and remember diving is demanding on your body, so fuel it correctly - complex carbohydrate foods are good fuel. But don't eat closer than 2 hours before diving.
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