Any scuba divers?

tachyon_master
tachyon_master Posts: 226 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Any other scuba divers out there on MFP?

I was looking at the exercise section and it says that a 60 minute dive would burn about 344 calories (I'm 5'2" and 105 lbs)...I'm guessing no way that is accurate. Maybe if you were diving below a thermocline in a crazy current or something, but that seems high for an easy (warm water, minimal current) dive. Does anybody have any idea just how realistic this is?

I'm off muck diving in Indonesia next weekend for the holidays and would like to be able to log my dives as exercise since I won't have access to a gym and not sure how safe it'll be to go for a run around the villages.

Replies

  • briebear77
    briebear77 Posts: 253 Member
    Me! I haven't gone in FOREVER but I miss it a lot...no clue on the calorie burn though, sorry!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Great question.

    I think that there is so much variability that it comes down to guess work (one site I saw suggest 233 cal for someone your weight for a 60 min dive) . If you've got good bouyacy skills and are drift diving Cozumel I couldn't imagine it burning too many calories (except when your humping your gear to the boat and climbing back in), fighting the current in the St Lawrence may be a different story......

    I know the Galileo Sol computer has a heart rate monitor but I think that's more for taking workload in decompression planning.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    I'm guessing that by the time you've lugged your kit down to the rhib, kitted up, held on for dear life as the boat bounces over the force 4 swell, sweated heaps in the dry suit and THEN got in the cold seas, 344 sounds about right!. Especially if you end up with a buddy who fins at high speed 'just in case they miss something'.

    jealous of you going to Indonesia though....
  • tachyon_master
    tachyon_master Posts: 226 Member
    lol. I'll be hauling my gear through the airport and letting someone else deal with the rest of it. Slumming it at a dedicated dive resort that has the dive shop to do all the heavy lifting work for you :)

    My buoyancy is fine, and my air consumption has improved exponentially since I started with more serious cardio work at the gym. So presumably I would probably only be burning ~200 calories or so in an hour. A bit over 3 a minute sounds about right.

    Indo isn't such a stretch for me though. It's only a 3.5 hour flight from where I live.
  • HelenDootson
    HelenDootson Posts: 443 Member
    Me!
    I would log a leisurely swim under those conditions, coz, if you ain't lifting the kit and you are just chilling along looking at the fish, thats what it is :)
    Enjoy!! Very jealous (mind you, my wet suit doesn't fit anymore lol)
  • Dark_Roast
    Dark_Roast Posts: 17,689 Member
    I actually used what MPF suggested for my week of diving in Cozumel. We dove three dives a day, and I ate back ALL my exercise calories and I didn't gain anything but water weight (I don't cook with salt at home). So, is it accurate? Maybe. Did I use the number to justify eating a whole lot of good food that week? Heck Yea I did!!
  • rininger85
    rininger85 Posts: 131
    I use the MFP estimates for myself just because I think its pretty accurate for how many calories I would burn in an hour on a treadmill at a fast walk... I'm a cold water diver though, so even if the dive is a little more relaxed than being on a treadmill you're burning the extra calories trying to keep yourself warm, plus hauling the gear. I think its a fair amount... if you think you'd burn less calories on a treadmill for an hour at a fast walk pace then I'd go with what you feel you'd burn that way...
  • tachyon_master
    tachyon_master Posts: 226 Member
    Me!
    I would log a leisurely swim under those conditions, coz, if you ain't lifting the kit and you are just chilling along looking at the fish, thats what it is :)
    Enjoy!! Very jealous (mind you, my wet suit doesn't fit anymore lol)

    Just checked on that. It's not actually a whole lot different to the "scuba diving" stats. Leisurely swim for 60 mins is 288 calories, scuba diving is 344. Sounds like a good compromise :)

    I think my 5mm wetsuit still fits because I bought it before I put on weight, but I stupidly bought a 3mm wetsuit right before I started my fitness program in January, and now it really really doesn't fit, way too baggy. I think I might stick it up for sale on ebay or something.
  • Dark_Roast
    Dark_Roast Posts: 17,689 Member
    I have three different sizes of wetsuits (2-3 per size) hanging in my closet right now. I really need to put the ones that don't fit on ebay also!
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    to be honest, I don't think diving should be compared to a leisurely swim.

    Even if you AREN'T lugging your kit around (I am going to assume you still set it up yourself and just have someone help you into it) it takes a LOT of effort to breathe underwater. Even at a relaxed pace, you are still putting up a fair resistance to the water, the depth, the pressure etc.

    and then of course, you get chased by a sea snake desperately trying to bite your earlobe...
  • tachyon_master
    tachyon_master Posts: 226 Member
    I've been chased by a sea snake trying to attack my mask...It saw its reflection and thought it was another sea snake so tried to attack it. Fun times!
  • sgarrard01
    sgarrard01 Posts: 213 Member
    I've racked up up to 900+ kcal on a 60 minute dive before...

    That included kitting up, getting in, a 60min dive out again and de-kitting, although this was drysuit and in the UK, although fairly shallow at max depth 35m....hope that helps! (the dry suit was the reason i could use a HRM) . Even eating back all the calories i could manage after a weekends diving i still always lost weight!

    Simon
  • trhops
    trhops Posts: 295 Member
    New diver here. Did my first ocean dives in Jamaica in November. Struggled with buoyancy and just getting used to diving. Used up my air pretty quick. I hear you use less the more comfortable you get and the more you figure out your buoyancy. It was suggested to me to get back in shape and that should help my dives.

    Heading to Riveria Maya, Mexico in March and hoping to see some more sealife in Mexico than I did in Jamaica!
  • Dark_Roast
    Dark_Roast Posts: 17,689 Member
    New diver here. Did my first ocean dives in Jamaica in November. Struggled with buoyancy and just getting used to diving. Used up my air pretty quick. I hear you use less the more comfortable you get and the more you figure out your buoyancy. It was suggested to me to get back in shape and that should help my dives.

    Heading to Riveria Maya, Mexico in March and hoping to see some more sealife in Mexico than I did in Jamaica!

    Yes on the air thing. I sucked down air in the beginning, but now I can stay down for an hour at 50-60 ft. As long as I'm relaxed and not fighting a strong current, I'm good. I need to get refitted on my BCD, it's too big now. That gave me some issues on my last vacation, maybe this summer I will head up to Austin where the closest shop is.
    You will have a blast diving in Mexico! We are thinking of going back to Cozumel next year since we liked it so much.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    New diver here. Did my first ocean dives in Jamaica in November. Struggled with buoyancy and just getting used to diving. Used up my air pretty quick. I hear you use less the more comfortable you get and the more you figure out your buoyancy. It was suggested to me to get back in shape and that should help my dives.

    Heading to Riveria Maya, Mexico in March and hoping to see some more sealife in Mexico than I did in Jamaica!

    A little OT but if you get a chance take the ferry over to Cozumel for at least one day of diving - great reefs and lots of critters to see. If you're a new diver resist the temptation to dive the cenotes - it's brilliant diving (perhaps the best in the world, but I'm biased I plan on going full cave) but requires good buoyancy skills to avoid silting things up.
  • mizzie1980
    mizzie1980 Posts: 379 Member
    Not yet, but I will be this summer! Since I first started losing weight (3 years ago *sigh*), it's always been in my head that scuba lessons would be my reward once I get to my goal weight. I only have 20 pounds to go, so, so long as I'm a good girl and stick with it, I should be able to do it this summer.

    Anyway, January in Minnesota isn't a good time to learn. lol

    ETA: sparkpeople calculated that 60 minutes of scuba at 105 pounds would burn about 233 calories.
  • trhops
    trhops Posts: 295 Member
    Won't be able to go to Coz as we will have our kiddos with us. We did 4 dives in Jamaica in November and did not see much and they were our first ocean dives.

    We are getting our AOW this summer through my husband's dive shop, so we are pretty excited. One of the classes is the peak buoyancy class so that should help with my buoyancy.

    I think I was too weighted in Jamaica and always felt as if I was sinking so I struggled with buoyancy. I think that contributed to my using up air quickly. Well that and the nerves and adrenaline of first ocean dives! :smile:
  • tachyon_master
    tachyon_master Posts: 226 Member
    Cool :) I was pretty horrible on my air when I first started diving as well, even though I was pretty fit. I think it's just a matter of relaxing, which you tend to do with some experience. I know that I used to stress out about my air and depth and everything else (which makes you use more air) and never stopped to actually relax and enjoy the dive. Over a decade later, I no longer have an issue and can dive for as long as the guides and instructors. Unless I get cold. This is why I like diving in the tropics!
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
    i "learned" how to scuba dive on a trip to Cancun...was going out on a snorkel trip and they asked if i wanted to scuba. i said i didnt know how and they said they could teach me. when we got to the dive site i found out the instructor only spoke spanish. it was pretty easy and intuitive for only going about 20 or 30 feet down. would love to do it again.
  • Barbsgc
    Barbsgc Posts: 2
    Hi all -
    I'm new here but not new to scuba diving. I'm a Course Director (Instructor Trainer), and diver for over 20+ years. While you do not need to be an olympic athlete to be a diver, you should be in relatively good fitness. What is good fitness? If there is any question in your mind - then see a doctor (who understand scuba health guidelines; I can send a document), there is a simple list of questions I have which would indicate if you are cleared to dive.

    I'm not looking for anything and am happy to help/assist anyone who has any questions and needs some help.

    In response to a few comments -
    1. Scuba diving is a safe activity if you follow the rules/guidelines, but it can never eliminate all risks. I don't mean to scare anyone, just being honest here. It has the an accident rate similar to bowling and darts....
    2. Being good on air has to do with a lot of things - mainly fitness, understanding of how to breath, how you swim, your trim and buoyancy management, experience, gear and practice. I could go on and on here but if you're breathing is out of control - everything else gets thrown off.
    3,Estimate number of calories burned - as so many factors to consider...Age, fitness, water temperature, any currents, etc. I am so comfortable and at ease in the water, that my resting heart rate slows down. I don't see scuba as exercise. It does burn calories but what it gives me the most instead is peace, relaxation and quiet. My dive computer keeps track of my heart rate and breathing to tell me about my estimated time for my dive. Maybe I'll look at that and see what I come up with. I expect it will be comparable to slow walk pace 3 mph.
    4. Divers Alert Network is a great resource. You can call or email them for free to find out more information. http://www.diversalertnetwork.org
    5. Wetsuits wear out over time. The more you use them and each year the neoprene degrades. SO if you have an old suit whether it is used a lot or not, it's not going to keep you warm. Maybe that will help you get rid of it and move on.
    6. Some of the best diving I've ever done is in my drysuit and cold water. Drysuits are also more forgiving when my weight yo-yo's, I've been in the same one for 15+ years and they last. Nowadays, you can also get drysuits for warm water.

    I dive all the time, and it keeps me healthy and active. But I have to exercise (outside of scuba) to stay truly fit.
    Hope that helps. <*)))>{{{

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