Improve Your Bottom Times
by Improving Your
Cardiovascular Fitness
By Mark Rago
Y
ou are gearing up for the first dive of the day. The excitement of that first
dive may create a physiological response: dry mouth, increased heart rate, and
vaso dilation. As humans, we go through that response due to both genetics
and the flight or fight response. Improved fitness, via a prescribed
cardio plan and strength-training program, can both improve that
physiological response and increase your dive bottom times.
Let’s quickly talk about cardiovascular fitness and how it will play
a critical role in your diving experience. I first like to ask all my
clients, “How active are you in a 24-hour period?” Most of us are
active less than one hour out of a 24-hour period based on the current sedentary work environment in the U.S. This means most of us
could get out and exercise a bit more. So let take a look at how to
get started.
Rate of Perceived exertion or RPE is an economical and easy way
to get started. Start with a scale of 1-10, 10 being the hardest and
one the easiest. I like to break those into zones with a percent of
heart rate as follows:
Zone 1 Less than 81%
Zone 2 81%-89% Endurance zone – critical for improved aerobic performance
Zone 3 90%-93% This is upper end of the endurance zone
Zone 4 94%-99% Lactate threshold
Zone 5 100%+ VO2 intervals