Preparing yourself first

Preparing yourself first

Mazameer & Hogz Spearfishing blog

Before getting into preparing yourself over the physical, mental & financial fronts, you have to be completely convinced that each individual has his own capabilities. Not all of us have the same levels of performance; that is in almost anything we do, don’t you think?  So it’s not always about being in the competitive mood or trying to beat a record; just keep at the back of your mind that the first & last thing you seek is the joy of the sport. Spear fishing is not only about who goes deeper or who has a longer breath hold, it’s about balance in each & every task performed. Once you have this kind of convenience and satisfaction, you will be able to unconsciously excel in your performance. You will notice that; how gradually you will improve.

Primarily all spear fishing gurus will seek physical perfection. Don’t start getting visions of Sylvester Stalone at his prime or Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator. You are not going on a Special Forces mission or trying to break someone’s neck; you are just going fishing. Only that time with a spear gun in your hand.

You first need to know where you stand physically & if your body is able to tolerate the exposure to the ocean. You have been for several swims into the ocean and for a start you should know if sea water should have any effects on your skin or body in general. This is just the beginning.

You need to understand your body’s capabilities & tolerance against extreme conditions of the sea. As a beginner; you have to test your body against several common challenges related to the sea as in your body tolerance towards skin rash or irritations from the sea water, your general balance after spending some time swimming within a wavy sea & your body’s recovery after spending such time.

Some may have challenges like medical histories related to blood pressure, respiratory system disorders, or sinus; these will definitely become a major obstacle or at least a nuisance. It is not recommended to attempt spear fishing if you have any of these or if you are a diabetic or suffer any diabetic comas. So basically, it is crucial that you need to have a healthy body free of any critical drawbacks or diseases that will prevent you from diving or holding your breath for some time.

Keeping your body always alert for your spear fishing & free diving activities is a simple process however; you need to have commitment & personal bonds with the sea. Being a smoker for instance is an obstacle to progression, but it’s not a major one. I have fellow hunters who are smokers; not heavy smokers though and they have great records in spear fishing. I mean in terms of hunts and diving techniques. I’m not encouraging you to keep this evil habit if you are a smoker but, believe me its better off. I used to be a regular smoker but I managed to quit. Neither via any bogus doctor nor placebos sold at a drug store from the “on the counter variety”.  It’s the passion of spear fishing & free diving that carried me to quit. In addition to the fact that my readiness & commitment gave me a major leap on that front.

Your body has it all, if it’s in a good healthy shape & you keep it like that through simple & non exaggerated physical training, you will be easily able to enjoy & leverage your spear fishing skills. Always work on your cardiovascular training through taking a jog every now & then or taking decent long walks every day. Staircases might be a pain in the hip but they do you good. Try to breathe as much as you can & focus on your lungs while they fill up with air, think about them & what’s going on in those tiny microscopic pockets that grasp the air & filter its components. They deliver O2 into our main bloodstream & expel the used air CO2 out of our bodies. Shouldn’t that be the jewel of all organs that should be kept as healthy & wealthy as much as possible?

Cardio is fantastic but you still need to improve your leg muscles through adequate training. They will always help you power down deep to your target or save your life if you are out of breath when you ascend to the surface. Keep your leg muscles strong & flexible since they are used the most in your movement on top of the water against the current. If you get a major cramp in your calf when diving; it could simply prevent you from surfacing. The best training for your leg muscles would be the usual cardiovascular workout, use of an epileptic “cyclic stepper” training machine. You can always find those “torture machines” in your nearest local gym. Again they will torture you for some time but they will do you good.

Let me remind you; you are not placing weight loss as your main goal, you are trying to focus on your stamina & specific areas in your body to help you perform while hunting. Being physically perfect is an ace however; you can still perform very well if you are a bit chubby with strong legs, arms, back & chest. Don’t let fancy material depress you, just focus on yourself & believe that you can do it.

Arms, chest & back are crucial since all these parts in your body have direct impacts on your performance when your spear fishing. Arms strength is important; you will do most of the tasks using the help of some strong arm muscles. That includes movement & maneuvers in the water, loading your spear gun if you’re using a rubber band powered one & in some advanced cases handling big fish after hunting them. Mainly a combination of simple arm & chest exercises that targets your biceps, triceps & chest muscles would be ideal. By the way morning push up is the easiest old style exercise that will get you there as well.

Power band spear guns require a strong upper back. As discussed earlier in this blog, there will be a post that illustrates information about gear including the spear guns and its types. Again if you wish to jump to this post go to   My spear fishing gear guide

Don't forget that workout & keeping your muscles flexed is the only thing that you need to monitor. You should as well consider your nutrition as a main booster to your performance. Logically there are many recipes, in fact they are numerous. It depends what you prefer & how will it affect your general health. You should normally try to feed on elements that are rich in vitamins & minerals. The protein & carbohydrate sources are also very important. It depends on how you plan your feeding time, items & quantities.  Focusing on items like Milk, fresh vegetables, eggs, cereals & non fatty meats sounds common. You are not on a diet unless you have a weight problem. All what you need is to think about what you eat and how it will add to your body. Last but not least, you need to eat allot of fish. Seafood & fish meat in general is a very healthy nutrition source to any one. Food Supplements like vitamin complexes & other fortifiers are recommended should you have any general weakness, they will help you balance your intake & improve your general health.

Now another thing is to focus on what your body wants when you are out there. You should normally nourish your body by drinking allot of water. When you are on a spearfishing trip it is very important to consider all kinds of liquids in addition to water. Not alcohol for sure but that should not be a case for some of my friends. Any way liquids are imperative all the way. Other important munchies during a trip will be some good & high gain energy bars that will keep your energy up to par while moving between dives. In our tropical weather and warm waters you do not need items that will increase your body heat, moreover, Carbohydrates are very important for you before going into the water. You should plan having a Carb rich meal like pasta or rice the night before you hunt. It will provide you with great momentum & leverage your tolerance if you face strong currents.

After focusing on having such nutritious lifestyle that should last, you will need to move on & enhance your respiratory system performance by the Basic APNEA training .   You will be guided through a step by step basic training techniques that are simplified for improving your breath hold to an acceptable state. Remember that you are not going for a free diving championship but, its always tempting to stay a bit longer under water or having these extra seconds to ambush your prey. These training techniques are summaries of the finest & most simple ones created by pro's. You will be simply able to go through such training steps at the luxury of your home