When your body is fit, you will have more stamina for diving a full day. Being fit also keeps you from the risk of decompression sickness, heart troubles, or panic if things get difficult under the water. Diving is safer and more exciting when your body is fit. So, we are presenting the best fitness tips to help you getting fit for scuba diving.
Fitness is an essential factor that does not only determine your safety in diving but also to what extend you will be able to enjoy your time under the water. The fitness of heart, lungs, and limbs eventually impact your enjoyment. So, besides preparing the equipment for scuba diving, do not forget to prepare your body for the challenge.
Walking more
Getting fitness for scuba diving is not as hard as it sounds, Just doing a simple exercise like walking will help a lot. Walking four hours a week or about 30 minutes a day can help you reduce weight. People who walk more are also half as likely to develop heart disease. As the fitness of heart is an essential part of scuba diving, why not start walking more to strengthen your heart? It costs nothing. It is a pretty easy exercise. And you can do it while taking your pets out for a walk, going to work, or doing chores at home.
Build your Muscle
No, you don't need to have a bulking body. But, as we get older, we are losing up our lean muscle tissue. In other words, we have more fat and less energy. However, doing a 30 minutes exercise three times a week will help in preserving our stamina and get our muscle toned. For a toned muscle, you can do three sets of these moves from now on: simple squat, chest press, bent-over row, and crisscross crunch.
Warming Up before Diving
Just like any other sport, it won't be wise to dive without doing a warm-up. A good warm-up will help your body to boost circulation of blood and also loosen up your muscles. It is easy to do and will help you move with ease. Simple squats, push-ups, and a couple of stretching will do the tricks. With less than ten minutes of easy activity, your muscles and joints will be ready to dive.
Drink more but not too much
The recommended quantity of water to drink is half of your body weight but in ounce unit. Do this a few days before you dive, and it will help you a lot. However, do not drink too much and the liquid you must drink is only water. Drinking alcohol before diving will only be risky. Since alcohol has dehydrating effects, it will not be helpful for your diving. Not to mention the bad hangover that lingers afterward.
Loosen your Feet and Calves
Diving, like swimming in general, uses all muscles in our body. But the feet will do a lot more works than usual. As you are always moving your feet in motion with the scuba fins, it can cause painful foot cramps afterwards. To avoid this, loosen your feet and calves with simple moves, so they're less likely to cramp up.
Strengthen your Back
You are going to spend much of your time underwater while carrying a scuba tank. It will take energy, and unless you are used to it, you will likely get a low back pain. To avoid this, strengthen your back by working your spine supporters. Crunches and back extensions twice a week can help you achieve the goal.
Meditation and Yoga
Do you know that yoga and meditation can help our body to regulate air while diving? It is not obligatory, of course, but it certainly does help. Do stretching every day regularly. It does not take much time, and you can do it everywhere, even at work. Stretching can provide advantages for the muscles in your arms, shoulders, calves, feet and torso.
Go Swimming
Practice is the key. As you are going to be underwater for a long time, you need to get your body accustomed to the pressure. Spending your time submerged while swimming in the pool will be helpful. It will also strengthen your heart and lungs and burn calories. If you are planning to go scuba diving soon, start to hit the pool now.
Do cardiovascular exercises
Cardio is one of the most popular workouts to gain physical fitness. It can be performed indoors or outdoors, without any supporting equipment. The exercise can help to improve the heart and lungs, thus improving our body’s performance in utilizing oxygen. Walking, running, jogging, cycling, and swimming are among the best form of cardio training.
Those are some tips on fitness and diving: getting fit for scuba diving. In addition to the regular exercise, you also need to manage the healthy food you eat, not only for diving preparation but general health and fitness as well. And finally, happy diving!
