Fitness for Diving

It is well known that having a good cardiovascular fitness has numerous long-lasting health benefits. However, are there any benefits of having a high level of fitness to diving?

Cardiovascular Fitness

Cardiovascular fitness is the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen-rich blood to the working muscle tissues, and the ability of the muscles to use oxygen to produce energy for movement.

Having a good level of fitness when diving makes the experience more enjoyable as you feel less fatigued and  therefore concentrate on the new experiences you, as a diver, are having. In addition, the higher a person’s cardiovascular fitness is, the less their air consumption will be.

Less Air Consumption

This is a huge benefit for all divers as it means dives will last longer, reaching deeper depths, with the limited air supply you have. Dives are conducted in pairs or small groups meaning divers are limited by others as to when ending a dive is a necessity due to a team member running low on air. With both divers having a high level of fitness, dives can last longer as increasing cardiovascular fitness means less oxygen is required than with a person of low cardiovascular fitness as the heart is more effective at pumping blood, hence oxygen around the body.

Although there are certainly more limiting factors to the length and depth of dives to prevent decompression for example, it is always sensible to keep on top of things you can control, such as fitness. This allows for the diver to not only be able to experience more high-quality dives, but if an emergency were to arise, they would be more alert, and strong enough to aid the diver in need. In some cases, this may be life-saving.

Minimum Fitness For Starting To Dive

There is a minimum requirement that a diver must have to be fit for diving, divers must be able to demonstrate that they can swim 200 metres without stopping and also be able to tread water for 10 minutes. Furthermore, a medical questionnaire must be filled in to see if a diver had any health conditions that will impact them when diving.

If any questions have risen from this topic, do not hesitate to contact the DiveLife team who can discuss the topic further.

Toryn MacDonald