Do I need to be fit to Scuba Dive?
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
This question gets asked a lot by new divers and people who are looking at learning to dive for the first time. How important is my fitness and how fit do I need to be in order to be a diver?
Firstly, your fitness and general health are clearly important to you and your daily life, so this also applies to any scuba diving activities. If you are fit and healthy, you shouldn't have any problems from a diving perspective; however, we have a system in place across the diving industry to ensure that all divers are aware of the potential issues regarding general fitness and any medical concerns that may be present. More about that later!
Out of the water -
Generally, you don't need to be a super fit athlete with a high level of fitness, stamina, and strength, but overall good health and a good level of general fitness are required because of the physical nature of what you will be doing. For example, typically a full set of recreational diving equipment can weigh more than 20 kg, with the scuba tank, regulators, and additional equipment strapped to your back, and potentially with additional lead weight added in order to help with buoyancy. You need to be prepared to carry this amount of weight and will need the strength to be able to move in and out of the water, possibly up a ladder (of a boat) and maybe walking to and from the beach or dive site entry point. If this level of activity is something that is already a potential problem, then additional measures would need to be put in place for you to be able to dive safely. Children can learn to dive as young as 10 years old, so for them carrying this weight of equipment can be an issue, therefore we would make sure entry into the water would be done in a way that reduces this physical stress. For adults, carrying 20 kg of equipment shouldn't present any physical problems at all, think of a backpack or rucksack fully loaded with your holiday clothes and carry it up stairs!
In the water -
In order to move through the water, either at the surface or underwater, you need to fin to propel yourself and your equipment. Water, being much denser than air, therefore requires significantly more effort than moving on land, hence the use of fins to help reduce effort and make swimming much easier. Using the correct technique for finning is crucial as a bad finning technique can tire a diver very quickly, moving inefficiently through the water, using more effort, energy, and ultimately using more air from your tank. Being tired underwater is not a huge problem in itself, but if not dealt with, it can lead to further issues, increased breathing rate, loss of buoyancy control, increased stress, and elevated CO2 levels which can lead to some serious problems underwater. Being able to move efficiently is also related to your buoyancy control and your breathing. If you're not properly weighted, you can be using too much energy, overbreathing, and compensating for your buoyancy control with your lungs, you can also run the risk of overexertion and increasing your workload and rate of breathing. Clearly, all of these physical things are going to be much easier if you have good physical fitness and are in good general health. Having good cardio fitness will make your diving activity more relaxing and enable you to enjoy your dives without the added stress of getting tired or overexerted.
We also have to think about the conditions of the environment we are in and how we can be affected by it during our dive. We can be diving in current, waves, and swell that require us to use more energy and effort in order to fin through the water. Diving in currents can be a thrilling way to enjoy the underwater world, drifting along in the current without using any effort, passing by the reefs and the wildlife. However, if we need to fin into the current in order to move to a different part of the reef, or along the surface to reach our descent point, we may be finning hard into the oncoming water movement. Again, having good fitness will allow you to move without getting tired, saving your energy and your breathing gas you will need for the dive. Avoiding being tired at the beginning of the dive is always a good way to start.
During the dive -
During our dives, we should be relaxed and breathing in a comfortable, slow rhythm. This can help with good buoyancy control, and vice versa, good buoyancy control can help relax your breathing technique. If we have any issues with our lungs, our respiratory system, or if we cannot perform moderate exercise without elevated breathing and heart rate, we can be putting our bodies under stress and then increased risk of more serious problems underwater that we should best avoid. Being stressed underwater can be unpleasant but can be controlled, and most situations can be dealt with, which you will learn about during your entry-level Diver training courses such as the Open Water Diver course. Good dive habits, buoyancy control, correct techniques, and dive planning, for example, can all help reduce stress and increase your dive enjoyment. In extreme cases, elevated physical stress can lead to panic and even fatal consequences, so the need to be calm and controlled underwater can be related to good fitness and health. With additional training such as the Advanced Open Water Diver and even the Stress and Rescue courses, you can learn about improving your self-awareness and even self-rescue skills, which all help reduce stress, improve control, and develop your skills as a safer diver.
As I mentioned earlier, there are some measures in place across the diving industry to ensure the safety of everyone that takes part in this amazing activity. Every diver needs to complete a "fit to dive" medical questionnaire that asks a series of questions directly related to your health and fitness. The questionnaire is a simple "yes" or "no" list relating to everything from heart conditions and asthma to prescription medication, and by answering the questions truthfully you will have a very clear understanding if you will be allowed to dive or if you will need additional clearance from a certified doctor or medical professional. The good news is that even with some medical conditions it still may be possible to dive, however, you will need to have the correct medical clearance and show this to the Dive Centre you will be diving with (by providing a signed and stamped copy of the questionnaire or relevant authorized hyperbaric medical document).
Those divers that are interested in Technical diving or being a Dive Professional do need to have a higher level of fitness. In order to manage more complex situations and dive in more extreme environments, the requirement for additional fitness is a huge advantage and can also be a legal requirement (for example in Spain and the UK every working dive professional must pass a specific Diver medical test for professional divers, checking health and fitness in more detail than a recreational diver test). In environments like technical cave diving, or deep technical diving, the diver's body is under more physiological stress due to decompression obligations and extended depth and dive times, so maintaining peak physical fitness can be crucial to maintaining safer dive practices.
General fitness and learning to dive-
In order to be comfortable in the water divers are expected to have a minimum level of fitness and a minimum level of water skills (swimming, floating and general comfort in the water). You should be able to swim at least 200m comfortably, without assistance. You will be asssesed during your Open Water training, but its not timed so you can swim at a leasurly pace that suits you. You also have the option to swim 300m but with snorkeling equipment incuding fins. Being able to float for 10 minutes, or tread water is also required as a basic entry level requirement for learning to scuba dive. During your open water course you will also be expected to tow a simualted tired diver whilst wearing full scuba equipment, at the surface for at least 25 metres. These skills are a minimum requirement for an Open Water Diver certification, however for more advanced, technical and profesional level training there are more strict water assesment and fitness tests.
Generally, like in life, good health and fitness is a good idea when diving. Less physical stress on your body means a more relaxed experience and also means a safer experience. Diving should be a relatively stress-free activity but you also need to be prepared to put some effort in when it's needed, and if you can do that without breaking out into a red-faced wheezing sweat monster you should be okay.
Ed Smith is a TDI, PSAI, PADI & SSI Technical and recreational diving instructor trainer with over 25 years of experience in the water. The views expressed in these blog posts are personal opinions based on many years of diving experience and teaching, however they may differ from other instructors or professionals. These blog posts are for information only and nothing should replace proper, professional training.
Dive safe.
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