Any scuba divers here?

lorrpb

I'm thinking about trying a scuba class. What level of fitness do you need to do this? How heavy is the equipment? Have you heard of anyone who didn't like it or couldn't do it (aside from prohibited medical condition)? Thanks!

mnbvcxzlkjhgfdsa12

You don’t need to be very fit to learn to dive. I first learnt on a week long course. I hated every second for the first 3 days while we learnt the basics in a swimming pool.

On day 4 we made it to the sea and I totally fell in love with the freedom underwater. I am eternally grateful to the instructor who only convinced me to go out on the boat by telling me I could just enjoy the sun on the deck if I didn’t like it!

Give it a go, you might love it too.

Climbing back up the ladder on to the boat is the hardest part - no mater how fit I am - but there are always people about in an organized group to haul you back on board if needs be!

Have fun 😀

livingleanlivingclean

Fitness levels definitely help your diving, but there are many unfit divers. The equipment is heavy and cumbersome on shore, but once you're in the water it's not a problem. You're always diving with someone anyway, so there should be someone to help you out.

I know many people who didn't like the experience and/or struggled. You do get better with practice and become more comfortable in the water. The location and conditions definitely alter your experience too.

pomegranatecloud

You don’t need to be very fit but you do need to be able to pass a swim test. There were several in my group who couldn’t swim and didn’t pass or who weren’t really comfortable in the water and ended up not being into it. The tanks are heavy but manageable, and once you’re certified if you’re diving with a dive shop they’ll carry and set up all your equipment for you if you want. If you’re diving off a boat the hardest part is getting to the edge with your tank on and coming up the ladder. I’m pretty petite and have no issues. Don’t let the weight of the equipment scare you away. Once you’re in the water diving is more like floating around unless you’re diving in strong currents you’re not really moving around a lot.

Diving is absolutely amazing, and you should totally do it. Join the Girls that Scuba group on Facebook. It’s an amazing really supportive group of female divers and soon to be divers.

MeanderingMammal

lorrpb wrote: »

I'm thinking about trying a scuba class. What level of fitness do you need to do this? How heavy is the equipment? Have you heard of anyone who didn't like it or couldn't do it (aside from prohibited medical condition)? Thanks!

The kit isn't too bad on shore, and easy in the water. Good CV fitness helps to get a decent length of dive out of a cylinder.

Personally I really enjoyed it, once I'd got over the reaction to breathing with my head submerged.

robertw486

@lorrpb

Having seen many of your other posts, fitness shouldn't even be a concern for you. Overall fitness level required can be somewhat controlled by the dives you make, but most often isn't very high at all. Even the most physical dives I've made I wouldn't consider very tough in a physical sense. Exiting through surf and some boat exits can be tricky, but more timing related than pure strength related. Usually divers will choose easier entries and exits until they become more comfortable with the trickier stuff.

Gear can be up in the 55-60 lb range, but is much more balanced than it would seem. Overall weight is impacted by water temp (impacts wet suit thickness and thus weights needed), depth and duration of dives (impacts tank size requirements), and personal buoyancy levels that vary but generally thinner people are less buoyant. But you can shed your weights, BC and tank, and fins for tricky exits such as boat ladders in waves, etc. Since diving is essentially team oriented by nature, there are always people to assist if conditions warrant it.


I've only ever met a couple people that tried diving and "couldn't handle it". One completely lacked trust in the equipment and was never comfortable in the water. One had some sort of vertigo type experience once in the water and weightless, but learned to deal with it by descending in an upright position and staying more vertical in the water unless moving.

But on the flip side of that, I know of several people that overcame fear of water or certain situations through dive lessons. One of the guys I did most of my diving with in Okinawa had a fear of swimming in open water, and that is how he decided to take dive lessons.


You must be comfortable in the water, and have complete trust in your gear, as well as your dive partners. Once that part is established, there are almost limitless possibilities. Depending on where you live you often have many different dive locations, and can choose your levels of comfort, ease, physical requirements, etc. I can honestly say I've never regretted a single recreational dive I've made. And quite a few were things I will remember for the rest of my life.

girlinahat

There are far too many unfit divers. It’s not an activity that NEEDS fitness to carry out, but your overall experience will be improved by increased fitness – most notably how much air you breathe. However air consumption needs have additional factors such as lack of stress, the level of activity and depth under the water and experience in diving.

The kit IS heavy. Like, REALLY heavy. Especially if you start using twin 12’s because you think you need all that air, or for some reason you like carrying around all your air for your second days dive on your first dive. Or you haven’t trained yourself to breathe properly.

However, the kit is only heavy when you are carrying it to the boat, loading it onto the boat, setting it up and putting it on your back. Depending on the boat set-up, you may take your dive kit off before getting back ON to the boat at the end of the dive, and someone else will haul it into the boat. You may be helped, but don’t depend on it. Once you’re in the water, you won’t realise that the kit is heavy, plus you’ll be balanced by the air in the cylinders (plus in your wet/dry-suit) so that you float mid-water.

There will be a swim test, and depending on the agency that could be free-swimming, or it could be with fins and snorkel. There’s also often a treading water test. It’s usually around 200m, but the time limit is reasonably generous.

If possible, try before you buy – do a try dive at a local pool or dive centre, or better still, do a try dive whilst on vacation. Some people DO have an issue breathing underwater, others have a real problem when they see fish coming towards them, or they can’t see the bottom of the ocean.

Diving is addictive and quickly becomes expensive. But you get to see a world that few people see, and the world beneath is pretty amazing.