Any scuba divers here?

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 😀

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.

@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.