Fitness + Adventure

Look, you don’t have to be a marine biology major or a guy with a manor and a roman numeral in his name to scuba dive. In fact, you can just be a dude looking to get in shape and hang out underwater.

Yes, You Will Get Fit

“Scuba diving allows one to target specific muscle groups particularly in the legs, glutes, core and back while maneuvering through a medium that is hundreds of times more dense than air,” says Theresa Kaplan, director of communications for the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). “To move efficiently through the water, a diver learns to streamline their body—engaging core, glute and back muscles—and kick from the hip, as opposed to from the knee to glide through the water. Let’s also not forget the out-of-water benefits of diving. Lifting scuba tanks, weights and other dive equipment can be comparable to many weight lifting exercises.”

Subtract Your Usual Workout Strain

“The amazing thing is divers can experience the strengthening benefits of diving without feeling the strain of a typical workout, as they are not sweating profusely as they would with a more traditional fitness regime and are taught to achieve neutral buoyancy, or weightlessness, while underwater. A low-impact sport, diving also offers an exciting alternative to running, biking or other activities that could exasperate knee issues.”

Get Certified First

“PADI offers a wide range of scuba certification courses that allow beginners to take their first breath underwater, to advanced specialty courses designed to build skills and enhance an experienced diver’s love of the oceans and aquatic environments. PADI’s flexible study options, including eLearning courses, enable divers to set their own pace and help accommodate busy lifestyles.”

Learn As You Go

“With every excursion, scuba divers are offered new opportunities to explore and discover the wonders of the underwater world while also improving their overall fitness and health. As divers gain experience, they begin to notice significant improvements in their underwater air consumption as they strengthen and learn to properly control muscle groups in the core, legs, glutes, arms and back in order to move more efficiently through the density of water.”

It’s Extreme…

…but it’s not Ski BASE Jumping. “People may be hesitant to learn to dive because of certain personal fears, but once they learn proper technique, these fears quickly fade away. Scuba diving is like any other extreme sport. PADI professionals are trained to teach people how to become confident scuba divers in a manner that helps them discover the excitement of diving, while also understanding their limits.”

No Travel Necessary

“Scuba diving can take place anywhere in the world. From the Caribbean and Curacao to Australia and Asia, people can dive anywhere there is water.” So, maybe if you live in the middle of the desert you’ll have to do a little bit of traveling, but don’t think that you have to go on a beach vacation to enjoy diving.

You’ve Got Options

“In the past few years, PADI has seen a new generation of distinctive specialty courses for divers, including Scuba for Fitness and Yoga for Divers programs.”

Your Mind Will Feel Good, Too

“Every dive offers the opportunity to disengage from real world distractions and simply be present in the activity. Every breath is focused, every movement is deliberate. The mind can relax and focus on simple things—fully inhaling and exhaling, making minor adjustments to buoyancy, extending and elongating a kick cycle—all while enjoying amazing marine life.”

Plus, You’ll Be In Good Company

“Jessica Alba, Sandra Bullock, Tom Cruise, Tiger Woods and Nina Dobrev of The Vampire Diaries are all fans of scuba diving. Recently, Nina Dobrev earned her PADI Open Water Diver certification in Bora Bora.” For information on getting certified, contact us, and start a healthy active lifestyle that will last forever. (extracts taken from menshealth online)