DIVERS ALERT NETWORK: ASIA-PACIFIC
Divers Alert Network, widely known as DAN, is an international non-profit medical and research organisation dedicated to the safety and health of divers. WWW.DANAP.ORG
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SHAKE OFF THE DUST AND RETURN TO DIVING
or many, 2020 and 2021 forced people indoors and caused a host of cancellations, including weekend getaways and diving holidays. While some fortunate divers continued to dive thanks to access to local waters, many didn’t have that luxury and were forced to take time off from the sport. Now, there are glimmers of hope emerging that returning to the water is just around the corner. While scheduling and planning dive trips may be a welcome task, be prepared that those first few dives may feel tough. There may be a bit of rust. Personal fitness levels may have waned - when communities were locked down, access to gyms evaporated and unless an individual made it a priority to exercise at home or outside, overall fitness may have deteriorated. Muscle memory will only get you so far and ignoring current fitness level could make for an uncomfortable and unsafe first dive back. It’s perfectly fine that your fitness may have suffered over the last few months, and it’s important to consider that factor as you return to the sport. Scuba diving can be quite a physical challenge when you calculate lifting heavy tanks or
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swimming against currents. As a new dive season kicks off, here are some considerations:
Getting fit for the season
When scuba diving, it can be really easy to forget the physical fitness levels needed to perform safely in the water, thanks to currents and a seemingly weightless environment (with proper buoyancy control, of course). But even a relaxed, easy dive can spike your heart rate and cause changes in blood flow. An emergency could create even more physical exertion. Physical demands increase as equipment, sea state and entry and exit conditions intensify. This is why it’s important for divers to assess and maintain personal fitness. In a non-pandemic year, it’s recommended that divers perform about 30 to 60 minutes of exercise three to four times per week to ensure they meet the demands of diving. Because the pandemic altered fitness regimes for many, plan weeks ahead of that first dive to rebuild your fitness levels. Just like a person gearing up for their first marathon, you won’t be able to run 42.2km right out of the gate — you need to gradually build up the strength,
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