Fitness for Diving

SCUBA diving requires an element of fitness to start with, you certainly don't need to be an athlete though! The basic standard of fitness is readily achievable, if you can carry your groceries in from the car and walk up a flight of stairs then you're more than ready to start your SCUBA journey to the underwater world.

How healthy do I need to be?

A certain degree of fitness is required but it is entirely within the reach of most people and adaptions can be made where required to support your SCUBA adventure. Generally, if you get your grocery shopping in from the car and walk up and down stairs then you will be more than fit enough to enjoy SCUBA. 

Please review the medical form and speak to us if you have any concerns

PADI Medical Form

Am I fit enough to SCUBA dive?

Some swimming ability is required. You need to have basic swim skills and be able to comfortably maintain yourself in the water. Your PADI Instructor will assess this by having you:

• Swim 200 metres/yards (or 300 metres/yards in mask, fins and snorkel). There is no time limit for this, and you may use any swimming strokes you want.

• Float and tread water for 10 minutes, again using any methods you want.

What are the requirements for learning to scuba dive?

The minimum age is 10 years old to go to Open Water, kids as young as 8 are welcome in the pool to practice skills and to learn the basics. Student divers who are younger than 15 earn the PADI Junior Open Water Diver certification, which they may upgrade to PADI Open Water Diver certification upon reaching 15. 

SCUBA diving is a low impact sport that improves your mental and physical health, diving is fundamentally good for you as long as you take the appropriate precautions, UK diving especially offers a tremendous fitness benefit; cold water burns more calories!