Competitive Diving Workout

Competitive diving is a sport where a diver will stand on a diving platform, or diving tower, and jump through many different forms into a body of water, which means any competitive diver needs the right competitive diving workout. Having the proper workout allows a person to ensure their body and muscles are functioning properly for optimized ability. Competitive divers will usually work out 5 days a week, 1 to 3 hours a day, depending on what competitions may be coming up. Their work outs will include warm ups, dry land training, and pool training.

Warm Ups. Any competitive diving workout routine requires a warm up to ensure that the muscles and heart rate are ready to go through any type of vigorous activity the actual work out may require. First, any form of cardio should be done for 5 to 10 minutes. After cardio, it is time for every good competitive diver to stretch before starting any further work out to ensure muscles are loose and flexible for the work out, and to prevent injury to joints and ligaments. Stretching should take between 10 and 15 minutes, and should be done before and after every work out. First, stretch the shoulders by placing one hand behind the back, and reaching upward between the shoulder blades. Do this for 20 seconds, in three reps of 5. Next, stretch the mid-section by standing tall with feet together, and reach down trying to place the hands on the floor right in front of the feet, palms down. Stretch and hold for 20 seconds, and then stand up to rest. Do this 3 to 5 times to really stretch out the back and mid-section. Next, stretch out the legs by standing straight up, and taking one step forward with one leg, and hold for 10 seconds.  Rotate between legs, and do 3 sets per leg. Another important type of any fitness routine is  weight training. Weights will help a diver increase muscle strength, which is needed for any divers body. A stronger body allows a diver to jump higher, spin faster, and have a more accurate routine off the board. Divers should use a combination of both free weights and machines to work out based on individual body needs. Weights should be done only every other day, 3 times a week.

Dry Land Training. Dry Land Training is important for any competitive diving workout to be able to perfect their form of dives from start to finish. Dry land training is done through use of spotting belts, trampolines and dry boards. Dry land training should be done for an hour a few days a week. Spotting belts ensure safety with divers when they are using trampolines and dry boards. Trampolines are great for a diver to practice their approach and hurdle, as well as working on their arm swings and jumps. A dry board can be used the same as a trampoline, except a diver gets the advantage of practicing everything with a spring board.

Pool Training. A competitive diving workout should include half an hour up to two hours in the water as part of their daily work out. Pool training will incorporate a number of drills and exercises in the water. One of the first drills pool training will start with is front and back lineups. These are where the diver will do standing forward and backward dives from either the platform or the 3-meter. Each diver should do between 5 to 10 lineups to start pool training. Next, divers will work on their board skills, meaning they will spend 10 minutes just bouncing on the board. This will help a diver work on their height in the jumps, and their form. Next, divers need to work on diving off the board moving through their list of types of dives they are perfecting. At the end of every work out, however, every diver should put in a good stretch to ensure muscles do not get too tight, which will cut down on injury.