Do progress gradually
Do not, we repeat, do not boldly climb the springboard ladder at your local
pool in the mild hope that you’re going to be a natural at diving. Although
diving can be an extremely safe sport, there are dangers, and if you are new to
diving you will need to train in order to prepare for the moment when you first
use the springboard.
If you are a complete diving novice, start simply by doing a sitting dive. To
do this, sit on the edge of the pool with your feet resting on either the
swimming pool trough or the rail. Put your arms into the diving position and,
with your head between your arms, raise your hips before launching yourself into
the water. Once you feel confident and comfortable with your technique, progress
to the kneeling dive, then the crouch dive and finally finish by working on your
standing dive.
Do use dry land diving equipment
Hands up if you knew that divers used trampolines to perfect their techniques
and trial out new moves? Nope, not many people do. Dry land equipment is the
name given to lots of different diving equipment that helps divers to improve
their technique safely. For example, you can practice turns on a stretching mat,
or sequences on a trampoline. Other dry land equipment includes a dry land
diving board, spotting equipment and video recorders.
Dry land equipment does not just help you to perfect your diving technique,
dry land equipment can also help you to avoid injury, boost your diving
confidence and help you to be creative with your moves. It is well worth ringing
diving clubs or your local pools or buying some basic equipment if want to
progress safely as a diver.
Do streamline
If you’re like most people the biggest fear you’ll have about diving is
hitting the water and stinging your skin with a huge belly flop. To avoid this
embarrassing and painful diving error you need to make sure you are streamlined
when you dive off of the springboard. To make sure you are streamlined ensure
your hands enter the water first and extend your legs behind
you.
If you struggle to do this then you need to work on your balance and your
strength doing specific diving exercises.
Don’t stop practicing the fundamentals
Once you have grasped how to perform the fundamentals of diving, such as the
board work and takeoffs, do not stop practicing. As with most things in life
there is always room for improvement and if you want to dive safely and avoid
injury you will need to continually go over these skills and moves. This is
because some of the more serious diving injuries are caused by bad takeoffs and
practicing these techniques will help you to prevent this
error.
Although you might not think hitting the board would hurt that much, you can
break bones, get concussion or split your skin. None of these injuries sound
particularly fun, so make sure you practice.
Don’t skip the gym
Other than the obvious danger of falling from a distance into a pool of
water, diving poses other injury threats. For example, diving repeatedly uses
the wrists, the back and the neck. The impact these body parts endure when you
begin to dive regularly can result in a repetitive injury which can be very
limiting and painful.
To make sure your foray into diving isn’t short-lived hit the gym. Here you
should build strength in your shoulders using weight machines, such as the chest
fly machine, or using free weights. Wrist guards can also help ease the strain
on your wrists and can be worn when you are diving or practicing. Although not
as strenuous, stretching is also beneficial to your diving and it will help you
to avoid neck injuries.
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