by Cameron Martz

How to Get Started

Though almost everyone benefits from an increase in activity, you should still check with your physician to ensure that any special health needs you might have are met by your chosen program.

Enthusiasts endlessly debate which sport is the best for developing fitness, but theyre missing the point. Until you get to a competitive level, your cardiovascular fitness depends more on the amount of time and consistency of effort spent exercising rather than on how you choose to do it. Thus, the activity that will result in the fastest and most lasting gains in fitness will be the one that you enjoy doing most.

Cross-training can help to alleviate the boredom of a routine. However, focus on one sport until you develop a good base of fitness before branching out into other activities. Besides, a good program involves many different types of workouts with frequent changes in schedule regardless of the sport.

The resources mentioned in the recommended reading list for each sport will help you more than these general guidelines. However, the templates provided below encompass much of what is truly important when beginning any fitness program for diving.

Note that the specific days of the week listed are arbitrary. Schedule your program to fit around your personal schedule.

Take a day off if you feel especially fatigued from training or other sources of stress. Repeat weeks if you do not feel ready to progress. If you must stop training for illness or other reasons, go back one week for every three days off and start the program again from that point.

Begin each cardio workout with a ten minute warm-up period, and end with a five minute cool-down. In between, maintain an intensity that is easy enough that you could hold a conversation with someone, but hard enough that you wouldn’t want to.

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Week 1	30 min cardio	30 min cardio	Rest	30 min cardio	30 min cardio	Rest	Rest
Week 2	35 min cardio	30 min cardio	Rest	35 min cardio	30 min cardio	Rest	Rest
Week 3	35 min cardio	30 min cardio	Weights	35 min cardio	30 min cardio	Weights	Rest
Week 4	40 min cardio	30 min cardio	Weights	35 min cardio	30 min cardio	Weights	Rest
Week 5	45 min cardio	30 min cardio	Weights	35 min cardio	30 min cardio	Weights	Rest
Week 6	45 min cardio	30 min cardio	Weights	35 min cardio	30 min cardio	30 min cardio Weights	Rest
Week 7	50 min cardio	30 min cardio	Weights	40 min cardio	30 min cardio	30 min cardio Weights	Rest
Week 8	55 min cardio	35 min cardio	Weights	40 min cardio	30 min cardio	30 min cardio Weights	Rest
Week 9	55 min cardio	40 min cardio	Weights	45 min cardio	35 min cardio	30 min cardio Weights	Rest
Week 10	60 min cardio	45 min cardio	Weights	45 min cardio	35 min cardio	30 min cardio Weights	Rest
Week 11	60 min cardio	45 min cardio	Weights	45 min cardio	40 min cardio	35 min cardio Weights	Rest
Week 12	60 min cardio	45 min cardio	Weights	50 min cardio	40 min cardio	40 min cardio Weights	Rest

References:

American College of Sports Medicine; ACMSs Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 5th ed.; Williams & Wilkins, 1995

Baechle, Thomas R. (editor); Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, National Strength and Conditioning Association; Human Kinetics, 1994

Bennett, Peter, and Elliott, David; The Physiology and Medicine of Diving, 4th ed.; W. B. Saunders Company, 1993

Bryzcki, Matt (editor); Maximize Your Training: Insights from Leading Strength and Fitness Professionals; Masters Press, 1999

Guyton, Arthur C.; Textbook of Medical Physiology, 8th ed.; W. B. Saunders Company, 1991

Tortora, Gerard J., and Grabowski, Sandra Reynolds; Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, 8th ed.; Harper Collins, 1996