You have definitively heard that swimming is the most complete exercise there is. This is probably true since you actually have to use pretty much every major muscle. Diving, being an activity we completely love, provides a good working out session then. While you dive, you are applying stress to most of your skeletal muscles. The great advantage of this is that you are doing it in an environment where you do not have to deal with gravity. The sprains you might get due to traumas against the floor are eliminated here. You get an extra force of friction, cause by the water, to fight against, but this just adds to the effort.
As with any activity that requires physical input, you will grow weary. Imagine a diving spree that lasts all day long. There will definitively be consequences to your muscles. Before going into diving, it is necessary for you to give yourself a massage. More athletes every day are turning to the great benefits of foam rolling. It is a great way to loosen up your muscles prior to your diving adventure. This will allow you to better perform underwater. Since you are using most of your muscles to dive, rolling over all your muscles during a very short session is recommended.
Once you have taken your long dive, you might start feeling a bit sore. You spent a lot of time moving against a rather dense fluid after all. When we have been through strenuous exercise, like that during diving, our muscles can grow tired and sore. This might cause the fascia in our muscles to build up what we know as muscle “knots”. These knots are like an accumulation of the tissue over the muscle. This causes pain and can keep you off the waters if not treated properly.
A foam roller provides a myofascial release. This is a massage that targets the trigger points, which are very likely to form.
So, get yourself a good foam roller and make foam rolling part of your routine. Have a session of around 15 minutes in order to massage yourself prior to a long diving to loosen up and relax your muscles. This will guarantee a better resistance and less likelihood of developing muscle knots.
After your diving session, take a little more time to roll over all your muscles. As a diver, it is recommended that you roll over your quads, IT bands, buttocks, and biceps.