Dive Hacks: Tweaking Your Dive to Improve Form

When I was young and swimming at the local pool, the scariest thing in the world was the high dive. I would watch the kids climb the ladder and stand on the plank. And I would think they had to be crazy.

Then they would jump or try to dive. And because I was in the water, I couldn’t see what happened but I could here the yell, then the slap splash and everyone going ”Ohhhhhh”.

Then the kid
would climb out of the pool… smiling and red bellied… and walk to the back of the end of the line.

When I got older, I gathered my courage and went for it. And as I was falling, arms and legs flailing in different directions, I wondered if there wasn’t a better way to do this.

So here are some dive hacks to help you not look like I did while I tried to fly.

sure i would love a 6 pack

One of the best ways to improve your dive is to get into top shape. We all love when olympic divers
are able to do those crazy tricks and make it look like its no big deal.
With hard work you can do those tricks too. But first you need the core strength.

Doing exercises like crunches, side bends, and bicycle kicks will help make you strong enough to change your rotation mid dive and blow peoples minds.

timing is everything

A big key to achieving a great dive is timing. Take a wrong step or twist at the wrong time and you can get yourself into a pretty tough spot.
So to work on your timing, do a lot of dry land drills.
Practice your approach and your initial jump over and over until its locked in. Your muscle memory then moves on to the next step in the dive naturally.
Eventually, you will reach the point where jumping and twisting and diving will be second nature because your timing is impeccable.
 

Bad form

Do you want to get those high scores and take the medals?
Well then perfect form is the path to to your greatness.
The best way to work on form is to do isometric exercises so your muscles learn what you expect of them. What ever move you are working on, hold those forms for as long as you can.
I would suggest going through your whole dive the best you can on land. Hold each movement for about 30 seconds. Then move on to the next movement.
Think Ti Chi. As you do this your body will gain strength in the best form.
 

What do you think

If you work on these things then I know you won’t look like I did trying to do aerial cartwheels backwards with a twist.

You will be a diving board champ!

If you have any other tips or tricks, leave them in the comments section and good luck on the dive!