Underwater Diving and Scuba Diving

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Scuba diving is a type of underwater diving. In this form of diving, the diver carries his/her own compressed air apparatus to breathe when he/she is under water. This allows them to stay under water for a longer period of time.

Originally, SCUBA was used as an acronym for self contained under water breathing apparatus. Typically, a scuba set consists of air hose, mouth piece, regulator, harness, back plate, and the tank. People perform scuba diving for personal as well as professional reasons. People dive for recreational purposes and there a many different disciplines like cave diving, wreck diving, ice diving, and deep diving.

Professional scuba divers are employed by companies to perform certain underwater tasks. These tasks include oil exploration, underwater welding, repair and inspection of boats and ships, salvage of wrecks, spear fishing, etc. It is not enough if air is simply supplied to a scuba diver. As the diver goes down, water also exerts pressure on the chest and lungs apart from the normal atmospheric pressure. It is approximately 1 bar for every 33 feet of depth. As such, the pressure of the inhaled air should match with the ambient pressure so that the lungs remain inflated. The regulator, that is part of a scuba set, ensures that air is supplied at ambient pressure. This enables the diver to inhale and exhale naturally and effortlessly at any depth.

Visibility is a problem for people under water as the refractive index of water is higher than that of air, but same as that of the cornea of the eye. The diving masks and helmets are designed to resolve this problem. They create an air space in front of the diver’s eyes. The error in refraction created by water is corrected when light travels from water to air through a flat lens. However, the objects appear about 34% bigger and nearly 25% closer than they actually are. As the field of view gets reduced, adjustment of eye-hand coordination is essential. Generally, divers who use corrective glasses will need to use the same glasses when wearing the mask.

How safe is scuba diving? It is a sport with risks like any other. It is the fear associated with drowning and the nervousness of using the scuba set that makes it seem riskier. Scuba diving is not as dangerous as some other activities that we take up without hesitation. The truth is that the number of fatalities is coming down every year, despite the fact that the number of divers has increased by leaps and bounds.

Daniel Blinman is writing for Scubaskool, a diving company offering dive course and divemaster internship

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Five Things That Will Keep You Coming Back To A Gym

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Countless people join a gym, only to cease attending shortly after. Often this is down to them failing to check the facilities for those little things that will keep them coming back. But what are these things? Even something as small as the quality of the lockers and cubicles matter, but here are five things you should always look for prior to signing on the dotted line:

The Staff

The help and attention received from staff is vital in regards to keeping members motivated and returning. Ideally you want staff that know your name, and are encouraging and motivating – offering to design you a programme while working with you regularly to check your progress and change your programme around.

The problem is that a quick look around the gym is not sufficient to determine if this level of service is commonplace. Don’t always trust the word of your tour guide – often they are a salesperson on commission, and will say whatever necessary in order to get you to join.

So how can you find out if you’re going to receive the help you need, or are going to get ignored once the gym has your money?

When you’re in the gym itself take a good look around – what are the staff doing? Are they helping members with equipment and their workouts or standing around chatting with each other? Or are they simply absent from the room altogether? Also if you have a chance, ask a few current members about the level of service they receive and whatever you do, don’t be pressured to sign on the day – go home and read some reviews, in order to gauge a true idea of what will happen once your monthly direct debit is safely in place.

The Facilities

While different people want and desire different facilities, it is beneficial to have all the facilities you would like included as part of your membership. Therefore, if you really want a swimming pool, and know you would make more use of it than you would of the gym equipment, don’t be pressured into joining a gym-only facility simply because the price is cheaper or the talented salesperson convinced you to.

Also, if you know you’re going to be showering and getting ready for work or a night out at the gym instead of home, choose a facility that provides adequate lockers and cubicles, as well as extras such as hairdryers and if needed, hair straighteners.

In essence, before beginning your search for a gym, ascertain exactly what facilities you would like. This will make sure you don’t get roped in by a fancy starter package or a convincing salesperson and will actually get the facilities and service you’re after.

Quality of Changing Facilities

Whilst it might seem insignificant, the quality, cleanliness and overall feel of the changing rooms are vital if you’re going to keep coming back. Not only should the environment be pleasant, but there should also be adequate cubicles (for privacy) and secure lockers (for reassurance).

Location

The location of the gym is vital. If it’s too far away from home or work you won’t go – fact. So ensure you choose a gym that is either near to your home or place of work, or is on your way home from work. There is simply no point joining a gym that is located on a route you never take since the effort and expense involved in attending will mean you will very quickly find yourself heading for the television instead of the treadmill.

In fact, location is the one area that I would recommend sacrificing on facilities or service.

Class Schedule

While fitness classes aren’t for everybody, they do provide a welcome diversion from the possible monotony of the gym. However, classes are timetabled, and if they don’t fit into your schedule then as far as you’re concerned, they might as well not exist. Therefore if classes are an aspect of the gym that interests you, don’t just look at the range of classes available - look properly at the times they are on. If the times aren’t suitable it may be worth looking at other facilities that hold more classes or classes at earlier or later times in the day.

This article was written by Amy Fowler on behalf of Prospec. Amy writes on a variety of topics including gym facilities such as lockers and cubicles.

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