38 MEN’S HEALTHTAKE YOUR HIIT
TO NEW HEIGHTS
High diving is a full-body workout that will
chisel your core and truly test your nerve.
Jump to it at the Plymouth Life CentreTHE BEST
GYMS IN
THE WORLD
W
e feel it, too: the strong
temptation to bomb
from the top deck,
emulating Peter Kay’s
John Smith’s ad of the 2000s (“’Ave
it!”). But if you want to score 10s for your
physique and fitness, it pays to have
a little more finesse. At the Plymouth
Life Centre (PLC), the Everyone Active
coaches can help you transition from
bomb to pike position, alongside
Team GB and Red Bull cliff divers.
Fans of Jason Statham will have
seen YouTube clips of him competing
as a diver at the 1990 Commonwealth
Games, long before Hollywood
beckoned. But to succeed, you don’t
have to be built like the Stath, or Tom
Daley (who made his start here in
Plymouth). “We have about 2,000
divers through the doors, from kids as
young as four to a 78-year-old – though
he kept dislocating his shoulder off the
10m board and cycling to hospital,”
says diving manager Charlie Cooke.
“We told him to slow down a bit.”
There’s only a handful of venues
in the country that offer comparable
facilities, and not all of them are open
to the public. Here, however, families
can come along at weekends and
watch dads’ bravado sink in seconds.
During the week, a roster of elite
divers receive best-in-class coaching.
“We also have a dedicated dry diving
room with boards and foam pits,” says
Cooke. There’s a strength coach to
ensure you have the core stability and
flexibility needed to contort yourself
through the requisite movements.
“It’s hard-core – literally,” says
Cooke. “There’s a reason why the
pros all have six-packs.”
But don’t be daunted. The PLC’s
coaches specialise in taking you
from beginner to high board. All
you need to do is take the plunge.10M
The highest board is
this tall, giving you a
falling time of less than
two seconds. That’s
not long to squeeze in a
pike and two and a half
twists. This is where
your core strength
comes into play.SPLASH
ZONE
To minimise splash, lock
your arms out overhead
and keep your hands
together. When you
plough into the water,
this will create a vacuum
for your head and body
to travel through for
10s across the board.00 0235MPH
The speed at which
you’ll hit the water. When
Gemma Collins trained
here for ITV’s Splash!, poor
technique left her covered
in bruises. Remove
the belly flop from your
repertoire before you
go above five metres.WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: TOM WATKINS | PLYMOUTH LIFE CENTRE IS MANAGED BY EVERYONE ACTIVE ON BEHALF OF PLYMOUTH CITY COUNCIL