My freediving techniques and exercises

[lungfish]

This is all good, basically, but I wouldn't take this page and head out to try freediving. Some of the information in the opening post isn't quite correct, or complete.....Take a class, there are good one's out there. I trained with www.performancefreediving.com and have been very, very satisfied with the foundation in freediving I recieved.

Freediving is complicated skill set and gaining experience around people who really understand the physiology and psychology of the discipline is the best, safest way of becoming a good deep water swimmer.

Amphibious is right about watches, by the way, but you should be so intimate with your computer that you are tracking surface intervals carefully between dives and that you are setting your depth and duration alarms before any dive that you think you need them for - in the water, as you are gauging your limits that day.

Myself, I don't have a Scuba rating. I have never dove with tanks but I have been very deep (below 175ft) and have acquired very long breath-hold skills. I practice weekly tolerance tables that would probably seem impossible to the uninitiated, however my sensitivity to my body-gas balances and my conscious ability to "gauge" my dives has improved remarkably. Originally, I was no more conditioned to do this than anyone else.

Freediving is a journey, an exploration of one's capabilities and potentials. It is always dangerous when one is on the leading edge of one's abilities - so take the time to truly understand what you are trying to do.

 

[asoares]

I have checked out the above website the other day.. Like you said its a journey and I dont intend on diving to No Limits tomorrow... Its a work in progress and when I get there I get there.. no rush.. just pure enjoyment. I think I may do laps in the pool later on...

 

[lungfish]

Hi Asoares,

That's right, be deliberate, deligent, methodical. At 100ft you might as well be on the moon, so train like an astronaut. Carefully.

About eating, one should dive on an "empty" stomach. However, I usually enjoy a sports drink of some kind with a lot of electrolytes and basic carbohydrates... Cytomax is good.... sometimes I bring it with me on the float. You need nutrition and blood suger to metabolize oxygen.

As far as anxiety goes.... the more comfortable you are with equipment, equalizing and proper breath-up techniques, the calmer you will become. Proper freediving naturally leads to bradycardia as a symptom of the Mammalian Diving Reflex. If you know how to initiate the Reflex, then you can avoid anxiety as a simple matter of course.

The first time I went below 100ft, I dove to 130ft. I took my time on the descent, the sink phase was quite comfortable. And when I arrived at the bottom of the dive, it was so calm, mellow and comfortable that it didn't matter that the surface was 45secs above me... If you are using proper technique and are correctly prepared, and have successfully initiated the MDR, then anxiety isn't physically possible unless a shark shows up...

 

[asoares]

Thanks... so your 3000+ dives are free dives?

 

[lungfish]

Yea, these Scuba sites are not entirely adapted to freedivers. I mean, what is a logged dive for a freediver? We just don't do it the same way.

Heck, I have an invitation to stay at my house in Kona, Hawaii that I put out to all the freedivers, scuba divers, u/w photographers, etc and because I am a freediver, I actually have to put the invitation on threads that the rest of the underwater community can see. Yet, our hosts here just pushed my invite back into the freediver section claiming that it was spam if I put the same invitation out to both freedivers and scuba people on separate threads.... go figure.

There is a lot of misunderstandings about Freediving in the Scuba community....

Anyway, if you have any questions feel free to ask Amphibious or me. Also, www.deeperblue.net forums is a great place for all manner of freediving info.

Lungfish

 

[asoares]

LOL... yea I hear ya. Well maybe I should put the number of freedives Ive done into the logged dives part like you did... I didnt at first b/c like you said whats a logged dive to a freediver.. get your head wet and hold ur breathe, a dive? lol oh well... ok let me see if I can add up all my dives.. look for it in my profile soon.. About your invite.. thats crazy what the hosts did...

 

[5ata]

I agree completely Colin... NEVER EVER use a watch - listen to your body...