If you are already an experienced freediver looking for a new exercise to improve your Dynamic Apnea Bi-Fins technique and results, think about underwater sprints.
There are a couple of reasons why you might include it in your Freediving training
- Improve your finning technique
- Include anaerobic work for your legs
When you get some experience with this exercise, you can add some resistance to it. For example, you can wear a swimming parachute or swimming drag shorts.
For more information about sprints for DYNb training, check out my video below.
If you are looking to buy a swimming parachute or drag shorts, check the affiliated links below.
Swimming parachute https://amzn.to/3l4piye
Swimming drag shorts https://amzn.to/3iZvAwk
But after a while, you discover that there is so much stuff can be additionally used. You can easily live without it, but freediving training is going to be much more effective and fun with it
It is a kind of compromise between a mask and a “naked” face. It depends on your personal preference to wear goggles for static apnea or not. But keep in mind how sensitive your eyes are to pool water and chemicals in it. If you feel comfortable to stay in water without goggles – you are more than welcomed to do it. Just try and you will see the difference.
Monofin and bi fins dive also will become more streamlined and hydrodynamic if you don’t need to bring your hand to the nose for equalization. It will allow you to glide in water more smooth and effortless.
Freediving, as a recreational water-based activity (as well as a sport), getting more and more popular. But still, it is far away from other water activities, like for example scuba diving.
people are saying that fish afraid of the bubbles. But why should they be? Fish are afraid of their natural predators and they don’t make bubbles. Fish afraid if you make too much movement and if you are rapidly closing the distance. However, I am willing to accept that some marine life can come close to a Freediver (at least I was told so by other Freedivers).
simple again. If we are talking about starting – then for sure it is true! As soon as you have a mask, you can be a Freediver 😉 For scuba, even for absolute beginner level, there is a standard set – BCD, regulator, fins, scuba tank etc. Coming back to Freediving, like I said, in the beginning, you can just invest in the mask and snorkel. But then it will probably be more equipment – weight belt, neck weight, wetsuit, nose clip, safety lanyard, goggles for the swimming pool, float and rope if you want to train with your buddy independently, etc.
they are not fatal. The second group is just playing Russian roulette. But the same is true for any other activity in our life – you have to follow safety rules. Even for walking. Disagree? Try to walk across a high way! When someone tells that Freedivers are dying regularly, I am always asking where this information is coming from. And there is no answer. Simple because it is not true. So, the bottom line here – follow safety rules and Freediving would be the safest water based activity!
So, what would be your choice? Ideally, try both freediving and scuba diving! In my opinion, if you want to explore reef up to 15 meters deep – Freediving is a much better choice. But if you are planning to explore a dive site 25-30 meter deep, then it is easy to do with a scuba tank. If you are interested in underwater photography or videography, then again, having scuba tanks make your life easier. On the other hand, if you want to enjoy to be underwater and also combine it with a healthy lifestyle – Freediving is a better choice.
First one, let’s call it “old school” relaxation breathing is when you are trying to slow down breathing rate by extending your inhale and especially exhale part. There is even recommendation – exhale twice longer than inhale (not sure why twice). Let’s be honest – it is a mild version of hyperventilation (if you extend your exhale over a period of time, you removing extra CO2 from your body). I think Goran Ccolak said in his interview to Freediving Café, that every breathing, which differs from tidal breathing is hyperventilation. The question is how big ;-).
extending the duration of your exhale, do tidal breathing and then just 1-2 big breath in (with passive exhale) before actual breath hold. Same breathing what you have before you fall asleep. Still better to use diaphragm breathing for it though (it means that you still want to learn and practice it). Let’s say for two minutes you are doing tidal breathing. You relax your muscles and mind. Your heart rate will go down since you are more and more relaxed. And your CO2 level not going to be high as well. But at the same time, it is not going to be below the normal level for this particular level of activity.
still have plenty of O2. Enough for every body’s cells. And you know that and this is why you are keep holding.
Another important rule – do recovery breathe every single time, not only when it was “hard” dive. Even after very easy dive you need to do it – it will help you to create a very useful habit and put it on a subconscious level!
In scuba diving, when you are breathing compressed air underwater, your body is saturated more and more with Nitrogen (79% of the air is Nitrogen). The chain looks like this – you breathe in the compressed air from a scuba tank and now the pressure of N(Nitrogen) in your lungs more than in your blood, so, it going to your blood. And now in your blood pressure of N is higher than in your tissues, so, it is going to your tissues. Until you have an equal pressure of N everywhere (this is what we call saturation). And when you start coming up, opposite happens. Now pressure of N is smaller in your lungs, so the reverse process is happening – from your tissues N going to the blood and then to your lungs and then you exhale it. But it doesn’t happen that quickly. In some tissues, this process is slower than in others.
If they violate these rules, they have a very good chance to have DCS! Without making it too complicated, DCS is when molecules of N combined in your blood (or tissues) in the form of a bubble and can cause very serious damage!
small recovery time has a very good chance to get DCS….What to do, if you are spearfisher? Limit duration of your spearfishing session, have enough rest between dives, use appropriate thermal protection, stay hydrated!
First of all – symptoms of DCS. Type 1 DCS – skin rash on shoulders and upper chest, joint and limb pain. Type 2 DCS – peripheral tingling and numbness, unconsciousness, respiratory arrest and paralysis, coughing, feeling of air-starving.
Even if you are relaxed as much as possible, you still produce some energy. And as a result, produce some CO2. And when your CO2 reaches a certain level you want to breathe (actually you want to remove excess CO2 level). In Freediving quite often we use the term “urge to breathe”. So, how are going to bring new air to your lungs? What is the process looks like?
an urge to breathe – it is simple contractions of your respiratory muscles (diaphragm for example), which are trying to remove CO2 from your body.
(only 21% is O2, 78,96% N and 0.04 is CO2) and it starts its journey into your circulatory system! There is a natural dead space (no one dies, there is just no gas exchange) on its way (nose/mouth + trachea + bronchi + bronchial), so when air reach your alveoli, it has less O2 than you when you inhale.
And within your tissues, cells use O2 for producing energy and also creating CO2 as a byproduct (as well as water). After CO2 produced, it goes to your blood (partially connected with hemoglobin, but mostly dissolved into the plasma – bicarbonate) and then going through veins to your lungs. Then again, through gas exchange, CO2 penetrates to your alveoli, going all the way up to your mouth and then you remove it through exhaling! This how we are breathing!
which cause increasing pH of your blood (blood become more alkaline – respiratory alkalosis) and it triggers Bohr effect – now a connection between hemoglobin and O2 becomes stronger and exchange between capillaries and tissues becomes harder. In simple words – even if enough O2 present in the blood, it is much harder to deliver it to tissues. Since the human brain is very sensitive to the lack of O2, as a result of hyperventilation we have symptoms – dizziness, tingling in the lips, hands or feet, headache, weakness. Or in a worst case scenario – unconsciousness (our brain simple protect us from further depleting of O2).
Maximum depth for this level is 24m. It also should be mentioned that to apply for Advanced Freediver you must get EFR first. That is also simply explained with the possible necessity to provide first aid to your buddy. And of course more advanced rescue skills should be demonstrated at this course.