Dynamics - prep advice please

[Narsil]

Hi there. Like several people have posted in the past, I'm one of those with a respectable static (just over 7 min pb) and comparitively poor dynamic with fins ability (100m pb).

I've got a warm up that seems to work quite well for a long static, but have never sorted out a breathe up routine for dynamics.

My static warm up is basically dry stretching & breathing / 5 min snorkel breath up / 1st negative 1 - 1.30 mins / 3 min breath up / 2nd negative 1.45 - 2.30 mins / 5 min breath up / hold.

Not sure if for a serious dynamic attempt, something similar would work or not. For dynamic practice I've just tended to breath up while crouching in the pool for a few minutes and then go for it.

In terms of base information, I'm a 43 years old male, 1.78 metres tall, 79kg. Only started freediving last year as a sport, but have done apnea based spearfishing for quite a while. I tend to swim quite slowly and attempt to stay relaxed, trying to leverage off my breath hold. My finning technique is poor, but that's another topic. I bought c4 30 bifins a few months ago, and have no intention (or budget!) to buy a mono in the short to medium term.

Thanks for any thoughts.

[Panos Lianos]

You probably already know that different people do different warm-ups for different disciplines. So try to find what works for you, as there is no proven method. Well, almost. Stay away from extreme things like doing 5x150 meters as a warm-up Try different methods and give yourself some time to figure things out before you move on to a different warm-up routine. Experiment, experiment and then experiment some more

For Dynamic with/without fins, I personally don’t do any apnea anymore. I stay dry and warm until 90 seconds before my official top. That’s when I enter the water.

I do a lot of stretching for all my muscle groups and some pack stretching. Some time ago I used to jog for about 5 minutes to warm up (and then stretch etc), but good stretching can warm you up as well.

Buoyancy is a very important factor in dynamics. You must be very slightly positive when you start, since at the end, your buoyancy will decrease and you will end up neutral. You don’t want to start neutral and finish negative.

I’m also using bi-fins. I’m in favor of relatively soft, 100% carbon fins as they allow you to use most of your power for what it is intended, moving forward. Soft fins also allow you to practice very good fining technique.

Hope this helps a little.

[Akoni]

Wow Panos, you took the words out of my mouth

[naiad]

I don't breathe up for dynamics. It doesn't increase the distance I can do, so I gave up on it. The same won't work for everyone, and maybe I'll discover something better, since my distance is still very poor.

100m is still a pipe dream for me - if I can do 40m I'm happy!

Lucia

[kingohyes]

I don't do any warmup or breathups before either static or dynamics.. But this technique works best for me in dynamic..so far

[dj_bridges]

Originally Posted by Panos Lianos

Buoyancy is a very important factor in dynamics. You must be very slightly positive when you start, since at the end, your buoyancy will decrease and you will end up neutral. You don’t want to start neutral and finish negative.

I have never heard this and find this difficult to understand - surely once you finish breathing in, your bouyancy remains constant (relative to depth of course)? How can you end up more negative at the end of the dynamic?

perhaps I missed something......

Cheers
Dan

[naiad]

Originally Posted by kingohyes

I don't do any warmup or breathups before either static or dynamics.. But this technique works best for me in dynamic..so far

I also find that it works well for dynamic but not static.

Originally Posted by dj_bridges

I have never heard this and find this difficult to understand - surely once you finish breathing in, your bouyancy remains constant (relative to depth of course)? How can you end up more negative at the end of the dynamic?

I always end up more negative at the end of the dynamic. Maybe some O2 gets used up, and this decreases buoyancy?

I remember that was one of the first questions I asked when I joined DB, something about why do I end up with less volume of air when I finish a static than what I started with.

Lucia

[Bill]

I noticed this doing statics and never heard any explanation. My best guess is that more CO2 is dissolved by the body at the end than there was dissolved O2 at the start.
Aloha
Bill

[DeepThought]

CO2 is MUCH more soluble than O2.

[Narsil]

Thanks for your thoughts.

Personally, it takes a while for my dive response to kick in. When spearfishing for example, my first three or four dives are generally much shorter than usual - by as much as a minute.

So for me I think, some sort of prep, even if only facial immersion, should be useful. I'll keep on experimenting