Help!

[Loveday]

Hi, I am trying to increase my ability to stay underwater. I am doing cardiovascular training everyday of the week (mon-fri) and open water training at the weekends, this includes swimming on the surface and swimming underwater too. It doesn't seem to be working. Any suggestions? Would really appreciate any help!

[sanso]

Have you looked at the How to start freediving thread? Read through it, then read through it again and mull it over. That should keep You busy for a while and will likely get You going well!

Have fun!

[naiad]

Hi Loveday, it sounds like maybe you are overtraining. Training on every day of the week is a lot, if you train every other day or vary the types of training you may see better results.

There are also lots of training tips in the Beginner Freediving section. I find the O2 and CO2 tables useful, they have helped me a lot.

When you do the open water training, have you got another freediver with you?

Lucia

[Loveday]

thanks for the reply Sanso but I'm not a total newbie. Have been snorkelling and recreational feediving for about 7yrs. Just don't use all the terms! Just looking finally to take it a little more seriously and increase my underwtaer times. Just do it for enjoyment! Thanks all the same.

[Loveday]

Originally Posted by naiad

Hi Loveday, it sounds like maybe you are overtraining. Training on every day of the week is a lot, if you train every other day or vary the types of training you may see better results.

There are also lots of training tips in the Beginner Freediving section. I find the O2 and CO2 tables useful, they have helped me a lot.

When you do the open water training, have you got another freediver with you?

Lucia

Hi, thanks for replying. I have been told that I overtrain but I feel thats what I need. Does overtraining have a serious detrimental affect on breath-hold times? Yes, I always have my other half with me, although I am having to take it easy at the moment becasue while I keep going over winter (in cornwall) he doesn't like the cold!

I have looked at the tables and have tried to understand them though I seem to have a mental block about them!

[naiad]

Originally Posted by Loveday

Does overtraining have a serious detrimental affect on breath-hold times?

Yes, it can. If you are training very often, you are not giving yourself time to recover, so your performance may never be at its best. It can also have negative effects on general health.

Glad you have a buddy who looks after you, and you are brave to be diving at this time of year!

[Loveday]

Originally Posted by naiad

Yes, it can. If you are training very often, you are not giving yourself time to recover, so your performance may never be at its best. It can also have negative effects on general health.

Glad you have a buddy who looks after you, and you are brave to be diving at this time of year!

Thanks for the advice, I will try to cut it back, it's a lot nicer than being told I should do more! Do you have any advice on other training to be doing apart from cardio-vascular? I have read about apnea walking, woud you recommend this?

I don't let anything stop me getting in the water! It is where I am happiest!

[sanso]

Hey Loveday,

overtraining will actually worsen Your performance and make life unnecessarily hard. So now You have an excuse to take it easy for a day or so.

What about the tables do You not understand? I'd be happy to explain.

You've been snorkeling/freediving for seven years now? Cool! I used to be a vacation-snorkeler for some years before I started freediving, but have only started freediving last Year.

What did You do in those years? Any training at all? How often did You go diving? Who taught You to equalize and such? Dad/mum/SO/buddies/friends?

[Loveday]

Originally Posted by sanso

Hey Loveday,

overtraining will actually worsen Your performance and make life unnecessarily hard. So now You have an excuse to take it easy for a day or so.

What about the tables do You not understand? I'd be happy to explain.

You've been snorkeling/freediving for seven years now? Cool! I used to be a vacation-snorkeler for some years before I started freediving, but have only started freediving last Year.

What did You do in those years? Any training at all? How often did You go diving? Who taught You to equalize and such? Dad/mum/SO/buddies/friends?

I will have to try to relax more! Damb! I am just not familiar with the tables and all the explanations I have read don't make sense to me!

I go snorkelling/freediving every weekend that I can, only severe weather and rough sea stops me trying to get a swim. I also Scuba dive so equalisation was learnt there. I found out a while ago that I can equlise without having to hold my nose, which makes life easier! I'm just try to stay under longer to look around at more, like at the Seal I was lucky enough to encounter a couple of weeks ago!

[sanso]

Originally Posted by Loveday

I will have to try to relax more! Damb!

Yeah, that's a tough one, having to chill for a while.

I am just not familiar with the tables and all the explanations I have read don't make sense to me!

Hmm.. basically a table tells You how long to hold Your breath, then how long to breathe (recovery), than again how log to hold Your breath, and so on ... (I guess You gathered that much.)

There are two classic types of tables I'll look at now: O₂-Tables and CO₂-Tables:
An O₂ Table will train Your ability to cope with lowered Oxygen levels, increasingly lowering Your final blood oxygen level with every breathhold.
To achieve this, the breathhold times increase every time, while the recovery times stay the same for the table. e.g.:

example O₂ Table
hold - breathe
0:30 - 2:00
0:45 - 2:00
1:00 - 2:00
1:15 - 2:00
...

A CO₂ Table will train Your ability to cope with high carbon dioxide levels, by increasing Your CO₂ level with every breath hold.
To achieve this, the recovery times - in which You would flush out the excess CO₂ accumulated during the last hold - between the holds decrease, so You accumulate more and more CO₂ in Your system with every hold.

example CO₂ Table
hold - breathe
1:00 - 2:00
1:00 - 1:45
1:00 - 1:30
...

I think that's all there is to understand about tables for the start. Now look at 'how to start freediving' for how to design a table that fits You and go ahead.

BTW: Even if You've been snorkelling for a long time, think of freediving as something entirely new, as You will find out many things that one just doesn't come across as a recreational snorkeler.

... can equlise without having to hold my nose,... the Seal I was lucky enough to encounter ...

Gah, handsfree! Now I'm envious.

[Loveday]

Thank you Sanso! That has really helped a lot. Will have a go at them now.