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2nd april
- Thread starterdouglaskidd
- Start date
Thread Status: Hello
, There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Hi Douglas,
We are "free" and easy to do anything you want but I had in mind some static CO2 resistance tables to get us warmed up and simulated constant weight rescues.
The Toypedo will make an appearence too.
Please suggest any aspects of freediving that anyone wants to go over. This could be classroom stuff, theory etc. kit recommendation, competition rules and protocols, rescues, blackout/samba recovery, static and dynamic drills, my famous Duck Dive master class, just request it on here so that I can bring any kit needed.
I was thinking of bringing some DVDs of the competitions over the last few years (with some dramatic blackouts/sambas) or maybe a DVD I have of freediving in Kalymnos (sponge diving).
Regards
Simon.
We are "free" and easy to do anything you want but I had in mind some static CO2 resistance tables to get us warmed up and simulated constant weight rescues.
The Toypedo will make an appearence too.
Please suggest any aspects of freediving that anyone wants to go over. This could be classroom stuff, theory etc. kit recommendation, competition rules and protocols, rescues, blackout/samba recovery, static and dynamic drills, my famous Duck Dive master class, just request it on here so that I can bring any kit needed.
I was thinking of bringing some DVDs of the competitions over the last few years (with some dramatic blackouts/sambas) or maybe a DVD I have of freediving in Kalymnos (sponge diving).
Regards
Simon.
thanks simon
know nothing of the tables so that would be interesting. be cool to see kalymnos cos i hope to book that soon- assume the change of date means you can go? gonna get myself some kit soon so may ask for a recommendation on the right elios suit and a good set of fins. improving my duck dive can do no harm so see you there for the week!!
know nothing of the tables so that would be interesting. be cool to see kalymnos cos i hope to book that soon- assume the change of date means you can go? gonna get myself some kit soon so may ask for a recommendation on the right elios suit and a good set of fins. improving my duck dive can do no harm so see you there for the week!!
Good stuff folks. Usual start time of 19:30.
I won't be getting in the water as i've put my back out but should be a good session with some harder tables.
If anyone has anything specific they want to do let us know.
I won't be getting in the water as i've put my back out but should be a good session with some harder tables.
If anyone has anything specific they want to do let us know.
Harder tables!!!! The way things went last night they'll be 4 minute breath holds with a 30 second recoveries. I'm going to make everyone practice tables whilst doing pushups round the pool next session!
Good rescues, some room for improvement though so we shall practice them regularly. Emma and I do rescue drills on each other all the time to keep it slick.
Good rescues, some room for improvement though so we shall practice them regularly. Emma and I do rescue drills on each other all the time to keep it slick.
that was a great session- thoroughly enjoyed it. sorry i had to shoot off but had to catch the last train back- let me know when the next few are and i will try to make it
Really enjoyed last night, thanks Simon! Is the push-up-co2-table a commonly used training tool? I think we'd like to see an instructor demonstration on those ones! 
It's always good to practice rescue techniques, and fun, too, so more of that will be great.
It's always good to practice rescue techniques, and fun, too, so more of that will be great.
Re the pushups - not exactly common, but walking in apnea is. 100 paces in apnea, 50 paces breathing, 120 paces in apnea, etc. Never do any kind of table on a bicycle or whilst driving of course! A blackout under those conditions would be very embarrasing and we'd have to put you up for a Darwin award!
Simon.
Simon.
The other tables are for low oxygen tolerance, not as useful as the high CO2 tables until your breath holds really start to get up to, I'd say the 4 minute plus level.
These can be done alternately with the high CO2 tables but are not recommended on the same day. You can alternate the tables and even create your own to suit. My tables are on a spreadsheet and all the times are worked out automatically so you can make them as hard/easy as you want simply.
Since everyone is showing good surface protocols and you know what to do in case of sambas or blackouts, we may go for some long breath holds next session.
If people are happy with that we can push the duration a bit and see how the training is paying off. Only dry statics at home though, I lay out on the sofa and watch TV whilst doing tables.
It's harder to blackout with dry statics and even if you do, the body's autonomous systems cut in and start you breathing again.
Remember though, it's all too easy to blackout doing wet statics, that includes just your face in a bowl, basin or bath. This is why we always say never ever do wet statics, dynamic or depth alone. We occasionally hear of a freediver who has died doing wet statics alone in the sea or pool, it's always so sad and so unneccessary a death.
Even when doing pool statics in public, be very careful that others, particulaly male children don't copy you. We had it in Kalymnos last year with some local lads seeing how long they could stay under for during one of our static sessions. It made me very nervous keeping one eye on my student buddy and one eye on the kids, thinking that any moment I would have to leap into life-saving action.
Simon.
These can be done alternately with the high CO2 tables but are not recommended on the same day. You can alternate the tables and even create your own to suit. My tables are on a spreadsheet and all the times are worked out automatically so you can make them as hard/easy as you want simply.
Since everyone is showing good surface protocols and you know what to do in case of sambas or blackouts, we may go for some long breath holds next session.
If people are happy with that we can push the duration a bit and see how the training is paying off. Only dry statics at home though, I lay out on the sofa and watch TV whilst doing tables.
It's harder to blackout with dry statics and even if you do, the body's autonomous systems cut in and start you breathing again.
Remember though, it's all too easy to blackout doing wet statics, that includes just your face in a bowl, basin or bath. This is why we always say never ever do wet statics, dynamic or depth alone. We occasionally hear of a freediver who has died doing wet statics alone in the sea or pool, it's always so sad and so unneccessary a death.
Even when doing pool statics in public, be very careful that others, particulaly male children don't copy you. We had it in Kalymnos last year with some local lads seeing how long they could stay under for during one of our static sessions. It made me very nervous keeping one eye on my student buddy and one eye on the kids, thinking that any moment I would have to leap into life-saving action.
Simon.
Scary! I have been out with students on a dive in Egypt and when I looked round, one of them was giving air from his octopus to a young kid who was with a group of snorkelers and had dived down from the surface. As we were at about 10-11 meters, this scared the hell out of me! It was likely enough that the kid did not know about not holding your breath on ascent when scuba diving, and the natural reflex of any freediver would be to hold their breath and return to the surface. Fortunately, I was close enough to get hold of both and take them to the surface while keeping the kid breathing from the octopus. This is a situation which has lead to fatal injuries before.
I would love to do some more static: this is one thing I am really useless at! I'd like to know where my current limit is, so I can track any improvements (well, hopefully there will be some!).
I would love to do some more static: this is one thing I am really useless at! I'd like to know where my current limit is, so I can track any improvements (well, hopefully there will be some!).
Hi James,
The learning curve and breath hold progress in the first few weeks is very steep. After a while your breath holds start to plateau out a bit and you feel you are getting nowhere, indeed sometimes you can't even make the times you know you did last time.
I remember having a pretty good breath hold and saw it go backwards and then I blacked out (in competition) doing a breath hold I should have been well capable of.
I was on some prescription drugs last year and I was having major problems getting past 3.5 minutes! I asked the diving doc about it and he confirmed that it probably was the drugs causing the problem. I was getting a CO2 headache at around that time (between 3 - 3.5 mins) which was like a knife going into my head. Not pleasant. Now that I'm off the drugs I'm starting to get back to my previous performances again.
Duck dives, when students say to me they need more weight to be able to do a good duck dive, I just take off my weight belt and even with a 5mm suit in the sea, prove to them that a duck dive is very possible when done smoothly, briskly and without hesitation.
We will do duck dive drills often. It is a very important part of a constant weight dive. It sets up the body for the dive and in competition can make or break the event for you if done badly. A good duck dive also shows everyone around that you know what you're doing
Simon.
The learning curve and breath hold progress in the first few weeks is very steep. After a while your breath holds start to plateau out a bit and you feel you are getting nowhere, indeed sometimes you can't even make the times you know you did last time.
I remember having a pretty good breath hold and saw it go backwards and then I blacked out (in competition) doing a breath hold I should have been well capable of.
I was on some prescription drugs last year and I was having major problems getting past 3.5 minutes! I asked the diving doc about it and he confirmed that it probably was the drugs causing the problem. I was getting a CO2 headache at around that time (between 3 - 3.5 mins) which was like a knife going into my head. Not pleasant. Now that I'm off the drugs I'm starting to get back to my previous performances again.
Duck dives, when students say to me they need more weight to be able to do a good duck dive, I just take off my weight belt and even with a 5mm suit in the sea, prove to them that a duck dive is very possible when done smoothly, briskly and without hesitation.
We will do duck dive drills often. It is a very important part of a constant weight dive. It sets up the body for the dive and in competition can make or break the event for you if done badly. A good duck dive also shows everyone around that you know what you're doing
Simon.