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Do We Have Our Training All Wrong?

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Feb 11, 2016
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I think we can all agree that freediving has both physical and mental aspects to it. In fact, most top freedivers that I have listened to speak about the sport generally consider freediving to be 70% mental and only 30% physical.
If this is the case, then why is there such an emphasis on training our bodies physically when really, the most emphasis should be on strengthening our mental faculties to becomes better? Surely developing our mental capabilities would have more impact on our overall diving potential if the sport really mind over matter.

I hope this can open up some dialogue between us and maybe create a platform for some ideas that can strengthen our mental training for freediving.

Thanks guys
 
Good question, to which I don't have an answer as to why. Maybe physical training is easier to describe.

In my own case, much of the mental aspect, meditative state, etc, came along with honing my FRC technique. I wasn't actively seeking them, they just showed up. Maybe the two things are intertwined and you can't get the mental without working on techique.
 
Good thread (y) From my perspective as far as I can see the physical aspects and training are important for the recreational freediver just in case, its good to know that there is something in the tank if things start going south! For those that really push limits the physical training is of more importance I would say. Ultimately I think relaxation is the most critical factor and I guess if you know that you can swim so far or have good strength and stamina it helps psychologically and this then helps you relax, a kind of self fulfilling prophecy if you like? I think relaxation comes from being comfortable in the water and I personally feel that no amount of dry training can compare to wet time, especially for the beginner, no one can relax if there uncomfortable and nervous about being in deep water or in conditions they are unsure about. For the beginner I would just recommend researching the dangers, SWB etc and then spending as much time in the sea as possible, getting comfortable in it before you even consider tables etc. (y)
 
Because mind and body are deeply interconnected. So much even that I think it's a mistake to see them as separate entities in this context. Instead I prefer to call it the mind-body.

The way that we use the body both directly and indirectly determines the mental state and vice versa. Many of the physical techniques we use also have a strong influence on the mind, which is indeed just as important if not more so. Breathing techniques that we use for example might have some physical benefit, but their real potential lies in their ability to calm the mind. The same goes for kicking/swimming techniques: Relaxation in your movement soothes the mind while a relaxed mind translates into a relaxed body, creating a positive feedback loop.

That being said I do also think there is a lot of benefit in training that is specifically for the mind. Things like meditation and yoga can be of incredible value to practice the art of letting go; letting go of fears, bodily sensations, discomfort. To allow everything to be as it is without the desire to change anything.
 
I think the term that I hear used most often, in regards to the mental aspects of training, is relaxation. This seems to be a deeply integral part of training and performing at peak level.
What are some techniques that we can all use to become more relaxed in the water? Pinniped72 laid out a few... most importantly, I think, is wet time, or time in the water. Kiekerjan, you gave some great input at well. Things like yoga and meditation can have profound relaxation qualities to them.
For me, I think developing a routine is most important. Something that you can become very familiar with which will help your mind, as stated in a previous post, "let go".
What do you guys think? Do you have any pre-diving rituals? Any ways that help you relax? Great thread so far!!
 
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Well. My view of this is pretty basic. There are two separate aspects of this that entwine in the end.

Physical training lets you extend the purely physical limit. What you can do with your mind is a different story with no reak limit, but your body can only handle so much physically and that "so much" is possible to extend by training / exercise.

I havn't been exercising like I should but can get to 3min with relaxation and a good breathe up, if I would be more fit I could probably get those 3min up further with equal mental effort.
 
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This is both ritual and physical/mental preparation. I dive FRC and use a minimal breathup stategy. Breathup consists of a few recovery breaths, a minute or so of normal(forget about it) breathing, then a minute or so of slowly reducing breathe volume, staying right at the edge of urge to breath. I get to the point where breathes are tiny, mental state becomes more and more relaxed and meditative, and blood co2 level is a bit higher than more active breathups Then, when it feels right, 1-3 half lung purges (dependent on water conditions) and go.

This combination gets me into the right relaxed mental state for a long dive and the combination of "underbreathing" followed by minimal hyperventilation gets the co2 balance in my system right for long dive.

One caution about rituals. You can get so dependent on them that it delays your dive too long. If you are diving rotation, your buddies will not appreciate it. Learning to "just go" is a useful skill that keeps rituals from controling you.
 
I think there is so much emphasis placed on the mental aspect, because it's really a skill no one has inherently going into the sport. We generally don't do any activities in life that force us to relax on command or resist the instinct to breath.

In my experience, physical training only resulted in marginal improvements at best for me. Doing breathing tables seemed to help me the most. I think it helps with learning how to relax physically and mentally as well as somehow helping your body to adapt to varying levels of oxygen / co2. Whether that's a physical or mental shift is moot for me as it has helped me personally. I was able to get my resting heart rate to drop about 10 bpm from doing tables training for example. (Inversely, when I stop doing them it gradually raises back up to where I started.)

The ambiguity of how mental training discussions always seem to slide into the philosophical weeds always frustrated me. Mainly because I felt I could understand how to put the discussions into practice. I think in concrete terms learning to slow your heart rate through relaxation and minimize activity at a cellular level (muscles throughout your body or brain activity) will ultimately reduce oxygen consumption and increase duration. I think this is what everyone is ultimately doing via the mental training discussions. Well that and learning to ignore your breath reflex. Practice in general seems to also provide a level of self assurance which seems to help relax your mind from concerns of environment or performance.

Just my two cents. I know there are a lot of people better than I.
 
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Has anyone heard of Wim Hof, aka Iceman? His technique seems like it could have something to do with this sport. It mixes the mental and physical aspects quite seamlessly in my opinion.

Check this video and many more to get the idea:


I'm interested in other benefits for health in general, but more specifically to some chronic illness. I'd be happy to try, but not if it is a cult or a monetary rip off. Anyone tried this?
 
Has anyone heard of Wim Hof, aka Iceman? His technique seems like it could have something to do with this sport. It mixes the mental and physical aspects quite seamlessly in my opinion.

Wim Hof is an absolute legend, but his technique should definitely not be applied to freediving. His technique is quite an extreme form of hyperventilation and would be very unsafe under water. He of course knows this and therefore does not use or promote it for freediving.

The results are quite remarkable however if it's used for exposure to cold, which it was meant for. I have tried his technique for a couple of weeks in combination with cold showers, and I believe it does work for that purpose. To use the words of Wim Hof's himself: the cold becomes comfortable like a warm blanket.

Of course the mental qualities of Wim Hof's training techniques are very applicable to freediving. Overcoming the cold is very similar in many way as overcoming the urge to breathe: Overcoming discomfort by accepting the situation for what it is.

Just never ever ever ever use his breathing technique before a dive!
 
I practiced meditation and yoga before I started freediving. In the intro course I did a very pleasant and meditative 3min static. But after I started training 2-3 times a week I kinda lost the meditative mindset and since then static has been mostly just enduring after 2min. My best till now is a bit over 4min and I've trained for 2 years. I've never been close to BO or samba and for me it's 95% my mind that's holding me back.

I do mantra meditation (google it. But I can write a short and pragmatic guide if theres intrest)

Yoga = well.. you're more flexible, a LOT easier to deeply relax and I do it too rarely nowadays...

So... now when I do static I find myself WAITING for the enduring and uncomfortable feelings. Thats really the first thing that pops into my mind when I think about doing a static longer than 2min.

But... I now realise that the few times static has felt good and pleasant have been after a break in training or a long relaxation before doing static. Also meditation is a skill you need to uphold the same as for example Co2 tolerance. It's easier to calm your mind when you do it regularly and your mind is used to it.

I think I'll try practicing meditation regularly again and see how it affects.

Oh and a pleasant static for me is 3min of good and deeply relaxed feeling. I've stopped my static in those cases because I got afraid of it feeling too good... like am I close to BO or what? But after surfacing I was crystal clear and not even short of breath.

Anyone else having feelings like this?

And yes I think deep relaxation techniques would benefit anyone in this sport.
 
This is interesting.
Physical training does wonders for swimming ability and fitness, but almost nothing for breathhold.
Even apnea exercises do very little.
I know because before I knew anything about apnea, I had an easy breathhold (with no preparation whatsoever) of 3min.
Ever since I started training, the time has become less and less.
I often can't manage more than 40 seconds while swimming, so breathhold training and exercises made my breathhold time a lot worse xD

That said, I'm alone most of the time, so I don't really do any mental exercises to cheat my brain into thinking it doesn't need oxygen.
One can achieve impressive times doing that, but it also heightens the risk of BO the better you become at it.

It would be interesting to know if BOs happen to people who don't do mental exercises and just do comparatively short dives as well, or if it's mainly those who learned to ignore their bodies' warnings in order to not feel discomfort at all when holding their breath.
 
Apnea training can certainly improve apnea performance. If you are seeing decreases in performance with training, there is some mismatch between the training you are doing and the type of diving you want to do. Good idea to talk with an expert

There was a well researched article a while back that made a strong case that it was next to impossible to BO with dives of 1 minutde or less (it is possible if you do something really stupid, but not normally). After that, BO is hard to predict. Usually its associated with relatively long dives, poor technique,etc. However, I've seen good divers BO doing dives well within their capacity, not particularly long, nothing out of the ordinary, no urge to breathe, no warning, nada. Wierd
 
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