Fitness first, freediving later?

[Simos]

I haven't tried taking HR in water during static holds, tried once or twice while dry out of curiosity but I think it's not that useful - actually might stress you out worrying why isn't my HR dropping etc

Maybe in dynamic it's more useful and I think it's definitely good for other training like running etc when you want to target training in a particular BPM zone.

 

[growingupninja]

I think there is potentially huge safety benefit to knowing HR during training, but more in the sense of recording it during your session and then examining your HR profile after the session; clock watching--whether time or HR--is not behavior that has ever helped me. Perhaps more for deep divers or spearos who may be diving all day. You can start to get a handle on what triggers your dive response, ascent tachycardia, when/if it starts to fall off, etc.

 

[neutrino]

I think there is potentially huge safety benefit to knowing HR during training, but more in the sense of recording it during your session and then examining your HR profile after the session; clock watching--whether time or HR--is not behavior that has ever helped me. Perhaps more for deep divers or spearos who may be diving all day. You can start to get a handle on what triggers your dive response, ascent tachycardia, when/if it starts to fall off, etc.

I totally agree! Do you know any strapless HR monitor that works under water?
I've recently bought [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002ECX4S2/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00"]Beurer PM18 Heart Rate Monitor with finger sensor - PM 18: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KTRKMzAAL.@@AMEPARAM@@41KTRKMzAAL[/ame] and found out it doesn't work under water and even when wet out of the pool it is hard to get any reading.
Does anybody can recommend any strapless HR monitor that can take the proper readings under water?

 

[alastair]

I seem to remember from looong ago that Eric F studied his breath hold ability as a function of his 10k run times. There was little or no correlation...

 

[MartinTee]

You're on a freediving forum, the answer has to be freediving. Or even in your situation, dry apnea.

If you were on a fitness forum asking about lung capacity and breathing routines to help your fitness/endurance/running whatever, they'd be saying run.

Here is my point of view with fitness and freediving and my weekly routine:

I cycle upto 100miles a week, half is anearobic[fast/slow]. The other half is just for distance. I have never had a lactic problem in my legs whilst finning and this might be because of this.

I swim a minimum of three times a week, two of them are anearobic/intervals and based on butterfly and breast stroke. The other swim is pure distance but sometimes I breathe less. So if I do 500m I'll breathe every 3 strokes, then 4 etc so i'm improving lung capacity. I've been working a hell of a lot on technique under water and even have an instructor to help me with nothing but under water efficiency.

I started running again 3 weeks ago due to ligament damage and use to be sub20minute 5k runner, even on triathlons. I just run for distance but am thinking of including apnea runs in to my routine.

Other than this, I do yoga a few times a week, meditate a couple of times and do press ups, pull ups and planks etc at home.

I went a few months without doing any wet freediving/apnea because of my job/location/injury and recently got back in to it.. I've been doing it weekly now for over a month and I was back at square one after having my last few diving sessions in April and June with other freedivers. I do co2/o2 tables at home a couple of times a week too.

To conclude, if I just did freediving, once/twice a week with buddies and added to that, dry apnea, such as tables and swam on days I couldn't freedive, I think my breathe hold would be in a better position than it currently is. My max is 4minutes 50seconds and when I did that I wasn't at my fittest like I was a year ago and today. This was around January of this year.

I have gone about it like this: (I've been freediving roughly one year now)I was already very fit when I started freediving so just concentrated on learning/doing as much freediving/water/breathing stuff as possible in the first few months up to March of this year when I had a competition in Liverpool. Nearly everything after that has just been fitness and technique (I naturally go through phases). I'm now trying to combine both the freediving routine and my fitness and will be adjusting both over the next 4 months until the comp again. From there I will evaluate to see how good my routines have been and where I can amend. I'm a methodical person but will also say that other routines where people don't keep fit but constantly do more breathe holds will work for them better than this will for me.

I'd say go and get wet first and foremost, thats one of the main reasons every one dives? Hold your breathe in a safe environment and smile until you can start training with someone.

This whole post has lead to more questions I think than answers, just how I like it

and breathe!

 

[Andrew the fish]

weighlifting grows on you (literally). IMO freediving is a no substitute for real work, and everybody MUST lift weights. Think about it - at work you don't always do what you enjoy. Maintaining your body is also work, you must stretch even if you hate it, you must do cardio and resitance training. Freediving is just an icing on a cake.

 

[MartinTee]

weighlifting grows on you (literally). IMO freediving is a no substitute for real work, and everybody MUST lift weights. Think about it - at work you don't always do what you enjoy. Maintaining your body is also work, you must stretch even if you hate it, you must do cardio and resitance training. Freediving is just an icing on a cake.

Freediving is real work though for well, freediving....

Don't know if I agree with this philosophy but I have never really done weightlifting so my thoughts are worth nothing on this particular topic.

What I will say though is that I am a lean tall guy at 6'2" and played rugby for many years and I never put on any weight or any real muscle mass during my training and I use to train at least 4 times a week, instead, I listen/look at my body and go with the flow of that, hence the more aerobic fitness routine.

Maybe I should give it a go though? I found a lifting routine called 'lifting for skinny guys' but never tried it.

 

[esom]

Don't know if I agree with this philosophy but I have never really done weightlifting so my thoughts are worth nothing on this particular topic.

Haha, btw it´s no big effort to twist it around as an argument. As you have never done weightlifting at ALL, your thoughts are worth MOST- how could one state in a better way, what weightlifting is not needed for, than you ;-)

 

[MartinTee]

Haha, btw it´s no big effort to twist it around as an argument. As you have never done weightlifting at ALL, your thoughts are worth MOST- how could one state in a better way, what weightlifting is not needed for than you ;-)

I don't understand what you have said but I 100% agree. rofl

 

[Andrew the fish]

Easy to understand really, translating: "if you feel okay abot yourself and newer done weightlifting than you are an endorsement to the idea that weightlifting is not really necessary". City blokes talk, bunch of toothpicks who is missing big part of being a man.

 

[esom]

Andrew you got me wrong. i wasn´t saying that somebody who did never lift weights and feels good with it, is an endorsement for the idea, that weightlifting is not necessary.
i said that such a guy knows, what weightlifting is not needed for. this is toothpicking, i know. btw personally, i need this wooden thing to toothpick around, or otherwise speak/write ;-)

 

[Andrew the fish]

ok folks, we end up in this " he said - I said" kind of discussion. Weight lifting is an integral part of any kind of fitness regimen. One can dodge this for a while, but eventually will have to catch up. Original question was what comes first. My idea is that freediving cannot be a mainstream of fitness program. Heart muscles must work hard sometimes, your pulse have to clock up to 200bpm once in a while. Your sceleton have to bear some serious load if you want to be healthy at your later years. Freediving alone gives none of it.

 

[MartinTee]

ok folks, we end up in this " he said - I said" kind of discussion. Weight lifting is an integral part of any kind of fitness regimen. One can dodge this for a while, but eventually will have to catch up. Original question was what comes first. My idea is that freediving cannot be a mainstream of fitness program. Heart muscles must work hard sometimes, your pulse have to clock up to 200bpm once in a while. Your sceleton have to bear some serious load if you want to be healthy at your later years. Freediving alone gives none of it.

Never heard about serious loads and weightlifting helping people in their later years. I'll look in to this.