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How does body fat effect freediving performance

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.
soda...worst case, 1wk to ten days...caffeine only stays in the body 16 hours (avg.) but the routine and habitual effect mentally and on your body takes longer to get over. (Sometimes I can just not drink coffee after having it for weeks and other times I get head aches and crave it for like a week or more.)

cramps, there are many factors, hydration for sure but some say bananas help, which is potassium rich. Fibrous diets help get rid of muscle cramps. Hydrate long before you do something physical and try stretching more often.

I get cramps in my feet and it is hard to tell exactly why but they happen less the more I prepare overall diet and hydration.

Hydration and muscle stretching for cramps but consistent not just when it happens. When you know your gonna dive try preparing for it more before hand.
 
alright sounds good. i have been trying to stretch more because im not very flexible. the tendon that runs down the back of your heel... its always sore when im diving. im guessing i need to get use to my new much larger fins.

ill try to drink water and stretch before each dive from now on.
 
In my experience, for freediving, body fat is a total waste of time, and energy. It certainly hinders improvements in fitness, flexibility and streamlining. Training is harder and improvements slower. You get puffed out doing the easiest things...................but when you train to reduce body fat (rather than diet to reduce it) your training will ultimately reward you more once you are toned. Power to weight ratios improve fantastically, eg your leg kick is strong because it has spent 12 months pushing 120 kgs, that extra strength pays off when you are 100 (more streamlined kgs). You also have the phsycological advantage that you were once fat, but now you are fit and improving all the time. The improvements in static will probably come because of the fitness received through training rather than simply because you have less blubber. Although it seems likely to me that your o2 stores have to pump through so much more body when you are fat, than if you were slim and that seems less efficient.
 
Hayden,

If I understand what you are saying, a diver would be better off as a heavier runner/weightlifter than a skinny dieter when it comes to performance?

Jon
 
I read recently a rather good freediver who had a %20 drop in performance doing cardio.

Stay fat Haydn, we all love you you cuddly bunny

I've seen you flying down to 50m + with a wetsuit ironed on a Wok mate. Stop reading OK magazine!!
 
Jared: re coffee and 16 hours. Well it took me 2 weeks to kick it and now i feel great, and dives have increased a lot, i would say 20 to 25% in the past 4 months.

i think just the simple act of sacrificing something (burgers, pizza, coffee, whatever) shows a commitment to the sport that pays back big time mentally, and therefore, to a lesser degree, physically.
 
well i havent had soda in four days now and i have constant headaches... pills dont help... so i am drinking a large soda right now because im diving tomorrow morning and i cant have a throbbing headache the whole time.. so after tomorrow ill hopefully have enough time to the next dive to get over it all together.
 
That's because you are having with drawal symptoms not much unlike people hooked on druga or caffeine or anything really, the head ache could also be due to dehydration, make sure you are drinking anough water. The most important thing to remember is everything in moderation!!!! Like the guy on the left, your left not his:friday
 
yea i figured its somthing along those lines. so after tomorrows dive ill attempt to cut off soda once again, this time for the whole week and hopefully by next weekend ill have gotten over the caffeine needs and lose the headaches in time for the next dive.


i have been drinking alot of water so im sure im plenty hydrated.
 
Hi Jon, I think I mean that if you are fat and train yourself down to a lower weight, your training will have been tougher than if you were already skinny and just trained normally. You would be used to pushing a bigger mass through the water and be able to adjust technique to be better streamlined. A skinny person is already streamlined and therefore will not recognise bad technique. A skinny person will also have had an easier time training and will therefore have less in the bank. The reasoning is a simple question about fitness and technique that a fat person will benefit from due to training. It doesnt answer whether o2 goes further in a fat person or skinny person for static apnea.

And for those who like the blubber belly, you better get your cuddle in now, its great for long distance swimming without a suit and for storing calories for when you cant eat enough later. But frankly, I reckon I would be better if I lost 30/40 lbs and thats the target for the next 6 months.
 

Do you drink Diet Soda? Aspartame can cause wicked withdrawal side effects. I have a friend who went cold turkey after 10 years of sugar-free gum, diet soda and Equal. She was amazed at how different she felt after she emerged from the withdrawal symptoms. But her cold turkey was difficult and had some severe side effects such as headaches.

Otherwise, if could just be a caffeine withdrawal.

Pete
 
You wont get caffeine withdrawal by stopping red bull and cola type drinks, you have to stop tea, coffee and a whole lot else too. Otherwise whats the point? "Oh, I dont drink that stuff anyway" he says whilst puffing on a spliff.

I weigh 221 lbs and at 5'8" dropping 30 lbs or so is not just a matter of benefiting a few seconds more on my static. But allows me to train hard over the summer and finish it at a sensible fit and toned weight and not as a stick insect, having burnt off the muscle.
 
when you say train what all does that include. because i rarely do anything outside actually diving in the ocean. i feel like im at the stage where most of my improvements can be made thru time spent in the ocean rather then say trying to burn off weight to maximize my ability. bassically i havent even used all my potential as i am now. everytime i go out i get better breath holds and dive deeper. not that ive tried to see how deep i can dive or anything.
 
well the thread kinda fell off the page but the good news is i successfully quit soda.. only thing i drink now is water. and as a posotive side effect i no longer have the desire to drink alcohol... AND... ive lost 17lbs so far. im pretty steadily losing weight now. i hope to make it to the 200lb marker.. my starting weight was 232lbs and im 215 now.:martial
 
Reactions: Lyoshka
Nice job. As for the alcohol...

actually, my training schedule often says 'have a beer and chill'
 

Second that. Excess sugar is bad enough but aspartame (and other artificial sweeteners) are much worse. They became so popular there is no single restaurant left without them, and they have been advertised as healthy alternative so masses think they are.
And then cancers became as common as flu.
 
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