New to freediving!!

[Dybvik]

Hello guys!

Im new to freediving, i`ve been snorkeling and dipping down to 10-15m but noting special. but in the start of this season i got a pair of mares razor pro as a birthday gift from my girl friend witch made change! i could go for longer and deeper and it felt good!!

me and some friends started going out after work to do some training on going deep and just loving diving without scuba. We decided to go for a dive
on the Liberty (Paralimni, Cyprus), witch is a wreck that lies down on the bottom at 28m. First couple of dives where amazing, i got all the way down with my new fins!!

we did about 7 or 8 dives each before my friend blacked out on hes last dive. he got up to the surface and was talking for about 5 sec before he fainted. i managed to grab him and pull the buoy we had witch us to make sure we where floating. he started breathing by him selfe again after 2-3 sec but i keept holding him for at least 1 min!

this little episode here made me think a little.....im doing my course!!
im planning to start when i get back to cyprus after Christmas when the weather is a little calmer.

but until then, is there anyone who can give me some advice on either dry training or pool stuff i can do to "learn" faster on the course?

Many Thanks, Dybvik!

 

[Dybvik]

i would love to learn how to hold my breath for longer. currently i can onlly do 1,20..

 

[esom]

Hi dybvik,
in your question i see another question integrated: "how do you learn?" i hope you get kind of an answer to this at the most.

happy diving! regards

 

[Apneaddict]

Your friend is EXTREMELY lucky that you were there at that very moment.

You can figure out what would have happened if you had been under / just starting your dive. Not only would your friend have lost his life, but it would have haunted the rest of yours.

He had a shallow water blackout which can happen even after surfacing. They can occur even if you dive shallow to say only 10-15m.

I'd suggest that none of you do any more diving until you take a introductory course and learn the basics of safety and safety'ing each other.

This is a marathon, not a sprint. Do it right and enjoy Freediving safely for the next 40+ yrs.

It's just not worth the risk, which I'm sure you can now appreciate, having seen it with your own eyes. Next time, if it's you that blacks out... Don't you want a well-trained safety / buddy there for you??

Have fun and dive smart / safe.

 

[Apneaddict]

Read the entire post "how to start Freediving". It's a good grasp of the basics / fundamentals.

You can do "tables" dry to help increase your breathhold time. If you can hold only for 1:20, I'd suggest that CO2 tables will initially make the biggest difference.

In fact, Do a series of 5 maximum breathholds first thing in the AM with a 3 min recovery in between. They should get more or less progressively easier and longer.

After doing this routine 3-5 times over a week or two (take a day off inbetween sessions) you should be surprised / impressed with your progress.

On the off-days when you aren't training, work on convincing your friends to take the apnea course with you!

All time well spent!

 

[Dybvik]

Thanks for reply Apneaddict!

yes it was a big wakeup call for me, and i havent done any freediving since.
a friend of mine has done hes instructor course so im planning to do it with him after holidays. im also gonna stop smoking before i do any more diving (i smoke 20-25 a day)!

I will start doing the tables, and will keep updated to see how it goes!

Thanks again apneaddict!