Hi guys, long time reader here at Deeper Blue, wanted to see if anyone had any advice they could help me out with on my current situation.
I have been dealing with this issue with squeezes up to the point where I am feeling like I need to address this seriously or it will be the end of my freediving journey so I am planning on taking this next stage very seriously to keep my love alive for freediving. Before going into details, one thing to note is that while I did start in the water with my keen interest in freediving and practicing pure freediving, I have ended spearfishing about 90% of the time I go into the ocean and all my injuries have happened while spearfishing. Another point to make is that I recently got down to 80 feet line diving without issues. So, I do mention spearfishing, which might very well be the crux of my issues (with the lack of attention that can be paid on form, etc.) but come here asking this question with the intention of giving up spearfishing altogether to just focus on my freediving which is what I really love most. So I'm just asking for advice and wanted to see if anyone can point me to exercises, stretches, etc. that might be useful for me to focus on from here on out. Plus, I guess, to gather advice on how serious this problem is for me and if I might have permanent weakness from here on out. Along with my question here, I am considering paying for some consultations with freediving coaches out there so that's how serious I am about tackling this problem.
So to go into details, I am having issues with repetitive squeezes, I believe most (if not all) have been trachea. It seems they are occurring shallower and shallower each time, last one was 13 meters. I follow the recovery protocols that are out there, with weeks and sometimes even months to rest each time but in these last 3-4 years of diving, I have probably had 2 "moderate-severe" squeezes, about 5 "moderate" squeezes, and 5 what you could classify as "minor" squeezes. I am not sure if I am maybe just very prone to injury or if I am doing something wrong with technique but I am hyper aware of it now so I am always vigilant during dives to keep my chin tucked, try to avoid strong contractions, etc, etc. I am not sure if it is possibly being caused by a bad frenzel equalization or what it is, it is a mystery. I have had a period of time in between squeezes about a year ago where I was free from injury, this was a period of time where I was most dedicated to dry training (multiple apnea walk, apnea squat sessions per week, alongside a dive day on the weekend), have been thinking this possibly could be my solution too.
I am coming to the point where I am thinking I might have to either just dive very shallow, or even if it is game over for me in this sport that I love. At the least, I surely feel limited in how far I can progress and the mental block is there.
Any advice or quick thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
I have been dealing with this issue with squeezes up to the point where I am feeling like I need to address this seriously or it will be the end of my freediving journey so I am planning on taking this next stage very seriously to keep my love alive for freediving. Before going into details, one thing to note is that while I did start in the water with my keen interest in freediving and practicing pure freediving, I have ended spearfishing about 90% of the time I go into the ocean and all my injuries have happened while spearfishing. Another point to make is that I recently got down to 80 feet line diving without issues. So, I do mention spearfishing, which might very well be the crux of my issues (with the lack of attention that can be paid on form, etc.) but come here asking this question with the intention of giving up spearfishing altogether to just focus on my freediving which is what I really love most. So I'm just asking for advice and wanted to see if anyone can point me to exercises, stretches, etc. that might be useful for me to focus on from here on out. Plus, I guess, to gather advice on how serious this problem is for me and if I might have permanent weakness from here on out. Along with my question here, I am considering paying for some consultations with freediving coaches out there so that's how serious I am about tackling this problem.
So to go into details, I am having issues with repetitive squeezes, I believe most (if not all) have been trachea. It seems they are occurring shallower and shallower each time, last one was 13 meters. I follow the recovery protocols that are out there, with weeks and sometimes even months to rest each time but in these last 3-4 years of diving, I have probably had 2 "moderate-severe" squeezes, about 5 "moderate" squeezes, and 5 what you could classify as "minor" squeezes. I am not sure if I am maybe just very prone to injury or if I am doing something wrong with technique but I am hyper aware of it now so I am always vigilant during dives to keep my chin tucked, try to avoid strong contractions, etc, etc. I am not sure if it is possibly being caused by a bad frenzel equalization or what it is, it is a mystery. I have had a period of time in between squeezes about a year ago where I was free from injury, this was a period of time where I was most dedicated to dry training (multiple apnea walk, apnea squat sessions per week, alongside a dive day on the weekend), have been thinking this possibly could be my solution too.
I am coming to the point where I am thinking I might have to either just dive very shallow, or even if it is game over for me in this sport that I love. At the least, I surely feel limited in how far I can progress and the mental block is there.
Any advice or quick thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
