running, fitness and freediving?

[dom12]

Going for a jog is an aerobic excercise right? is that kind of exercise bad for freediving?
i hear aerobic exercise makes your body better at consuming oxygen right?
so therefore should i do anaerobic exercises such as 100m sprints with 2 minutes breath ups and shorten recovery breath up each time.
doing this will that make me better at dealing with co2, and lower my heart rate by making my heart stronger??

Dom.

 

[Simos]

Sprinting should work well - I haven't tried but it should. I think 200m might work better but just a guess
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[Bill McIntyre]

This doesn't directly answer your question, but its another data point.

In my early 20s when I was mostly a weight lifter, my resting heart rate was over 70.

In my late 30s, I started running distances and did a few marathons. My heart rate came down to around 38.

In my early 40s I started getting tibial stress fractures, so I switched to cycling.

I'm 72 now, and my resting heart rate is still 38-39. However, my breath hold is still mediocre.

I guess I should add that I'm a spearfisherman, and have never done any pure freediving for time and depth. However, it seems that there is more to bottom time than heart rate.

 

[Simos]

Totally agree with Bill, theoretically it makes sense to have a higher heart rate before the hold to oxygenate the body and drop it during the hold.

I think a key factor is to 'build' the right type of blood over the years and make your body adapt and minimise O2 consumption. Distance running doesn't help with either it seems although this should not misinterpreted with no exercise - the top freedivers look pretty fit to me but have probably built their fitness in other ways than long distance running eg weight training, yoga, swimming(you can make this pretty anaerobic)/Freediving and sprints/interval training? Just a guess..
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[dom12]

i guess that all makes sense, which is why on my training days, im going to to do some depths in the ocean(only 30 ft) and lower surface intervals, then sprints and lower breath ups in between each one, and i like the idea of doing 200m instead of 100m.
although i think 100 may be more beneficial as apparently you only breath once during a 100m sprint (very anaerobic).

Thanks for the great info guys! Simos..always great to hear from you!

 

[hteas]

You also need to look at what you are trying to do.
As a spearfisherman and recreational freediver I am more interested in long sessions in the water, compared to an apneast who will make one try for time, depth, or distance in a day.
For me, aerobic training (cycling in my case, although I also do wind sprints with a kickboard in the pool as well for recovery training) is very useful
If I were trying for a max, I would focus on anarobic exercise, like the wind sprints and forget most of those long aerobic workouts.

 

[dom12]

Well, i am trying to go deeper, trying to do longer aspettos and at doing aspettos at greater depths.
Also swimming along an through a reef for longer at greater depths.
Thats why i have been doing tables, anaerobic exercise, (also diving a smuch as possible).
is there any great advice or specific exercise or routine i should strat doing for what i want to ahcieve??

Dom.

 

[shrek]

Everyone i'm sure has a different opinion on this but here is my thoughts
A good base fitness level is essential for any sport, so do some running cycling or what ever.
Then do sport specific training, in your case breathold.
Ive just completed a 6 month training cycle and are preparing to restart the cardio phase again where i will cycle 3 times a week and only dive 1/2 times a week then in a few months i will drop the cardio off again and really hammer the breathhold.
I think the fitness training lets you recover faster in the breathold training letting you improve faster.
Also stops me from getting stale with training, i have to rotate it around to keep it fresh

 

[Simos]

Agree with Shrek - for sure a certain base level of fitness is a must. Sometimes just swimming to the location you want to dive takes a decent amount of effort and you need to be able to recover fast and be able to drop your HR quickly.

In general on DB everyone will give advice on specific questions (eg should I be doing lots of running etc) but it doesn't mean that if someone says 'do sprints' instead that's ALL you should do.

I am sure most top freedivers do a rounded training regime to train different aspects that are needed for freediving. as an example, have a look at what we train at our club: NoTanx Freedive Club and Apnea School | notanx - if you scroll down to the training system section you'll see the different aspects we train. Under 'physical' there is cardiovascular and specific.

So whether or not you agree with the specifics of a training system I would encourage you to have a balanced training regime and not have a single training 'exercise'. Vary your training and try to identify what it is that is limiting you at each stage and work on it.

I find that it's tempting to always think that to go deeper you just need to 'hold your breath for longer' but very often improving your technique will give you much bigger gains as well as being able to relax more, equalise with less effort etc.
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[shrek]

I find that it's tempting to always think that to go deeper you just need to 'hold your breath for longer' but very often improving your technique will give you much bigger gains as well as being able to relax more, equalise with less effort etc.

Well said Simos
The more you get into this sport the more involved it becomes (once the basics are mastered the is a whole lot of technique to learn)

 

[dom12]

That is very true, i know that as i always relax myself before a dive, i swim slow, deep long soothing breaths (also to clear dead air spaces in the snorkel).
Ido yoga also, some nice stretches and corpse pose at the end to completely relax, should i do yoga just before entering the water, would that help alot more?
I then pre equalise and do a nice slow and smooth vertical duck dive, i swim very slowly down, equalising every3-4 feet.
What else should i be doing to fix my technigue, or to make what i am already doing smoother and use up less air??

Dom.

 

[shrek]

Again this is only my thought's others may have a different opinion
Yoga is a big yes making you more flexible will help you achive depth also will reduce the risk of cramp on bigger days just like any sport (warm up stretching) also helps with relaxation
As for the mental side of things i find the biggest part is having a dive buddy i can truely trust. This really helps me relax knowing that the person safetying me is paying attention and is comeptent to rescue me.
So look at part of your training in terms of what your buddy knows once you have dived with someone for a while you will only truely relax once you completely trust your safety

 

[dom12]

Thanks, yes i have full trust in my dive buddys, we always dive in a group of three.
Sorry for further questioning but im interested in the yoga information you said.. is that actualy accurate, does yoga and being flexible help you achive depth..how?

 

[pingshui]

As your lungs shrink while you go deeper you will have less air for equalization until the point, where you cannot equalize anymore. Having a flexible diaphragm and thorax will help push this point further. Moreover, flexibility helps reduce the risk of lung squeeze!