Senior Freediving

[alchemist]

Hello from Essex in the UK!
I am a 53 year old who has become interested in freediving over the last year or so. I tend to be more into such things as static apnea and DNF and....
I have a question:
Are all the records, both international and national, just general or is there any age categorisation such as you have in cycling or golf?
I ask this as it would seem to be a difficult task to catch up with guys and girls 30 years my junior but feel that I am doing reasonably well with the training and would like to know what kind of targets I should be aiming for.
If anyone can shed any light on this question I would be greatful!

 

[cdavis]

Hi Alchemist,

Welcome to DB, its a fun place and very encouraging for "mature" divers.

No masters program for freedivers, sorry. However, I'm not sure we need one. I'm 57 and diving deeper every year. There are some pretty "long in the tooth" divers who are going past 50 meters, and I think a grandmother still holds one of the US records. Ain't it great.

Your own training depends on how intense you want to get and how long you keep it up. Genetics probably helps, but I find that steady practice still pays steady dividends.

Connor

 

[trux]

Don't worry about your age. In freediving the same proverb as for the whisky stands - the older the better. There are many national and even world record holders who are far over 40, 50, or even 60. Check out the following post - it lists couple of them: http://forums.deeperblue.net/general-freediving/70245-freediving-age.html#8

 

[alchemist]

Thanks you Trux and CDavis!
It is encouraging to know that so many of the best freedivers are a tad long in the tooth! I followed down some of those leads and found some interesting information. I particularly like the part about slower metabolism may actually help the older diver, kinda nice to think of age actually being an advantage for a change.
My own efforts are at an early stage but am up to 50M DNF in the pool and a breath hold of 3 minute 30. That last figure has improved quite nicely since downloading a little training program from I.F.A - Freediving In Israel - Education
The way it is going there should hopefully be more to com.
George

 

[trux]

That last figure has improved quite nicely since downloading a little training program from I.F.A - Freediving In Israel - Education

That one is, I believe, from Ricochet (also a DB member). It would be kind of I.F.A. if they credited him properly for it and did not offer it as if it came from them.

There are also some other apnea programs with different features. You can see most of them listed here: software @ APNEA.cz
My Apnea Training Manager tries to go little bit further and offers more than just plain CO2/O2 tables - it offers also entire training sessions (both for static and dynamic training) and many other features.

 

[Bill]

Hi Essex Alchemist
We tried senior records in the US but some young gal in her 50s set most of the female records and three world marks too. Caused a few problems. There is no question that you lose one heartbeat every year all else being equal. Trouble is, all else is never equal and heartrate is only limiting at max aerobic effort. Nothing in free diving is ever done at max aerobic effort, nothing.
My view is a little jaded of course but like my father told me, 'you never know until you try'.

 

[alchemist]

Thanks Bill,
The replies I have had since have certainly offered a different perspective on the issue. I am quite into NLP and there they have the concept of a reframe. With the seniors thing I had a frame that was quite negative but the posts I have received since have almost forced a reframe...hey, its not so bad after all!
George