Hi all, this is my very first time making a post even though i've been reading for quite a long time. This forum can be quite intimidating.
Anyways, this thread is about how we train and how we teach others, simply put, add the way you train (gladly which techniques, how often, intensity, breaks, breathhold and so on). I am also aware that there is another thread concerning this, but it is very incomplete and i plan to use this for my personal study and it is easier for me to keep track of it all like this, hope its okay!
Here are some of my thoughts concerning my own training (which i hopefully can pass on to beginner and intermediate freedivers as well)
Here goes:
Elementchange :
The change from a gas element (the air) and solid element (the earth) to the liquid element (the water). This change is both stressful physically and mentally and therefore requires a lot of training and 'getting used to'. Now as far as I know, it is commonly referred to as aquaticy (how comfortable you feel and move around in the water). This is one of the first steps for the apneist and can be trained through various exercises and games which will be mentioned later. (The mammalian dive reflex does by the way belong in this category as well, as elementchange is not solely effected by mental aquaticy and experience in water, but is also a purely physical response).
Movement:
This is closely related to elementchange but in this sense, it is not only meant to be basic understanding of movement in water but also how to maximize effectiveness of your strokes during DNF etc.
Relaxation:
Mental training is required to be able to relax and increase apnea. Breathhold can be increased by dry apnea training where focus is on relaxation, or by finding loopholes in your mind in order to increase it. These loopholes are in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) known as "anchors", which simply is a trigger point in your mind that is trained to activate a certain response, fx relaxation (One of my own is that whenever I see large volumes of water I immediately and instinctively start to breathe deep and slow as if preparing to enter the deep blue). This is also useful during static apnea and especially in the SP (struggle phase) as a DC (diaphragm contraction) can become a trigger for further relaxation or some other 'nice' feeling which allows the apneist to endure the SP longer than normal. The key to creating an anchor can be anything, but in order to train it, it is important to do the anchor whenever you get that feeling naturally. A good example is as follows: this anchor is for increased relaxation, and can be visual or not, but in this example it is visual. The anchor is to see large volumes of water, which again triggers deep slow breathing and further relaxation. In order for this to become natural/instinct, it is important to do it naturally, so fx when I drive past the ocean on my bike or pass a lake, I have to start breathing deeply and slowly in order for it to become an instinctive response. If the training gets the acquired effect, you should as mentioned above, begin relaxation, and deep slow breaths whenever you see a large volume of water, preparing you for the dive before you even enter the water. This is just an example, and it must be noted that there exists no known limit to these anchors and it should therefore be possible to create a large amount of anchors surrounding freediving in order for it to become more successful. It does however take quite a long time to create those anchors, but once they are there it will also require a conscience effort or a long timeperiod before the anchor is removed again.
Depth:
This is a specific category under mental, physical and movement training. I should first of all mention equalization. There are various different techniques that can be used in order to equalize properly at depth but does your ear ever hurt or can you not equalize unless forced, it must be demanded that you exit the dive immediately and remain on shallow waters as a ruptured eardrum (or worse) can be not only damaging but seriously detrimental to your freediving. Another physical challenge for the apneist going deep, is lung squeeze. Almost all good freedivers have experienced this at one point or another, but it cannot be stressed enough that lung squeeze is serious and can cause irreversible damage and stop your freediving career permanently. Increase your depth record slowly, as your body needs time to adjust to the increased pressure. Your mind also needs adjustment to the increased pressure as relaxation often gets interrupted whenever you face a new sensation (such as increased pressure) and your apnea is therefore limited compared to your standard. The ocean is furthermore a vast unexplored place and it is easy to become intimidated when one see's the waves or the blue/dark surrounding you. The trick to this category is simply put to learn proper equalization techniques (which can be found when searching around this forum and others) as well as going deeper slowly, letting your mind and body adjust to the new conditions.
Apnea: (Apnea means to hold your breath.)
This falls under both the mental and physical part of training, as it can be done static (not moving at all but relaxing while holding your breath), DNF (dynamic no fins, meaning you swim a certain distance under water holding your breath using only your arms and legs), DYN (Dynamic, meaning you swim a certain distance under water holding your breath using fins of some sort (monofin is preferred by many freedivers these days)). Apnea endurance can be trained mentally through anchors in your mind (see above for further info) as well as physically by letting the body adapt to high CO2 levels as well as low O2 levels, thereby letting the DC's come later during a dive than otherwise.
Alright this was my first post explaining the basic thoughts concerning my training and teaching in freediving. Next time I will give concrete examples and comments concerning exercises for various categories and goals. And you are naturally also free to post comments, exercises etc. of your own in this thread ^_^
Sorry for the post being so long by the way, I know I say a lot of unnecessary stuff but that is just the way I am
Anyways, this thread is about how we train and how we teach others, simply put, add the way you train (gladly which techniques, how often, intensity, breaks, breathhold and so on). I am also aware that there is another thread concerning this, but it is very incomplete and i plan to use this for my personal study and it is easier for me to keep track of it all like this, hope its okay!
Here are some of my thoughts concerning my own training (which i hopefully can pass on to beginner and intermediate freedivers as well)
Here goes:
Elementchange :
The change from a gas element (the air) and solid element (the earth) to the liquid element (the water). This change is both stressful physically and mentally and therefore requires a lot of training and 'getting used to'. Now as far as I know, it is commonly referred to as aquaticy (how comfortable you feel and move around in the water). This is one of the first steps for the apneist and can be trained through various exercises and games which will be mentioned later. (The mammalian dive reflex does by the way belong in this category as well, as elementchange is not solely effected by mental aquaticy and experience in water, but is also a purely physical response).
Movement:
This is closely related to elementchange but in this sense, it is not only meant to be basic understanding of movement in water but also how to maximize effectiveness of your strokes during DNF etc.
Relaxation:
Mental training is required to be able to relax and increase apnea. Breathhold can be increased by dry apnea training where focus is on relaxation, or by finding loopholes in your mind in order to increase it. These loopholes are in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) known as "anchors", which simply is a trigger point in your mind that is trained to activate a certain response, fx relaxation (One of my own is that whenever I see large volumes of water I immediately and instinctively start to breathe deep and slow as if preparing to enter the deep blue). This is also useful during static apnea and especially in the SP (struggle phase) as a DC (diaphragm contraction) can become a trigger for further relaxation or some other 'nice' feeling which allows the apneist to endure the SP longer than normal. The key to creating an anchor can be anything, but in order to train it, it is important to do the anchor whenever you get that feeling naturally. A good example is as follows: this anchor is for increased relaxation, and can be visual or not, but in this example it is visual. The anchor is to see large volumes of water, which again triggers deep slow breathing and further relaxation. In order for this to become natural/instinct, it is important to do it naturally, so fx when I drive past the ocean on my bike or pass a lake, I have to start breathing deeply and slowly in order for it to become an instinctive response. If the training gets the acquired effect, you should as mentioned above, begin relaxation, and deep slow breaths whenever you see a large volume of water, preparing you for the dive before you even enter the water. This is just an example, and it must be noted that there exists no known limit to these anchors and it should therefore be possible to create a large amount of anchors surrounding freediving in order for it to become more successful. It does however take quite a long time to create those anchors, but once they are there it will also require a conscience effort or a long timeperiod before the anchor is removed again.
Depth:
This is a specific category under mental, physical and movement training. I should first of all mention equalization. There are various different techniques that can be used in order to equalize properly at depth but does your ear ever hurt or can you not equalize unless forced, it must be demanded that you exit the dive immediately and remain on shallow waters as a ruptured eardrum (or worse) can be not only damaging but seriously detrimental to your freediving. Another physical challenge for the apneist going deep, is lung squeeze. Almost all good freedivers have experienced this at one point or another, but it cannot be stressed enough that lung squeeze is serious and can cause irreversible damage and stop your freediving career permanently. Increase your depth record slowly, as your body needs time to adjust to the increased pressure. Your mind also needs adjustment to the increased pressure as relaxation often gets interrupted whenever you face a new sensation (such as increased pressure) and your apnea is therefore limited compared to your standard. The ocean is furthermore a vast unexplored place and it is easy to become intimidated when one see's the waves or the blue/dark surrounding you. The trick to this category is simply put to learn proper equalization techniques (which can be found when searching around this forum and others) as well as going deeper slowly, letting your mind and body adjust to the new conditions.
Apnea: (Apnea means to hold your breath.)
This falls under both the mental and physical part of training, as it can be done static (not moving at all but relaxing while holding your breath), DNF (dynamic no fins, meaning you swim a certain distance under water holding your breath using only your arms and legs), DYN (Dynamic, meaning you swim a certain distance under water holding your breath using fins of some sort (monofin is preferred by many freedivers these days)). Apnea endurance can be trained mentally through anchors in your mind (see above for further info) as well as physically by letting the body adapt to high CO2 levels as well as low O2 levels, thereby letting the DC's come later during a dive than otherwise.
Alright this was my first post explaining the basic thoughts concerning my training and teaching in freediving. Next time I will give concrete examples and comments concerning exercises for various categories and goals. And you are naturally also free to post comments, exercises etc. of your own in this thread ^_^
Sorry for the post being so long by the way, I know I say a lot of unnecessary stuff but that is just the way I am
