Training in the off season/Winter

[DiverTodd]

Hi everyone,

I thought it would be interesting/enlightening to discuss what everyone does to keep in freediving shape during the off season (or, for those of us in colder climates, the Fall and Winter months). Here's my typical week (when I can stick to it, working midnight shift from Oct. to Jan can be exhausting!);

Sunday; 25 mins on eliptical machine, last 5 mins doing a breath hold pattern alternating between breathing for 20 seconds, then holding for 10 to 15 seconds.

Monday; CO2 tolerance table

Tuesday; Swimming, 400 yrds freestyle, 400 yrds sidestroke

Wednesday; CO2 tolerance table

Thursday; Swimming, same as Tuesday.

Friday; O2 tolerance table, 25 mins on eliptical machine same as Sunday.

Saturday; REST!!

Off night from work (varies), once a week; Freediving skills in 12' deep, 25m long pool; 5 min. facial immersion, 10 entries/proper descent form, dynamic training (at least one attempt), proper kicking practice (flutter, dolphin), 3 negative pressure dives. This usually replaces whatever training I would have done that day.

Actually, this is pretty close to my ON season training, too, only in the warmer months I can do actual freedives in a local quarry, and apnea walks outside.

Todd

 

[harbour seal]

there are some excellent articles on deeperblue written by experienced divers that pertain to winter training:


When the weather outside is frightful -- part 1 and 2
http://www.deeperblue.net/article.php/303/17

http://www.deeperblue.net/article.php/306/17


A winter training program for freedivers-- part 1 and 2
http://www.deeperblue.net/article.php/693/17

http://www.deeperblue.net/article.php/695/17


Cross training for freedivers --- part 1 and 2
http://www.deeperblue.net/article.php/511/17

http://www.deeperblue.net/article.php/513/17



i am still pretty new to this and thus this is my first winter for freediving training. i would be interested to see what other divers are doing.

cheers,

sean
vancouver, canada

 

[sanso]

Hey seal,

I'm just reading through the articles You linked to. This is my first winter / cold season as a freediver as well, so I'm in a similar situation.
Luckily I found a well-seasoned freediver (Andreas Falkenroth) who also lives by The Lake™ ( Lake Constance, that is ). I could pick his brain as to what to do and he suggested endurance training (high pulse, high lactate) - as a safe choice.

So, until I have a winter suit, I'll most likely stick to pool-sessions and riding my bike to work really hard. :martial

sanso

 

[jome]

This week, I have mostly been running.

Or is it this year...Anyway, I have no clue how it will in the end affect my apnea, but I'm sure to let you know

 

[naiad]

And I have mostly been walking uphill. rofl

Haven't got much choice about it, as I am staying in a very hilly area. I will see if it has any positive effect on my training - none so far, as I am too tired to do any serious dynamic training.

 

[DiverTodd]

I feel your pain, Naiad; I'm working midnight shifts now, and it's really starting to mess with my training. The fatique kinda shoots down the motivation. Hopefully, getting back in the 12' deep pool next week again will kick-start things. I'm still seeing increases here and there, though; now, when I start my apnea 20 mins in on my eliptical, I'm able to get in a few cycles of breathe 20 seconds/hold 20 seconds before I have to back down to breathe for 20/hold for 15. And it does seem to be helping to increase my breath holds! But then, that's what cardio apnea training is for!

Todd

 

[naiad]

Midnight shifts? That must make training hard. I get so tired with college. Even if I try to get enough rest, it is hard to get up early and be walking around the college all day. I recover during the weekends. Last night I slept for 12 hours! rofl

 

[iceselkie]

I've added Bikram Yoga to my routine. It's great, has pranayama, some awesome back stretching/strengthening poses for the monofinning... PLUS I get to sweat, which is something I need to do because I work in the pool 5 days a week and need to cycle the chlorine out. Also I teach Aquafit twice a week and swim 2k on Fridays plus weighted eggbeater.
http://tru.ca/news/stories05dec6/bikramyogaf.htm

 

[sanso]

Todd,

what's an eliptical? Could You post a link or explain?

cheers,

sanso

 

[KatFish]

I've added Bikram Yoga to my routine. It's great, has pranayama, some awesome back stretching/strengthening poses for the monofinning... PLUS I get to sweat, which is something I need to do because I work in the pool 5 days a week and need to cycle the chlorine out. Also I teach Aquafit twice a week and swim 2k on Fridays plus weighted eggbeater.
http://tru.ca/news/stories05dec6/bikramyogaf.htm

I love bikram yoga. The room is heated to about 40 degrees and its like a big hot massage, but great for fitness too. Statics feel really great the day after, but due to my competitive nature of pushing maybe a little too far (as the heat allows you to do) I can usually feel new muscles impacting on my dynamics. Lots of poses are directly beneficial to freediving techniques. I'd highly recommend trying it - and you won't feel the cold after for ages - just like a tropical island holiday...

 

[rbsub]

And I have mostly been walking uphill. rofl

Haven't got much choice about it, as I am staying in a very hilly area. I will see if it has any positive effect on my training - none so far, as I am too tired to do any serious dynamic training.

Isn't that perfect for apnea walks?? That must be good as a dynamic training.

 

[DiverTodd]

Todd,

what's an eliptical? Could You post a link or explain?

cheers,

sanso

Sanso,

An eliptical machine is a machine with two foot pads to stand on, and two long bars to hang onto. It kind of simulates the motion of walking up steps, while your arms pull back and forth like using ski poles. Great for cardio training, as you can vary the speed of your workout, and you can also increase resistance! I did my last routine on it on Sun, and when I hit the apnea portion for the last 5 mins, I managed 3 full 20 second holds, before I had to back down to 15 second holds. Next, I shoot for FOUR. It's always great to see increases in ability, it's very inspiring. Today, I swam my usual 400 yrds, and for the first 100 yrds, I breathed on every 10th stroke (which meant I only took one breath across the entire length of the pool), which was an improvement over my last session, where I took a breath on every 8th stroke! Later, I have to do my CO2 static table, and I have to bump the hold up to 2:30, since I made it through the 2:15 table last week! Hopefully, I can make it through MOST of it, too!

Todd

 

[laminar]

Hi Todd,

When you are doing your training, don't forget about not overtraining, especially with apnea exercise and that to really get the most out of your sets, they need to be intense enough and applied in such a way that your body has a chance to adjust.

I think many of us make the mistake of trying to improve an exercise every day (I used to do this too). For example, you mention trying to improve the number of reps of apnea stairmaster each day. If you continue this way, your body will improve somewhat, but you never give your body the chance to really adapt to the stress of the exercise. Much better would be to figure out a baseline number of reps (say 3 reps of 20 seconds each) and then repeat that workout until it gets easy, say perhaps after a week or two, then increase the number of reps to four or five.

The other question I have for you is whether you can be doing something even more specific in terms of apnea exercise. I have experimented extensively with the kind of short interval execise and found that it didn't do much for my static or constant weight performance in the long run. I got a lot better at exhale apnea stairmaster (20-30 minutes of 20 seconds apnea on empty lungs and 10-15 seconds recovery) but it didn't translate into better performances.

What did help were the following exercises:

1. Anaerobic intervals on the rowing machine: HR at 85%-90% Max HR for 1-2 minutes with 5 minutes rest (20 minute warm-up at 65% MH beforehand)

2. 4-6 Simulated constant weight dives on a bicycle on 3-5 minutes rest.
Step 1: Hold breath for 1-2 minutes depending on simulated "depth" and descent time. Begin cycling at a moderate pace with higher resistance to simulate extra negative ballast at depth. Increase pace and reduce resistance (optional) halfway. Ascent time would be from 1:00 - 1:30 for me. Start off from a baseline depth (say 30-45m) and go from there.

3. Straight apnea cycling to 90%-95% of max time X3 on 5 minutes rest.

One of the reasons I prefer the bike is that it's easier to keep your balance when you push it past the contractions point and you can rest during the descent phase on exercise #2.

The same goes for your swimming. Depending on your goals in the pool. I would break it down to 4X100m for conditioning, allowing you to go a little faster on each 100m than if you did it in one go. Rest for 3-5 breaths in between. Or if you are working on improving your swimming technique, break it down further to 8X50m with 3-5 breaths of rests.

If you are working a midnight shift, I would definitely lessen your workout load during the week. Apnea can tax you in unfamiliar ways if it's intense.

Good luck with the program!

Pete