warm or cold

[Tim Crane]

hi guys,

is it better to be warm when your freediving or slighly cool? ive heared if your warm and comfortable, all of the amphibious responses don't come into full effect. Shed some light guys......

cheers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[efattah]

The ideal situation (for me at least) is to have my extremities extremely cold, with my core very cold but not quite shivering.

The temperature gradient between your extremeties and core depends on your suit and the water temperature. The highest gradient you can ever get is by jumping into freezing (4C/40F) water with no wetsuit. Your extremities will get cold extremely fast, but your core will stay warm for a few minutes. The lowest gradient you'd get is in relatively warm water with a thick suit, where it takes hours to gradually get cold.

 

[naiad]

I find that being even slightly cold has a bad effect.

 

[Cornholio]

I find that being even slightly cold has a bad effect.

Me too. I've never been too warm in the water, but as soon as I start to feel chilly my performance starts to suffer.

 

[naiad]

Being too warm also has a bad effect for me. This has never happened in the water, only in dry statics. Temperature is the main limiting factor for me in static and dynamic. If it is not exactly right, I can't do my best.

 

[trux]

There is also a big differenece between serial freediving like exploration freediving or spearfishing, where the termic comfort over longer period is much more important than maximal performances, and competition freediving where the maximizing of the freediving reflex for one or couple of extreme dives is the priority.

 

[JPPLAY]

I find that being even slightly cold has a bad effect.

When do your normally notice your dive reflex starting?

 

[naiad]

I think it starts on the first static. Most times I can do longer on my first static in the pool than I can dry, and it is easier. I can't do much more in the pool because I get cold, and also the dive reflex wears off when I leave too long between statics. That is partly why my dry static times are always ahead of my times in the pool.

Lucia

 

[marin2004]

This is a bit different topic but....
I cant say which one is better for me cause I feel cold and shivering rather soon, after only 10-15 minutes in 23-24 degrees warm water. That is with no suit and doing recreational swimming and dives up to 60 feet. This doesnt seem normal since everyone is looking funny at me when I say water is cold and in fact it is quiet warm. I guess I can only state that I enjoy much more diving in colder enviroment but with no termoclines ( no significant gradient in temperature during descent) than in a common situation during summer with temps at 24°C on the surface and probably at 18 at 30 feet of depth.
Perhaps I'm feeling cold cause during this dive I feel rapid change of temp,
and I cant gain heat on the surface any more.
Please dont say why no suit? Its summer right now, its warm, its a trouble and afterall I like the feeling of the water around me that I cant feel with
wetsuit on.

Marin

 

[pat fish]

Cold is best. Cold provokes the best dive reflex. Counter example: the recent AIDA competition in Wiesbaden, 21st oct 2006. pool temperature for static competition was 32° celsius. pure horror. and lots of performances "on the edge". the only good thing was that I was so terrified of not getting a good peripheral vasoconstriction, that from the stress I got it anyway

 

[naiad]

That would have been ideal for me! I don't know about my dive reflex, but the amount of shivering at 28C makes static impossible. Being cold makes me start shivering within a few minutes, and has always made my performance much worse.

That's why I use a 5mm opencell suit for static, but even then I am shivering by the end of a session.