Basic freediving pool training
As a beginner freediver, the most crucial thing is to get familiar with the water and feel comfortable holding your breath. You don't need to focus on long breath holds or dives right away. In the beginning, it's better to do multiple shorter dives rather than a few long, uncomfortable ones. The key is to stay relaxed and develop a sense of ease with breath-holding.
These examples assume you have a basic understanding of fining and swimming techniques for freediving before attempting them. The best way to acquire this knowledge is by taking a freediving course or joining a local freediving club. These exercises can be physically demanding, and you could potentially push yourself to the point of blacking out. Never dive alone or hold your breath underwater without a trained buddy who knows how to handle such situations.
Training series (tables)
When you start to get comfortable in the water you can start with small training series (tables). A series is an exercise that you do a specific number of times in a row with a fixed or varying recovery time in between. A series can be composed with any lap length or breath hold time combined with any recovery time you feel comfortable with and with any number of repetitions. In the beginning it's better to start with shorter lap length or breath hold time and longer recovery times and slowly increase and decrease the values in the series.
Serie with fixed or varying recovery time
A series can be 8 laps of 25 m DYN or DNF with 60 seconds recovery in between. You can also do it a little more challenging by varying the recovery time and for example start with 60 seconds recovery and reduce the recovery time by 5 seconds for every lap.
Training serie example
8 x swim 25 m, recovery 60 seconds and then reduce recovery time by 5 seconds for every lap.
This series gets harder and harder with every lap. Not only do you build up CO₂ in your body you get less and less time to flush it out from your body. You can of course alter the recovery time and length of the laps after your level of comfort.
Serie with fixed start time
Another series is to start a new lap at a fixed time. Let's say we start every 90 seconds. So, if it takes you 30 seconds to swim 25 m you will have 60 seconds recovery time until you start the next lap.
Training serie example
8 x swim 25 m, start every 90 seconds.
In this series you can alter the swimming speed and the time of your dive to get the ultimate swimming speed and get the right balance of effort putting into the swimming and the recovery time you need before the next dive. When you think 90 seconds is too easy you can just reduce it by 10 seconds next time you do this series and start every 80 seconds. When you do this series starting every 60 seconds you can go back to 90 seconds recovery but instead you add 5 or 10 m to the length of the laps and do it all over again.
Serie with varying breath hold time
A series often used with STA (static breath hold) is to increase the time you hold your breath, but the recovery time is the same. You don't build up very much CO₂ because of longer recovery times between the breath holds but you will get more relaxed for each dive, and you will be able to hold your breath for longer throughout the series.
Training serie example
Hold your breath for 30 seconds, recovery for 60 seconds
Hold your breath for 45 seconds, recovery for 60 seconds
Hold your breath for 60 seconds, recovery for 60 seconds
Hold your breath for 75 seconds, recovery for 60 seconds
Hold your breath for 90 seconds, recovery for 60 seconds
Hold your breath for 105 seconds, finish
The goal of the series
These examples aim to slowly extend the length of your dives, and your breath hold time but with comfort and control. To make these series work best for you it's recommended to alter the length, times and repetitions to get the ultimate training for your freediving journey.
Happy freediving and remember, dive safe with a buddy.
