Team Sharkbait

Already week 5. It’s going fast! Only 8 weeks to go. This week is the last week of the first base schedule in which we provide the basics for Sanne the freediver and next week we will start with the next step. So this will be exciting!

Last weeks training went pretty well. There was a clear increase in fitness and stamina, exactly what we are after in these first weeks. The schedule was slightly altered to match the freediving competition on Sunday in which Sanne did two good and calculated performances. As we’ve footage of both events it will be fun to do a review of both performances. So lets start with the static.

Last time Sanne did a wet static it was during the Wiesbaden competition in 2006, already 6 months and 8 days ago. So we were very curious if my dry/wet conversion calculation would be right. I would already be happy if he did an easy 5 minutes +, so that he would come close to his current competition record 5:20 min. In the end Sanne did a good and clean 5:33 min, so it was a very good performance and a new personal best is always great! First just take a look at the attempt and jump in half way;

http://www.shark-eye.com/flv/tsb/aaac2007-sanne-static.flv

Now let’s talk about it. Read further for my complete analytics about Sanne’s static attempt.

We jump into the clip at 3:47 minutes into the breath hold. So not much to say about breathing pattern or how fast Sanne can relax his body after lying down. At 3:47 contractions have just started to come up. Key trick is to still be relaxed and let the contractions come without effort, and let them loose without effort. After many static sessions it’s good to see that Sanne finally mastered the wave approach to contractions. The wave comes, strikes, but also goes away, all in one fluid motion.

After 1:20 minutes in the clip Sanne grabs the side of the pool. That’s at 5:07 minutes into the breath hold, which is pretty good for him. Normally after this point Sanne is still able to hold his breath for two minutes when he’s in fighting spirit. Today was not the day to do this, but it gives a good feeling seeing him already back in shape until this level. Keep in mind; no wet statics for a longggg time!

After he grabs the pool his legs immediately come down to the floor so he gets into a squat position. This way the abdominals are relaxed and contraction are easier to handle. When going for a longer breath hold he should come down a little slower, because now it’s a little bit forced in only 10 seconds.

At 5:17 he’s in his final squat position, sitting quite comfortable, just focusing on other stuff then the contractions. And when the contractions come, just let them roll away as soon as possible. In total he’s sitting like this for only 16 seconds and only has 3 bigger contractions. So every 5 seconds a contraction is pretty good at this point.

At 5:33 he comes up, and blow off way to much air. Next time only blow off a smaller amount and quickly inhale. This time this is not a problem because it was a very easy static, but the higher the number get, the more strict you have to be. After only 2 complete breaths he gives the okay sign and completes the surface protocol by saying ‘I’m okay’ to the judge within 7,5 seconds. Way to fast of course! You have to take your time! You’ve got 15 seconds. Take your time to take at least 4 complete breaths which take around 10 seconds and then do the protocol. I know you want to show everybody it was a piece of cake, but come on! Don’t overdo it, macho boy! Funny to see how you hold your breath during the protocol, and afterwards continue to recover… That’s of course also a big no no.

All in all a good performance and a little more then what I expected from what I’ve seen from his dry results. This gives prove once again that our approach works very good and also gives a lot of confidence of the 7 minute mark he has to get to at the end of this schedule. Most important factor that proves this for me is the 5:07 were he grabs the poolside and the contraction ratio which is still small.

Next post from me will be about the dynamic performance he did. So stay tuned for more!