Pool Freediving Fun Again

This is a post by Jorg Jansen.

Our Training Pool

Thursday was pool freediving again. Now that we have joined the Scubacity Diving team to make use of their training facilities, we can now start with some good trainings again. Just real freediving training.

Like mentioned previously we now also have the hot tub to our disposal. So we started the first 30 minutes with some statics in the pool. I was up first and did 3 easy statics. All around 2 minutes to test which setup I should be using the coming time. First one was with my swimming goggles and while it felt pretty okay and relaxed, the pressure on the eyes was not very relaxing.

Second static was with my favorite diving mask, my cressi-sub  superocchio. But I noticed a real difference with having much less of a diving reflex, because my face is much more covered in the mask. So for sure this option is gone now.

So back to the swimming goggles. I decided to set the timer of my watch to 30 seconds and repeat itself every cycle, so that I wouldn’t have to look. Tried it, and it felt pretty good. So good that I have  decided to leave the swimming goggles away altogether for the coming  months during statics. The only reason I want goggles is so I can see how far I am at time, and that’s exactly what I shouldn’t be doing at the moment. Will be interesting though, because it’s clear I’m still not very comfortable with spectators and my failure to deliver great statics.

Training with the Monofin

Of course Sanne made it look easy again by doing a 5:12 minute static without any problems and without a warm-up. Although I guess he was pretty warm when he was done with the static in the 37 degrees hot tub.

Second half was for dynamics. Really focusing on monofin technique and relaxation. After trying my own monofin it’s now a fact that it’s a shitty one and that I will never use it anymore. And while Sanne his monofin is much better it’s just a masochistic thing to have on your feet. The footpockets are not from this world, so we should be looking into buying a new one some time soon.

I did some 25 meter laps in a fairly easy style of around 20 seconds without getting tired. Very small amplitude at the moment to keep the upper-body as still as possible and to avoid making a snake movement. It’s still hard but in the coming weeks it should be possible to make some good progress.