Team Sharkbait

This is a post by Sanne Buurma.

We’ve had this exercise for quite a while now and I’ll take this opportunity to further explain the crawl without breath exercise, as it’s an exercise which really helps in building endurance levels and also builds confidence for doing dynamic performances.

It’s an idea that we came up with about a year ago when we were in the project 13 schedule, where I had to be able to train on by myself due to circumstances where Jorg would not be able to make it to the pool. The idea is simple, just do a normal crawl like the swimmer do at the surface, but then without breath and we mix it up into a build-up-, exhale- and an endurance schedule.

Build-up schedule (interval)
At first we were unfamiliar with how much and how far we should be alternating the not breathing part in the crawling at the surface. This is how the build-up schedule first originates, we would set out a schedule of 500 meters. Were I would try to do 100 meters of breathing every 6 strokes, where we count a stroke as after both arms had made a full motion. The second 100 meters I’d up it to breathing only every 10 strokes and so on. I gradually got to a point where  I would almost do full lanes of crawl without breath. Although rest times in between the almost full lanes (50m) had to be somewhat longer than at the start of the schedule.

Example schedule:

1. 2 x 50 meter: breath every 3 strokes
2. 2 x 50 meter: breath every 5 strokes
3. 2 x 50 meter: breath every 7 strokes
4. 2 x 50 meter: breath every 9 strokes
5. 2 x 50 meter: breath every 11 strokes

Exhale schedule (slowly exhaling)
To mix things up with the static O2 tables, the next step we tested as part of a good training would be a O2 training. Getting rid of the CO2 building up during the lane by slowly exhaling the air within a set amount of arm-strokes.

Example schedule:

1. 2 x 50 meter: 5 exhales
2. 2 x 50 meter: 4 exhales
3. 2 x 50 meter: 3 exhales
4. 2 x 50 meter: 2 exhales
5. 2 x 50 meter: 1 exhale
6. 1 x 50 meter: 0 exhaling

Endurance schedule
This came into play when Jorg got curious into how it would work out if I’d just do a full lane without breath, as we had been upping it since the Build-up schedule, this was a thought we’d both been playing with and this actually would be the next schedule we’d go by, focussed on endurance.

Example schedule:

1. 2 x 50 meter: 2 minute rest time
2. 2 x 50 meter: 1 minute 30 seconds rest time
3. 2 x 50 meter: 1 minute 15 seconds rest time
4. 2 x 50 meter: 1 minute rest time
5. 2 x 50 meter: 45 seconds rest time

Maximum attempts
As we were progressing pretty good with this exercise and it was really fun to do as well, Jorg added the mental factor again by letting me push my limits into trying a maximum performance with crawl’s without breath. To be honest at the time it was not really a success for my mental state, but doing a maximum performance of almost 75 meters in crawl was enough to prove it’s a serious exercise.

This is a post by Sanne Buurma.

In freediving air intake, consumption and efficiency are key factors in reaching longer breath holds in both dynamic as static performances. Although you might think that the more air intake you do will equal a longer breath hold, this is only partly true. There are a lot of other variables in play which make it a specialism to master as a freediver. Consider the difference between a dynamic and a static freedive on the level of aerobe or an-aerobe. Or even simpler, consider the difference in a dynamic pool freedive and a dynamic depth performance. In this article the focus is on the air intake.

Air intake
One of the variables that make a difference – in any type of freediving – is the air intake and how comfortable you are with the ammount of air in your lungs. I am not even discussing the difference in lung volume different freedivers have. I’ll dissect the air intake into three topics:

• Optimizing air intake
• Comfortable vs. Packed
• Increasing lung volume (advanced techniques)

Read more…

The equalization that looked very promising last Wednesday, turned out to be the thing Kostas had been missing out on. He was able to equalize on land during the last 7 days and was eager to get into the water and test his new ability. So I brought a set of weights to the pool and let him drop down to the bottom with it. This way he could focus on only his equalization, first he tried head up and after that head down equalization. This all proved to be no problem anymore and in a way he found what he was looking for when joining us in the first place; Equalization.

Finning technique (DYN)
The equalization was pretty important for the finning technique in the pool. As I wanted him to test his buoyancy by varying his air intake and depth, we weren’t able to vary the depth’s because equalization was in the way. Now he could vary his depth and air intake to search the neutral buoyancy to test with.

The fins we started out with are the C4 carbon fins, as they aren’t as stiff as the GARA’s. Because the legs aren’t making the proper movement yet, I think this is a better way of getting your legs to move the way you like.

As always when we’re trying to improve certain aspects we capture all dynamic runs on video and look at these video clips after every dynamic run. We’re currently only focusing on his finning technique, so push of and other parts are not in the way of Kostas’ focus.

Analyzing the videos
From the videos Kostas and I concluded that the knee bending was a thing he needed to think about in the next runs and I told him to really exaggerate that there is no knee joint. After a few runs this seemed to have the positive effect. Although his left leg seems to be somewhat better then his right leg, overall progress is huge al ready.

Other points he has to work on is a fluent movement and the wiggling /cork-screw-motion. Of course these are difficult to get rid of after the first time, but as determined as Kostas is he wants to get rid of this and further perfect his technique. Take a look at this compilation:

Also available in HD, click here.

Your opinion?
What are your opinions on his technique, what do you recommend him to be working on?

Just leave a comment and I’ll be sure to pass it on to him in the next training.

1. Always use a buddy!

Especially important if you try to hold your breath in the water! Better yet; follow a freediving course that will teach you and a friend how to look out for each other during breath hold attempts. But at the minimum let your buddy check you every 15 seconds or so by tapping on your shoulder. You can then give him an okay sign, and if your buddy sees an okay sign then it’s time for some rescue techniques. Even when you’re doing a breath hold on land, it’s wise to have a buddy. Best position is sitting on a nice sofa, so that if you pass out you don’t fall on the ground. Lying on the bed is not wise, as it’s possible, if you’re in bad luck to swallow your tongue. So, never ever try it alone and if possible educate yourself by following a course. That being said…

2. Relax

If you want to hold your breath for a long time it’s best to relax your body and mind before trying. So first of all take your time for this and don’t try it between lunch and coffee. Just sit down on your knees in the water or sitting down relaxed on the sofa. Take your time just sitting there, calming your body and mind. And after a few minutes it’s time to…

3. Breath!

Do 2 minutes of breathing with a 5 second interval breathing in, and a 5 second interval breathing out. Just do it slowly and find a nice rhythm. Make sure that after inhale you will fully…

4. Exhale

Remember, exhaling is so much more important than inhaling. Just push in your belly to push out every bit of air out of your lungs, so when you inhale you have the maximum amount of fresh air in your lungs. Remember, used air has to get out, fresh air has to go in. After those 2 minutes of breathing just take a nice full…

5. Inhale

The trick, especially for beginners, is not to fully inhale so that you have blown cheeks and are ready to pop. It’s important that you only breath in for 80-85 percent of your maximum. This way you can still be relaxed during the breath hold itself. Just try it! Breath in as much as you can and feel how tense you are. Breath in only for 80 percent of your maximum and you can still relax. After your last inhale you only have to…

6. Hold Your Breath

That’s the easy part, just hold it. Close your mouth and if your in the water let yourself float. After this just…

7. Relax

Probably one of the most important things. You have to relax your body as much as possible. This way your heartbeat will go down as well, also one of the reasons why you shouldn’t inhale to your maximum. If your in the water, just float on top of the water, and don’t use any weights to put yourself on the bottom. Floating at the surface with your face down is an excellent way of relaxing. If you’re in the water on the sofa, just try to relax your complete body. Start with your toes and work you way upwards. Try to relax everything, from legs to your fingers. One of the most common problems is the inability to relax your neck and shoulders. And last but not least, try to relax your mouth and your tongue, so that you don’t have a forced breath hold. Keep a continues feel to your body if you’re relaxed and remember to…

8. Concentrate

You’re lying or sitting there while holding your breath. If you want to make sure that it is a short time then start counting in your head or looking at your stopwatch! Don’t do such a thing, you main goal is to forget time! Remember that when you’re doing something pleasant times go by very fast, and if you’re doing something awful time goes by so slowly… So don’t look at your watch, it’s time to have nice thoughts going on in your head and try not to think about the fact that you’re holding your breath. Guys, just don’t think about all those great bed stories, because then the blood goes to the wrong place and your heartbeat goes up. Try to think of something calming. Nice vacation, a good experience, some music, etc. Be creative with this. And when you can’t relax or concentrate yourself anymore it’s time to…

9. Distract

At one point while your hold your breath, relaxation is over and you can’t think about anything else then the fact that you have to breath and why oh why you’re doing this. Then it’s time to distract yourself. Use a small physical movement to distract. So don’t start swimming around, or walking around, just slowly move your fingers together and make small figures with them, touch each finger with the opposite finger, just play around. This way time passes by like crazy and makes you forget about the horrible pains your enduring. It’s fun to hold your breath, or so they say. And when you can’t hold your breath anymore, just hold a little longer and then…

10. Recover!

Before you start cheering about your new record, first you need to recover. You’ve hold your breath for a long time, so first things first; get all the used air out of your system by blowing out a little bit of air (20%) and then quickly fill it again to maximum. This makes sure that you give oxygen to the most critical parts again fast! After that you can exhale completely and for at least three times make a complete deep breathing cycle. Then you look at your watch and you can cheer about your time!

Remember, there a literally hundreds of methods to increase your time, but the most important part is that you’re safe! So always obey rule number 1 and never train alone. If you got some additional questions you can leave them in the comments.