Slow 50s (static in motion)

This afternoon I cracked 3:00 for a slow 50m for the first time. I reckon I may have had another 30 seconds or so before blackout, but can't be sure. There were no signs of LMC. I did a 2:00, 2:30 and then the three minutes.

I tested the diving style mask in the deep pool. It certainly deals with the pressure much better than goggles! Hardly even noticed the change in pressure.

continuing well

Repeated the session from monday with the 50s. Was easier, but the last two were still hard. It may have been the fast skin pants making the difference. I was holding 40s, which is a little faster. Did a slow 2:15 50m. Need more weight, so more O2, to get much better than this.

I'm back in the water

After a very busy few months I'm finally back in the water. Had a couple of swims last week and another yesterday (2km). Full exhale statics in the 5m pool got to 1:30 and some controlled 85m swims.

Did 20 x 50s yesterday, with the last 10 descending from 1:55 to 1:10 (which was tough and the last half got lactic).

Have started using fly kick exclusively in preparation for my new monofin (above), which will hopefully arrive soon!

BTW there is much work needed for me to fit in the newer wetsuit...

Another wetsuit

I bought another synergy endorphin wetsuit, but this one is two sizes smaller. The one I bought fills with water and whilst this is okay for training it's going to cause problems in competition by causing heaps of drag as it fills up. Also being tighter should offer good support during dynamics as well as no fins.

It is the last wetsuit I'll be buying for a while : )

DNF Technique and turns

Before I scratched my cornea by whacking myself in the eye with my goggles yesterday, I felt I did some productive DNF work, on turns and technique for the first 25m.

To do 1 stroke for the first 25m it takes just over 30 seconds, 1.75 strokes 25sec and 3 in under 20sec (which is flying!) I did a 50m in I think 6.5 strokes in 40seconds (for long course seems efficient and fast).

The swivel turn works best for me. Anything else unbalances my neck weight and using the wall to turn around works better.

Static Training

Yesterday I did some static training. I started with a CO2 table to mix it up a bit. I'm having trouble with the mental game of big statics. The CO2 table was

2:00 with 1:45 rest
2:20 with 1:30 rest
2:20 with 1:15 down to 15 rest then a single breath before 2:20

some hyperventilating then a max attempt where I was going great then bailed at 5:30 - I just didn't want the pain! : (

I followed with two FRC statics - 2:05 then 3:00 (close to LMC)

Overall a pretty good effort I thought.

No Fins

I did some no fins training today, doing a couple of 75s then 100m and 108m. I think I'm at about 125m as I still had plenty left, but you never can be sure! I was really able to relax, cruising through 75m, particularly on the first one. I used full weight with 22 packs. I might go for a max attempt next weekend.

No Fins training

Did some more work with the wetsuit today. I'm at 32m for one stroke, which seems quite remarkable. I did 50m in 2.5 strokes (3 pullouts and 2 kicks), but I think I can get that down to two (I'm having trouble comprehending this distance).

I still need more ballast as am only packing 14. At the moment I'm at about 9 kg (4.4kg neck weight and 4.6kg weight belt). I think I need another 2 or so kg).

I also need to find a reliable 25m pool that is deep enough to train in.

Static in motion

This morning I did some 'statics in motion' swims of 50m. My times were 1.15, 1.30, 1.55, 2.15, 2.45. I'll see if I can extend these to 4 minutes.

Static Blackout

My first comp static resulted in a BO. I focused on 'staying down' thinking I'd have trouble pushing myself. Really didn't have an exit plan and this clip shows what happens when you don't. An example of a good safety team - they timed the rescue perfectly!

Sydney Freedivers Comp static - 6.33

A video of a 6.33 PB static I did at a comp in sydney in June. Had problems breathing upon surfacing and couldn't get enough O2, had a samba and eventually finished the surface protocol with 1 second to spare!

6 minute no-warm-ups static

After a CO2 tragedy on wednesday (5:02) I hyperventilated this morning and surfaced after a 6:10 static, mentally very clear but apparently with a slight tinge of blue (which is something new for me). I didn't do any facial immersion, but persisted with the 60sec FRC. Overall, it felt okay! I used about 8 packs for the dive.

New wetsuit

I've just purchased a wetsuit for dynamics - mainly for no fins as it's very bouyant! I'm just not in the position to buy a $1000 monofin, and pretty much don't want to go forward with standard dynamics without one at this stage.

So, I'm going to go for no fins - at the moment I've been doing drills after static training to prepare my legs in particular. Anyway, the wetsuit is this one:

http://www.trisports.com/synergy-endorphin-triathlon-wetsuit.html

With the added ballast due to the bouyancy of the suit, I'm planning on working hard on push offs and turns, once I find some balance and neutral bouyancy.

STA

Yesterday I built on my first no-warm-ups effort from tuesday. After 5 mins facial immersion and a 55 sec mildly forced exhale (less than FRC), I produced a very tough 5:31. An improvement. Consistency will be the key for long term improvement.

Static training

I started no-warm-up training for static apnea today. Did some facial immersion beforehand and a 30 sec exhale static (okay, so not technically no warm up). I think 5:05 was a good start.

Dynamic No Fins PB

Here's the video of my PB DNF. It's a bit old and not particularly good - I plan on doing a much bigger one later this year!

Freediving

I do some freediving in the pool. I’ve been at it for about a year, but haven’t been very consistent with my training : ) I’d like to become more dedicated at some stage!
My PBs at this stage are:
Static apnea: 6:33 (competition, June 2010)
Dynamic apnea 133m (training, January 2010)
Dynamic without fins 112m (competition, August 2009)