[Cyr]

Freediving Master Thread:

About:

Freediving is diving without the use of air tanks- just holding your breath and going down. There are different types (apnea etc), but its mainly seeing how deep you can dive without air.

Why Freedive:

- Its extremely relaxing/ meditative.
In order to dive down as deep as possible you have to minimise exertion and try and lower heart rate as much as possible. The breathing exercises you learn help with this. Also, when cold water hits your face, the mammalian dive reflex kicks in and your heart rate slows down, making you feel extremely calm- like youre gliding through the water.

- You get to experience the ocean in a new way.
Personally I love the ocean and espescially the open sea. Its a really cool feeling to see only water in every direction.

- You can do it with asthma.
I'm sure I'd enjoy scuba diving, but there are problems using the tanks with asthma. This also improves your snorkelling as you dive deeper for longer. Some professional freedivers have asthma. Obviously check with your doctor first but you should be ok. (I was).

- It's very rewarding.
Within 10 days of training, you should be able to dive down to 40m. The improvements are rapid and it's fun to try something where applying yourself makes such a marked difference.

I'm not an expert at freediving and would love other guys to chime in. I just saw there were no real posts on the subject and think its definitely worth trying. Freediving is one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done.

[Beyond Borders]

I've wanted to get into this for a while now. Cool topic.

[Cyr]

(06-16-2015 07:41 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

I've wanted to get into this for a while now. Cool topic.

I'd definitely go for it- I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. After my first day I switched from a 2 day to 8 day course.

[Tokyo Joe]

Cyr: Awesome thread idea.

Just yesterday I was looking for an unrelated video and I stumbled across this GoPro clip of freediver Ocean Ramsey. Mesmerizing stuff. I'd like to try this someday -- sans Great White though!

[Menace]

I'll stick to scuba. That woman has balls the size of grapefruits. Very impressive.

[spalex]

I used to do a lot of spear fishing with just a weight belt.

How the hell do you keep your heart rate down when you have to swim long distances off the coast with a weight belt before you get to a good spot?

[Tokyo Joe]

Cyr: Could you provide some more detail on the course of instruction? What is involved in the training? How long does it take? Are there "certifications" as in scuba? etc.

(06-16-2015 11:40 AM)Menace Wrote:  

I'll stick to scuba. That woman has balls the size of grapefruits. Very impressive.

Menace: Well said. Grapefruits indeed.

Incidentally, that woman Ocean Ramsey -- WSWFH (Would Spear With Flesh Harpoon).

[Switch]

I've also been wanting to get into this for a while. Above ground i can hold my breath for over four and a half minutes and would love to spend that time under water. Any tips? I've nearly drowned a few times before and I'm looking to avoid dying. An introductory guide or some reputable links would be awesome. OP, what's your experience with free diving?

[Cyr]

(06-16-2015 01:43 PM)Tokyo Joe Wrote:  

Cyr: Could you provide some more detail on the course of instruction? What is involved in the training? How long does it take? Are there "certifications" as in scuba etc?

Yeah sure.
There are certifications. The most accepted qualification is given by SSI and this is what most dive schools will provide. AIDA is also popular, but I haven't taken it. I believe no-name certificates are given more credence relative to scuba. For example I could have a 'blue apnea' level 1 certificate (only two dive schools in the world offer this), and be able to slot straight into a SSI level 2 course.
The course of instruction will depend on where you study, but I'll breakdown what I went through.

SSI Level 1:
2 Day course.
Arrive on day 1 and am taught breathing exercises. Do some timed breath holds. Learn about some of the theory behind freediving (Mammalian dive reflex, Bjor effect etc) and how to equalise. Had a break and then put a wetsuit on, and practised the swimming techniques in shallow water. (Swimming horizontally rather than vertically). After lunch I went out on a boat, and did some freediving. I started out going down to 10m, and practising equalisation. As the day went on I went deeper, culminating at 15m. After about an hour and a half we did some snorkelling for the rest of the day.
Day 2:
Do more theory in the morning and take a test on theory I learnt the night before (I was given a book to take home). The test is very easy. Also more timed breath holds. After a break I put on a wetsuit and had to take a swimming test. It was a very short distance (maybe 200m) but I cant remember exactly. After lunch I practised the duck dive, and did some freediving in the open ocean. I got down to 20m. Then we did some safety work (how to pull soneone out who is blacked out etc). We finished with more snorkelling. On both mornings I had private tuition, and in the afternoon it was two students per instructor. One student goes down with the instructor whilst the other 'breathes up' (does breathing exercises to get ready to go down).

I have also done SSI level 2 and 3. Let me know if youd like a detailed breakdown of those as well.

(06-16-2015 05:22 PM)Switch Wrote:  

I've also been wanting to get into this for a while. Above ground i can hold my breath for over four and a half minutes and would love to spend that time under water. Any tips?

Four and a half minutes is a very good breath hold, espescially for someone who has never freedived.
That said, here are the main tips I can give you:
- Are you completely relaxed and have you worked to minimise your heart rate before you start? This will help reduce the amount of oxygen you use.
The way I was taught to do this is: (On land):
Lie down with eyes shut whilst doing the breathing exercises.
(In water):
Float in the water with your head down, breathing out of a snorkel. Don't move your body whilst doing the breathing exercises.

The breathing exercise I was taught is:
Belly breathe for a minute and a half. Fairly self explanatory- breathe out of your belly not your chest. The exhales should be twice as long as the inhales to reduce the risk of hyperventilation. Obviously this isnt a hard and fast rule and depends on lung capacity, but the inhales should be around 3 seconds, and the exhales around 6 seconds.
Next take two to fivelarge breaths. Fill your belly, then your chest each breath. The inhales should be about 5 seconds, and the exhales should be 10. Don't take more than 5 big breaths as this increases the risk of hyperventilation.

(06-16-2015 05:22 PM)Switch Wrote:  

I've nearly drowned a few times before and I'm looking to avoid dying.

With regards to nearly drowning before, you're very unlikely to die whilst freediving. To my (limited knowledge) there has only been one death in the last 20 years of competitive freediving. You would have to take crazy risks and ignore warninng signs to be at risk of death.
Blacking out is another matter. Both of my instructors had blacked out before, and they said that if you enter competitive freediving or even become an instructor you are very likely to black out at some point. I'm not an expert but I imagine this is bad for the brain. That said, you're very unlikely to black out whilst adhering to the normal SSI courses- its only when you really push yourself.

(06-16-2015 05:22 PM)Switch Wrote:  

An introductory guide or some reputable links would be awesome.

Introductory guide:
I couldn't find a good guide on the net. This site breaks it down well though (across different links/ pages).
http://www.freedivegili.com/ssi-freediving-courses/
FAQs are answered well here:
http://www.usfreediving.org/freediving-gs-faq.htm
Cool article on why people freedive:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/...s-swimming

Honestly, if you're interested I'd just book onto a 1 day introduction. They're 50 to 100 USD and you'll learn a lot more from it than anything you read. Its not the sort of thing you can teach yourself.

(06-16-2015 05:22 PM)Switch Wrote:  

OP, what's your experience with free diving?

I'm probably an intermediate freediver- I've dived to 40m and have the highest non instructor certificate. Ive only done about a week and a half of freediving though, and am far from an expert.