On the Sofa: Sarah's Pool Freedive Training for 160m DYN (Vlog 2)

-Sarah & Nathan sit down and discuss the in's and out's of her weekly DYN training, in preparation for 160m in competition. You'll get an inside view of the athlete's and coach's perspective on what we're doing and why.
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This video marks the start of week-2 of Sarah's training with 8-10 weeks to go until competition.
Today Sarah did;
-Competition warm-up: (1:00 STA + 45m DYN)
-then (30s STA + 75m DYN), (30s STA + *86m DYN), (30s STA, + 90m DYN)
-She finished with 1 set of 'Reverse Apnea table' 8x30m with {2,3,4,5,5,5,5} Recovery breaths. Check out my video on Reverse tables to understand the logic behind this exercise: • How To Do Easy & Effec...
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In this video we discuss;
-Why STA + DYN is useful for training (& analyzing) the breath-hold potential of an athlete.
- Why 'sticking to the plan' even when you feel like you can do extra meters is important for the success of the overall training program.
- How doing 150m DYN was a mistake Sarah made in her previous comp-preparation, and why we will avoid making it again.
..And more.

[@llawson3614]

thanks guys! super interesting and helpful. Wondering what Sarah's current max or PB was at the start of this training cycle? :)

[@trainfreediving2772]

Last cycle she finished with; Comp dive: 140m Training PB: 150m

[@jodecaesteker3971]

Pfff.. How do you ever get to the point of even adding a static before such a LONG (75-90m) dynamic swim and STILL not have the urge to breathe or maybe even no contractions? Are you human? Yes? Are you sure of that? No matter what I do, my contractions begin around 15m (or 25-35m if I'm very, VERY lucky) and 50m (bi-fins, I never tried monofin, seems waaaaay too difficult) is my absolute record and it is sheer horror 😱, something I don't want to repeat at all. 🤮 In fact I think I'm probably even hyperventilating before it (wrong and dangerous I know) so with correct breathing, my contractions would start even earlier. It would be the biggest eufimism to say I'm not looking forward to that because when my contractions start they are always(!) unbearably hard right away and after 2 or 3 they already come every 1-2 seconds. It's very simple: they come very early and I can not stand the discomfort at all right from the start. And so going for even longer dives automatically means more and longer contractions as they always start very early. That's not fun, it's pure atrocity. This is why I hate freediving. And it makes the saddest person in the world, because I would love to improve. (I'm Aida 2 since 2015 but never did any freediving since that course because of the contractions and a severe trauma I might tell you later about.) The reversed CO2 table seems interesting but also downright impossible. I'm having a hard time doing even 8x25m with 30 seconds of breathing (panting like crazy that is). Doing 8x25m (laps are 25m here) with only 2 or 3 breaths to begin the table? That's impossible for me. I don't know but I'd probably need 5-8 breaths to begin with, at least. That is, if I would even be able to force myself to not automatically take any more. And so I'd be ending up with way too many breaths at the end of the table. I really don't know how you can ever do 25m laps with only 2-3 breaths between them and STILL not find it hard or have the urge to breathe... I understand the concept: it's also (among other things) to make the end not as hard as in classic CO2 tables. But for me, the beginning is already too hard to do (read impossible), so how do you expect me to get to the "easier" end then? Also, I'd be breathing SO fast and deep it would be hyperventilating. And even if I'd want to try the concept of this reversed CO2 table, how do I know what's the right number of breaths to begin with for me? I may be able to do the second or third lap (in agony) but then it will get really gruesome and I'll take way more breaths than I'm allowed to - my body will automatically take over, I can guarantee that. If it's not clear by now, I hate contractions. ANY contraction, including the first one and all that follow. I do need to add that normal swimming is also hard: i pant after one or two laps... I'm sorry for ranting. I hope you don't think I'm a troll. This is a cry from the heart. I'm lost and sad...

[@trainfreediving2772]

Hey Jo, I'm really sorry to hear that you had such a bad introductory experience into freediving. Unfortunately for some people, these types of 'extreme' reactions are possible. (I've had a few of my own AIDA 2 students with similar numbers and reactions as you). However, (in short) I do believe that anything can be fixed, and that you could achieve 50m DYN or more with 100% comfort if you had the right in-person coaching, right environments, and lots of patience. Plenty of breath-holds and DYN dives up-to (not beyond) your first tiny urge to breathe will eventually make you more and more comfortable. It's a process, but it can be done.

[@jodecaesteker3971]

@@trainfreediving2772 thanks... I did a test with the reversed CO2 dynamic table. You said most people would have to start at 4 breaths after the first lap. Or 5 or maybe 6. I tried 4 but in the second lap I already got contractions... after some experimentation I ended up doing 7 or 8 at least after the first lap to keep myself from having contractions. Also, I breathe extremely deep and for the next laps I probably took more breaths than I was allowed. My body kind of took over and I lost count. 🥺 I do have to say that I pant after just two laps of normal swimming... Could it be that I'm having these troubles because I'm very, VERY unfit?