Dynamic / Pool training.
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Diving
Forum Name: Spearo's Corner
Forum Description: Free-divers & spearos chat about their sport
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=100096
Printed Date: 27 Jul 2026 at 9:52pm
Topic: Dynamic / Pool training.
Posted By: TylerBlack_spearo
Subject: Dynamic / Pool training.
Date Posted: 03 Apr 2014 at 2:35pm
|
Hey Guys. Struggling to get out as much as i usually would due to work but want to keep up dive training. Has any one got any tips for cross-training in a pool (i think the term is Dynamic Training)?. or any routines that are effective learnt from experts? Appreciate any feed Back. P.s - I will not be training alone. Cheers! Tyler
|
Replies:
Posted By: Barx
Date Posted: 03 Apr 2014 at 5:41pm
|
Tyler as a test try doing underovers. Do the first 25m underwater, then swim back on the surface breathing through your snorkel. Repeat to do a full 10 laps. Use your hand to touch the blue T at each end of the lane on the underwater lengths so as to ensure you're doing full length 25s underwater. The test is to see how long a set of 10 takes (10 laps = 20 lengths, half of which are underwater). This will test your fitness and your ability to recover. Wear togs, fins, mask and snorkel. Any time under 8 minutes 30 is good going. In my opinion this is much better training than seeing how far you can swim on a single breathhold. Also I never train hard when alone due to the risk of blackouts, and when with others I make sure they all know how to do a recovery. If you don't know about recoveries then don't train for breathhold. Please let us know how you go. Also if you do a set of 10, then wait 5 minutes and do another set of 10 your second set will usually be quicker than your first. Also you may find that lengths 3 and 4 are the hardest. After that you get into a rhythm and can generally speed up. ------------- Do or do not. There is no try. |
Posted By: Weightless
Date Posted: 04 Apr 2014 at 3:10pm
|
If you are in Auckland, come along to the Auckland Freediving club. We do a mix of training similar to above but also throw in a bit of theory too. We also dive at the Lake on Thursday evenings over spring / summer and have a number of Spearing and Wreck diving trips scheduled throughout the year. Here's a little teaser of a "typical" Monday night. |
Posted By: TylerBlack_spearo
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2014 at 9:51am
|
Looks Pretty Cool Weightless, just checked out the hours you guys run your sessions and they really dont work for me, as i attend night school during the week. Otherwise would have been keen. Another 2 years and yeap. Cheers Barx, great tip gave it a go today, did the first in 10 minutes, and the second in 8.45!. do i just repeat this routine or is there more to do? Thanks Guys |
Posted By: Weightless
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2014 at 10:52am
|
Maybe when you are all educated then. Just a comment though, make sure you are doing this test (and any other underwater training) with a buddy. Even 25M swims that are high in C02 has a risk of black out. Good luck with dropping that time down. |
Posted By: Mullins
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2014 at 10:53am
|
Really depends what you're training for. That routine is great if you're doing lots of surface swimming and repeat shallow dives e.g. paua, crays etc. If you planned to do fewer, deeper dives you'd need to train accordingly. Training for depth/distance is tough though, not very pleasant. |
Posted By: mustang
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2014 at 11:29am
|
The training Barx mentions is obviously very good for your fitness and I've done a bit of this over the years (with Barx too). One thing I find is that it does actually compromise my ultimate breath hold time a bit. Recovery time between dives improves so it is a bit of a mix between doing fitness type training and depth/distance type training. One of my favourites to do in the pool is negatives (empty lung) training, both static and dynamic. Sometimes I'll just do a complete pool session of negatives. It's a good challenge both physically and mentally. The key to it is not to empty your lungs too much or push too hard when first doing this as it can leave you feeling a bit head achy as I've seen with new guys getting into this. Build up to longer holds and longer dynamics just as you would with regular statics or dynamics.
|
Posted By: TylerBlack_spearo
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2014 at 11:40am
|
Cheers Mullins, So What pool Training is Involved for Depth/Distance Training? or can this not be acheived in a pool? Thanks Thanks Mustang, so training with negatives increases breath holds an dynamics, is it the same routine as over an unders that barx describes? or is it a differant routine? Sounds good Cheers Guys
|
Posted By: Weightless
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2014 at 2:40pm
|
FRC dives (passive exhales) is a good way to bring your contractions (and dive reflex) on early and make the dive feel like a lot more of a challenge. Last night was Static night at the club and we did a series of FRC holds are warm up before doing a full inhale hold actually. Some found it worked a treat and did some good new PBs , others found it quite a distraction. A couple of things tyo consider with exhales though: It is easy to end up hyperventilating between these types of dives; Also bare in mind that if you start doing these for depth though you can increase the risk of a lung squeeze, so go easy as you hit your Residual volume early and also do your recovery breaths gently (we normally do a 25% inhale, then 50, 75 then full). On a related note, I suspect Daves FRC is probably close to most of our Total Lung Volume.. |
Posted By: TylerBlack_spearo
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2014 at 3:06pm
| thanks weightless. is that while doing ten under ten over? or jst in reps of ten with like 30second break between laps? sounds good. |
Posted By: Mullins
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2014 at 3:27pm
|
As mustang pointed out, there is usually a bit of a tradeoff between fitness/recovery on one hand and max dive time/depth on the other. This is hardly noticeable to begin with and is more pronounced as you get better. As you focus on one, the other suffers because they are totally different - almost opposite - types of activity.
You can definitely train to improve your max in the pool, it's arguably the best place to do it. Essentially it means doing fewer, longer swims with complete recovery between each one.
|
Posted By: Barx
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2014 at 4:30pm
|
If you want to vary the unders/overs a bit try doing the
return lengths on the surface with your ankles crossed over and no leg action -
just pull yourself along with your arms (your legs will sink). Also vary the underwater
lengths with dolphin and scissor kicking. Good for overall fitness. Another variation is do the return length as bumps - swim down, touch your chest on the bottom, curl upwards and push off with your arms, and exhale as you surface and roll forward like a dolphin breathing in, and repeat. The secret is to do the whole length with only single breaths each time you surface (don't cheat and take a longer break). I like to shallow dive currenty points so these exercises work for me. As prep for a trip where you'll be doing longer dives negatives are hard work but do create good improvement. Also delayed starts where you lie on the surface for an interval (say 30 seconds) then do an underwater 25 on the same breathhold. Repeat and each time increase your static delay by 30 seconds each time until you get too cold to continue. Anything over 2 minutes is good going for me. ------------- Do or do not. There is no try. |
Posted By: Phantom Menace
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2014 at 5:32pm
| or come and have a go at Underwater Rugby (Sunday nights 5pm - 6pm at West Wave, Alderman Drive, Henderson). |
Posted By: mustang
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2014 at 10:42pm
|
No you wouldn't train the 10/10 when doing negatives. When doing negatives you'd train more like Mullins describes i.e. do fewer with longer rests for complete recovery between attempts. Just take it easy when you first have a go at negatives and make sure you have your training partner watching closely. Some people hate negatives and can't get a good feel with them - personally I love them and the feel they give - a great simulation for the feeling of depth. My PB is a 1.30 static followed by a 22sec 25m. I'm not sure how that stacks up but it feels great when I do it!!
|
Posted By: Unclejake
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2014 at 10:52pm
Gah! Near on 2 mins on exhale?  that. LOL |
Posted By: Dobo
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2014 at 7:34am
|
Once your comfortable with negatives try the negative crawl. Breathe up,exhale and sink then use only your arms to pull yourself along the bottom of the pool. Make sure when you surface your head is above the water as you'll have a mean vacuum! Other drills which should help your bottom time are the mid delays. Get your buddy to goto centre of pool (we use a weight to mark the spot) set a time for the delay so your buddy can tap you on the back when time is up. Breathe up -swim to mark -float to surface - hold for delay time - swim to other end. Start with 30 seconds then work up to 1-2mins delay. My theory is it's like swimming to 12.5m depth (without feeling of pressure) with 30-90 seconds bottom time. Once you've nailed that try negative delays but be extremely careful make sure someone is right above you at all times! Good luck |
Posted By: Barx
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2014 at 7:37pm
|
You can buy glass suckers off Trademe or from Topmaq. They stick to the bottom of the pool and provide a handle to hold onto. They are ideal for Dobos mid delays. We often do group routines where one divers swims to the handle and holds on till the next arrives, then completes their length. Then the next swimmer leaves the end of the pool, etc. You get a sort of routine going where the next swimmer doesn't leave their end of the pool until a certain delay has taken place, hence influencing how long the previous swimmer is at the mid-station. Kind of fun. Can be cruel. ------------- Do or do not. There is no try. |
Posted By: Barx
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2014 at 7:38pm
|
Tyler, well done on 8.45. Good effort. How deep is your pool? ------------- Do or do not. There is no try. |
Posted By: Barx
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2014 at 7:40pm
|
Phantom, we used to play underwater rugby at QE2 prior to the earthquakes. Brilliant game. We changed the rules up a bit to be more like gritiron so you were allowed to tackle payers off the ball. The strategy became to "pave a way thru" for your ball carrier. Brilliant fun. Wish we still had a deep pool in Chch. QE2 is sadly missed. ------------- Do or do not. There is no try. |
Posted By: TylerBlack_spearo
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2014 at 7:46pm
| thanks 4 all the helpful tips guys. pools not very deep barx only bout 1.6metres deep. is jst close to wrk in mount roskil |
Posted By: Phantom Menace
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2014 at 7:50pm
That is a bummer Barx! For those of you further south - here are rumours of some interest in underwater rugby in Dunedin - and Moana Pool is deep enough.
|
Barx wrote:Posted By: SandyTimar
Date Posted: 30 Apr 2014 at 1:36pm
|
Phantom,
Whats the deal with the underwater Rugby in Auckland? Do I just show up with a mask and Finns?
I finally brought some decent free dive gear about a month ago and am keen to get in a bit of training. Monday nights don't work for me with the Auckland freedive club so looking for alternatives.
Cheers
Tim ------------- The most important thing is to keep the most important thing the most important thing. http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow"> 
|
Posted By: Weightless
Date Posted: 30 Apr 2014 at 4:10pm
|
Hey Tim, Underwater Rugby is on most Sundays from 5-6. It does vary depending on pool availability though so if you are coming along check in. We try to organise 2 even teams and then go at it for an hour. You just need togs, mask, snorkel and some fins that have rubber on the edges (most spearo fins would slice up the opposition!) Re other training options, the Auckland Freediving club also train on Wednesday (2 difffeent pool options actually one at Henderson and the other at the Panmure pool. During Daylight savings we also train at Lake Pupuke on Thursdays. You will need to pop along to a Monday induction before you can attend a Wed or Thursday option though. Let me know if you want to know more. |
Posted By: Phantom Menace
Date Posted: 30 Apr 2014 at 8:52pm
|
SandyTimar - ^^ What Weightless said. I will send you a PM with my contact details. Also, The NZ UWR website is: http://www.nzuwr.org.nz" rel="nofollow - http://www.nzuwr.org.nz
|
Posted By: Pixie Z
Date Posted: 01 May 2014 at 1:04am
|
A couple months ago a few of us from the uni spearo club at Otago started doing breathhold sessions a couple times a week. I usually warm up by just swimming 500-1000m with no fins, breathings every 5-7 strokes (twice a lap). Then with fins we do a set of 25s underwater, decreasing the number of breaths each lap. After first 25 we take 6 breaths before doing a second 25, and drop down by one breath each lap until we get to a one breath. After a recovery we do a set of delays. I do an underwater 25m, followed by 15 second delay, and a return underwater 25m on one breath. Each subsequent delay I increase by 15secs. So far I can get up to doing it with a 60sec delay. Usually we'll finish off the session with a few 25m fingercrawls, negative 25s, statics, and bubble ring blowing just for fun. We've got a few brand new spearos in the club so not everyone does this session but we tailor it to each divers ability and experience. Our sessions are also always done with buddies for safety.
|
Posted By: Barx
Date Posted: 06 May 2014 at 7:38pm
|
Pixie, love your work. Sounds like fun. ------------- Do or do not. There is no try. |
Posted By: Pixie Z
Date Posted: 07 May 2014 at 1:03pm
|
Thanks Barx. This is my first venture into breath hold training but even after just a few sessions I've noticed a significant improvement in my capabilities. Not sure how this translates to the water, but since doing just a few of these sessions I've improved my at home static from roughly 3mins 30 to just over 5mins. And definitely found my breath hold in the water has improved a lot.
|
Posted By: Weightless
Date Posted: 07 May 2014 at 1:48pm
|
Pool training definitely helps with in the water, but I have found nothing quite beats depth training though. Diving deeper normally brings on a more positive dive response and the changing partial pressure can feel quite different and getting used to this will translate to longer spearing dives. Personally, I have added just under a minute to my spearing dives over the last a year and this was mainly due to regular lake training. I had been pool training for a year and a half prior to this but didn't find this translated quite the same way. On a related note Gemma Cookson has just written up an article on how freedive training has helped her spearing and other sports. This can be found at http://www.aucklandfreediving.co.nz/gemma-cookson" rel="nofollow - http://www.aucklandfreediving.co.nz/gemma-cookson |
Posted By: Pixie Z
Date Posted: 07 May 2014 at 6:37pm
| Cool, interesting article thanks. Yes, I can see how specific depth training would have an advantage over pool sessions. Something I will look at doing sometime in the near future. In the meantime however, I am getting good results from my pool sessions so will continue those as they're much better than doing nothing. |
Posted By: SpearHori
Date Posted: 20 May 2014 at 6:39am
|
Hi was wondering if anyone knows if anyone does dive training at West wave Henderson? Or somewhere out west. Thanks. |
Posted By: i-spear
Date Posted: 20 May 2014 at 8:25am
Auckland Free Diving Club. I get their facebook invites for Westwave all the time.
|
Posted By: Phantom Menace
Date Posted: 20 May 2014 at 10:16am
|
As i-Spear says ... Auckland Freediving Club has a group at West Wave Wednesdays 7pm - 8pm (prior to underwater hockey). Weightless from here drives this mostly.
Before you turn up to a session at West Wave you would need to have done a pool safety induction (these are run first Monday of the month at the Tepid Baths in town).
More info: http://www.aucklandfreediving.co.nz/Join-The-Auckland-Freediving-Club" rel="nofollow - http://www.aucklandfreediving.co.nz/Join-The-Auckland-Freediving-Club
There is also Underwater Rugby at West Wave on Sundays 5pm - 6pm.
http://www.nzuwr.org.nz/" rel="nofollow - http://www.nzuwr.org.nz/ (Auckland underwater rugby is a mix of spearos and underwater hockey players with a few free-divers in the mix too). |
Posted By: SpearHori
Date Posted: 20 May 2014 at 4:17pm
| Cool cheers for that. I thought AFC was based and done all their training In town. Thanks for the info. |
Posted By: SpearHori
Date Posted: 20 May 2014 at 4:30pm
|
I like the sound of a safety induction. |
Posted By: Phantom Menace
Date Posted: 20 May 2014 at 4:53pm
|
AFC main pool training night is Mondays at the Tepid Baths (jumping in the spa afterwards adds a "lets plan a spearfishing trip" dimension to things at times ... )
And there are two smaller groups that train Wednesdays at West Wave Henderson and also the pool at Panmure. West Wave is not happening this week
Depth sessions are at Lake Pupuke Thursdays after work during daylight saving (along with some ad hoc "let's go lunchtime or on a weekend" sessions outside daylight saving).
The safety induction is useful because it then means that all new members have the same level of understanding / practice as they will at times have to act as safety for another club member.
|
Posted By: bazzamckazza
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2014 at 7:17pm
|
a couple of guys have mentioned they found depth training good for improving bottom time. can this be achieved by diving to say 10m and holding slowly increasing the time at that depth or is just about max depth |