A.I.D.A Opens Kebab Shop?

Only joking!! No A.I.D.A (the world governing body for freediving) is not branching out into the kebab chain, this is the kebab shop i go to once i finish my pool training sessions on a Wednesday. Just thought it was funny they named it AIDA...

Anyway, i didn't train static last week due to my chest infection and just played about a bit and boy did i pay the price this week. I stopped eating 4hrs before training and prepared myself in the usual way and headed off down to the pool.

My breath up's / warm ups were o.k, i completed the warm up holds as i have listed before in this blog and the times seemed average but on the last hold i thought i was doing well with dealing with my contractions as i took the first 20 really slowly. After taking 60 contractions i looked at my watch and felt really DISAPPOINTED!! 4mins 53sec. My first contraction must of kicked in very early due to my un-relaxed state and coldness.

Full inhale (2min 11sec) 2min rest
Full inhale (2min 33sec) 2min rest
FRV empty lung hold (1min 11sec) 2min rest
FRV empty lung hold (1min) 2min rest
Full exhale / inhale plus packing (4mins)
Full exhale / inhale plus packing (4min 53sec)

I just couldn't get my mind into it tonight, the pool was cold and i just couldn't relax my body. My dynamic was rubbish too, again i felt uncomfortable and surfaced at 75mtrs then just done a few lazy lengths to work on my glide (which did go well)

I always feel really down if my performances are below what I'm capable of but i know i cannot be at my peak performance 100% of the time. I'm not going to set new P.B's week in week out. I'm going to do a few dry statics this week and go through some Co2 tables which I've never been a fan of but i know they will certainly give me a little more confidence when i train next week.

Remember Why I Started Freediving......

I have not trained at all since last Wednesday due to my chest infection and enjoyed letting my body heal and recover a bit. I went to the pool last night as i usually do but had no restriction on diet or preparation before hand as i just wanted to practice my dynamic technique and nothing more. It was nice to have no expectation of performance as i travelled to the pool, i felt more relaxed than i have ever felt. I thought "just go along and have some fun. I promised myself ages ago that every 6wks or so i would not train hard and just get back to enjoying the water and reminding myself why i started freediving. I love this sport but sometimes we forget why we started as the pressure we put on ourselves to perform week in week out is immense.

I have attached a video clip of Guillaume Nery and his 109mtr constant weight WR dive which again reminds me why i embraced this sport and the beauty it holds. This video is so inspiring for me, the music and voice over puts you head first in the water whilst you watch it.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=X6sowLt5Hes

I really enjoyed my nights "training" last night, i felt totally different whilst in the water and completed some very easy 75mtr slow swims and 10x 50mtr swims with ease. I will get back on track next week with full on training and maybe try a 125mtr dynamic next Wednesday (start building up the pressure already!!!)

Anyway ENJOY the video!!

Video Time

Here is some video footage taken by my wife from tonight's training. I was working on my dynamic technique (100mtrs) which seemed to go o.k. My turn at 75mtrs was dreadful but the performance felt comfortable. I should have pushed a little harder tonight up to 125mtr mark which i will attempt next week. I had a bad cold or "man flu" last week and my chest still felt sore tonight whilst training but I'm glad to get some video footage done so i can see what my technique is looking like and what i need to improve on. Judging by the footage i need to improve on everything. I'm using a kick-kick-glide technique which I'm finding good but looking at the footage i need to provide more of the power from the core of my body and not so much from my legs.

The video below is a 6min 03sec static, didn't feel as easy as last weeks. My chest was hurting from "man flu" and probably shouldn't of trained tonight? I am happy with the performance but didn't enjoy this one. Maybe it was because i knew i was on video and wanted to get it posted on here so felt pressured to perform. Not a good outlook to have if i want to compete in next years 2nd Camberwell Breath Hold?

6mins 08secs

Well, i finally did it! Last night i finally broke the 6min barrier with a static performance of 6min 08sec. I set myself a 6min target to reach before Christmas this year and have reached it much sooner than i anticipated.

Over the last week i have been finally working on my cardio by bike riding (got my new bike) I found this type of training much more enjoyable than running and seem to be getting a much out of it as i did when i ran. Gym training still consists of three sessions a week Chest and biceps - Back and triceps and then on the third day shoulders.

I changed my B vitamin supplements to a B vit with added B12 which i find is working better in absorption of my daily in take of food and the garlic is helping lower my heart rate.

Prep for the static was as always....ACIDIC!! i really find this approach better for safety reasons as the gas exchange causes the blood Ph to increase to a high alkaline level causing black out but this has been reduced massively since i have been lowering my Ph to a much more acidic level.

Relax for 2mins
Full exhale-Full inhale (no packing)-Hold to 10 contractions (2min 31sec)
Relax for 2mins
Full exhale-Full inhale (no packing)-Hold to 10 contractions (2min 50sec)
Relax for 2mins
Full exhale FRV (empty lung)-Hold to 10 contractions (1min 16sec)
Relax for 2mins
Full exhale FRV (empty lung)-Hold to 10 contractions (1min 26sec)
Relax for 2mins
Hyperventilate for 2mins-Full exhale-Full inhale (packing) Hold to 10 contractions (4min 15sec)Relax for 2mins
Hyperventilate for 2mins-Full exhale-Full inhale (plus packing) Max hold attempt (6min 08sec)

At the end of my hold i went back into panic mode as last week but as soon as i had exhaled half a lung full everything went very calm again buying me another 40secs!

Video of next weeks performance will be posted next week! I cant wait to hit the 7min mark now which i am hoping will be around March time next year.

New Static PB 5min 53sec

This weeks training was almost non-existent, no gym work, no apnea walking, no dry training. Prep for Wednesday's pool session was in line with previous weeks as was my regular cup of green tea with two squeezed lemons in it 3hrs before training. I was trying to have a rest this week from my training schedule to let my body heal and i was also hopeful of a new breath up technique (well new to me) that i wanted to try out in the pool.

I'm very much in a self experimental mode of my training at the moment and trying to find how my body reacts to different types of breath up's, diets etc.

Tonight at the pool i didn't start of with the normal FRV (empty lung) holds and left the snorkel at home which i usually use in between holds with my face emerged to promote the dive reflex. Instead i tried the following....

Relax for 2mins
Full exhale-Full inhale (no packing)-Hold to 10 contractions (2min 12sec)
Relax for 2mins
Full exhale-Full inhale (no packing)-Hold to 10 contractions (2min 34sec)
Relax for 2mins
Full exhale FRV (empty lung)-Hold to 10 contractions (1min 10sec)
Relax for 2mins
Full exhale FRV (empty lung)-Hold to 10 contractions (1min 27sec)
Relax for 2mins
Hyperventilate for 2mins-Full exhale-Full inhale (packing) Hold to 10 contractions (4min 15sec)
Relax for 2mins
Hyperventilate for 2mins-Full exhale-Full inhale (plus packing) Max hold attempt (5min 53sec)

The total time of the last static hold was my best yet and i was very happy with the outcome but the experience i had at the end of the hold was very new to me.

At 5min 20sec i remember looking at my watch, I'd already hit 60 contractions which i went through very fast (so fast, i couldn't count most of them) i had a small exhale of air which i normally do which is my indicator for the end of a hold but for some reason i became very peaceful and contractions stopped? I remember looking at the bottom of the pool and thinking to myself "this is easy" "i could stay down here for ages" i looked at my watch again and it was 5mins 50 sec. Some 30secs had past during this feeling of euphoria but my sub conscious told me to surface which i did. I surfaced clean, took three recovery breaths and removed my goggles.

I must of been very hypercapnic at the start of the hold and my O2 levels dropped very low with no or very little CO2 to warn me i was running low on O2. Black out was extremely close but avoided.

I went straight into dynamic training after to try out some new swim trousers (triathlon type) which i found to be great, my wet suit which i normally use retained too much water causing way too much drag and i found that i was less buoyant with the trousers on which meant i could pack a little more than normal. I also tried some different kick styles which seemed to have worked well.

When i got home i went straight to bed but found myself tossing and turning most of the night and slept for about 3hrs during the night? I also woke up with very painful ribs / lungs which i think was due to the workout they had, had during training.

I will be resting for the remainder of this week...