Being among younger people than myself is stimulating and motivating to me. Sometimes I admit it is frightening to me, especially when I am being called “grandpa” by these lovely young people, haha.
The questions “How can I prepare best for the trip?” and “You know of any good free dive exercises” are for sure in our top 10 FAQ.
To stay in shape, I watch my diet. I do not drink alcohol, I do not smoke. and I eat pretty healthy in general. Going to the gym and of course freediving itself is a fantastic way to stay in shape. The freediving exercises I normally do are limited to some breath holding while watching a movie and climbing up stairs. I have always been very happy with the depths I reach and the dive times I had.
Recently I quit the traditional gym and I started running 3x per week in combination with some TRX suspense training. I am excited with a results I achieved in only a couple of weeks. That is the reason why I write this. I am not a scientist and this is not a scientific research. It might not work for you., though all sounds logical now when you think about it. Let me share.
After I stopped lifting weights I started to loose the pump. No news. After 2 weeks of running, I started to feel “faster” in the water. I had to do less effort to swim against the current for example. After only 2 weeks of TRX suspense training some magic happened. Personally I am not into free dive and spearfishing competitions. I just want to have a good time and get some food on the table. Though I do like numbers, so I always check my day history at the end of a trip.
Deepest dive of the day: In general, during spearfishing trips I dive to maximum 25 meters and the dives are around 1 minute to 1.15 minute. On my day history, I saw 22.5 meters (74ft), dive time 1.31 minute. Not shocking. The difference was I did not shoot fish at that dive, meaning I was hanging down there longer than usual. Significantly longer without having that intention.
Longest dive of the day: 2.38 minute at 13.1 meters (43ft). This was a surprise to me. I know I can hold my breath pretty long. But while spearfishing I have this rhythm, so I know my average time at certain depths. At these depths, an average dive is 1.5 minute. Again I did have any intention to stay down this 2.38 minute.
I feel I am moving smoother through the water. It costs me less energy to get down and apparently less energy to stay down. Could it have been just a different day? It does not look like it. So far it looks that the combination of some running and some TRX as freediving exercises positively influences freediving results.
Will post more news about this in a couple of weeks.
Saludos!
Leo