The apnea is the ability to stay no respiratory movements. In swimming and in sports in general, training this capacity can have certain benefits, especially at the circulatory level, where the body is deprived of continuity of oxygen and deploys adaptations to optimize its use.
Benefits of freediving in sport
we can do two types of apnea: with air in the lungs and without air in the lungs. In the first way, the body will make adaptations aimed at ventilating most of the pulmonary alveoli, when we normally use only a few areas.
In apnea without air in the lungs, what is facilitated is the venous return, in which there is still some oxygen. As we said at the beginning, with apnea the use of oxygen is optimized.
For swimmers the freediving training it can be very useful to reduce the number of exits of the head to take air, which will save a few seconds in long tests and tenths in short ones.
Being able to stay underwater for longer will also help reduce feelings of anxiety when doing a flip or starting a crowded event such as a traverse or triathlon.
freediving training
You can start with 2-4 sets of 20-30 seconds underwater with breaks of about 45 seconds between them, to later and in each training increase the apnea time by 2-3 seconds and later the number of series.
When we have controlled the sensation of apnea, we can do active apnea training, that is, with movement. we can try to do series of 15-25 meters in apnea diving or also swimming with breaths every 3-4-5 strokes.
Surely many times you have heard that some athletes train in hypoxia, because this is something similar, depriving the body of normal amounts of oxygen so that it gets used to working in these stressful situations.
Advice for freediving training
A state of relaxation optimal is ideal for freediving training. Forget freediving after a hard workout or a day when you’re really stressed.
No need to hyperventilate or take a breath many times in a row before doing the apnea, this can fool the body with the feeling that it has a lot of oxygen and then play tricks on us, it is simply enough to take a couple of breaths and in a normal way before submerging.
If you’re going to be just passive with air in your lungs, you need to have a support to avoid surfacing due to the buoyancy effect. The easiest thing is to grab onto the pool stairs, although the curb or lane ropes can also work.
Freediving training safety
Of course, the first thing in freediving training is safety, so it is best to train together with a partner always keep an eye on us in case any unforeseen event arises. If we don’t have a partner and we are in a pool, we can always notify the lifeguard of the activity we are going to do (although he will surely look at us with a strange face…)
Train hardly in open water it is more dangerous than in a swimming pool, however it is more satisfying especially if the environment allows good views. But as we say, always in company.
This article was originally published by Juan Lara in February 2012 and has been revised for republication.
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