5 Ways to Increase Your Freediving Breath-Hold
March 9, 2021
Freediving is an addictive sport that improves physical fitness and mental strength and takes you on an incredible journey of self-discovery. Every water enthusiast knows the feeling of wanting to stay underwater longer, whether it is to view the underwater world's beauty, hunt that elusive fish, or just compete with yourself. Whatever is calling you to stay down longer, we have come up with the five best ways to help you increase your freediving breath-hold. Read on to find out more and take your freediving skills to the next level.
5 top ways to increase your freediving breath-hold.
1. Practice yoga.
The key to a good, long breath-hold is relaxation, relaxation, relaxation! The more relaxed your body becomes before a breath-hold, and the more relaxed your body stays during the breath-hold, the more you will increase your breath-hold time. Regular yoga practice promotes proper breathing techniques, increases the flexibility of the body's muscles and lungs, and trains you to relax your mind.
Many professional freedivers incorporate regular yoga practice into their training routine.
2. Find a good instructor/coach.
Most people interested in freediving take their first SSI freediving course at their local freediving training center. When you do this, you are not just learning how to freedive, but you are joining a community of active freedivers.
As you will learn, freediving is not just a fun sport, it is a lifestyle. Your SSI Freediving Instructor will most likely become your training coach, helping you to become the best freediver you can possibly be, so look for a good one! A good instructor will have a wealth of experience and will offer frequent training sessions to help you become the best freediver you can be.
Attending weekly training sessions is one of the best ways to increase your breath-hold time.
READ MORE: 10 BEST FREEDIVING SPOTS IN THE WORLD.
3. Practice breath-holding at home.
You may not always have access to a pool, but that does not mean you cannot practice a breath-hold dive from home.
Increase your freediving breath-hold by regularly practicing your freediving breathing components from the comfort of your own home.
While laying down in a comfortable location at home, practice the three parts of a breath-hold dive:
By doing this often at home, you will increase your ability to relax while holding your breath and become comfortable with the entire breath-holding process. Please note, however, to NEVER practice breath-holding at home while standing. To prevent the possibility of a blackout, only perform at-home dryland training in a laying-down position.
4. Work on your cardiovascular fitness.
Let's face it, you can be the most relaxed freediver in the world, but your lungs are your air tank, and they can only hold as much air as their volume allows. You can, however,
increase your lung capacity through cardiovascular training.
Running and swimming are the two best ways to improve your cardio fitness. By doing so, you will not only increase your lung capacity, thereby allowing you to hold more air during a breath-hold, but your body will become more efficient at using the oxygen it has as well. Regular cardio training is an excellent way to increase your breath-hold.
5. Continue your breath-hold training.
Becoming better at freediving overall is one of the best ways to increase your freediving breath-hold time. The best way to get better at anything is by continuing your education in that area. Do not just become a
Basic Freediver and stop there!
There is a whole world of SSI freediving knowledge that can teach you to dive deeper and stay underwater longer.
The
SSI Training Techniques program is one of the best programs to help increase breath-hold time and it takes holding your breath to the next level. This SSI freediving course teaches you special freediving breath-hold exercises that can be done both at home and in the water. In this Training Techniques course, you will
discover your strengths and weaknesses and create a personalized training plan to better your freediving performance.
Learning to increase your breath-hold can be a fun and rewarding journey. Please remember, however, that you should
NEVER practice freediving alone. Always have another certified freediver present as a training partner any time you are in the water - be it in your pool at home or out in the ocean.
Learn more about SSI Freediving.
Learning how to freedive is the start of a lifelong journey that allows you to explore the oceans in an entirely new way. It is a lifestyle choice with endless adventures, made even better by the array of SSI Freediving courses you can choose from.
Whether you are new to SSI freediving and want to
get certified as a freediver, or are an experienced freediver looking for a new challenge, we have a course for you. Our
advanced freediving training programs are the perfect way to try different freediving disciplines, develop your skills and become more efficient in the water.
READ MORE: 10 BEST FREEDIVING COURSES FOR NEW FREEDIVERS.
Source: image©Janez Kranjc