Static/Dynamic warm-up?

[SanderP]

Hi!

Is there something you can do before your static/dynamic training to improve times and performe better? I'd like to know if there is something else besides the regular breathe-up, any other breathing patterns? How do you competitors warm yourself up before the competition?

Also, about the breathe-up: is it only useful right before the descend or also when being at the boat, driving to the diving location etc? (so 1/2 hour or an hour before the dive)

Thanks!

Sander

[jome]

Ok, I'm just going to spill it. Let's assume, I have a competition on sat, static startup at 13:00 (this applies to only static). So this is my competition routine as it currently stands (it always keeps evolving of course)

First, 2 weeks before the competition, I stop all cardio, gym etc. I also change my diet slightly to lighter meals. If I loose a pound or two in the coming weeks, I'm confident. But you should not be starving. Just eat normal...I also start regular dry/wet statics, pertty much every day.

On comp. week training would be:
mon static, tue, static, wed rest, thu rest, fri static. I sometimes do 2 days of static before a comp, but usually only one. I don't know the scientific details of it, but the best statics for me are always done at the end of a 2-3 day succession of max static daily.

Days ahead, I make sure I have a coach and go through with him what I need. After my warmup starts, I don't want to be worrying about anything else than holding my breath. Start times, choosing lanes, arguing with judges...That's all for the coach.

On starting from friday evening, I will eat no solid food. I make sure I drink enough (but not too much). I try to get some good sleep, but usually am too nervous and have problems falling a sleep.

On saturday I will continue with the non-eating, but drink a few "nutridrink" meal replacement thingys every few hours, the last one 2-3 hours before start. I make sure I drink enough water (but not too much!) and may pop a few electrolyte supplements if I'm feeling nervous about over-hydration.

45 minutes before start, I sit by the pool with my clothes on and amuse my self by marveling at the n00bs rushing into the water too early I then change into my wetsuit.

About 30 min before start I slip into the water and start my warmup. I'll post here my warmup times for reference, but it's pointless to copy it. But it's something you can start working from if you have no other ideas. Of course you have to "convert" the times to what ever you target is. Let's assume a target of 7:30

-First I do an easy FRC static just to sort of settle down and get to feel the water
-Relax for a minute or two
-FRC Static 3-4 minutes
-Relax for a couple of minutes, breathup about 5 deepish, slow breaths
-FRC Static 4:30
-Relax for a while, wait for previous competitors countdown to official TOP, maybe do a pack stretch
-Start with the countdown of the previous diver, full inhale static, 6 - 6:30 minutes
-At this point I should have about 5 minutes on the clock. I just close my eyes and relax
-When the annoucer says 2 minutes, I put on my nose clip
-At -1:30 I start to slightly deepen and control my breathing
-From 1:00 I do 4-5 deepish breath cycles
-At -0:30 I start packing
-At 0:05, still packing...
-0:05 packing, packing, packing...
-Roll over and start

Then I just sort of try to empty my mind. But if it's a competition, various things will be running through my head for the first minutes, but the first signal at 4:00 usually comes as a pleasant surprise if everything has gone right

At 4:30 - 4:45 I get the first contraction. If it's over that, I worry...

Then I just count the contractions to pass the time and make my way to the minimum target. Usually I set it at 6:30. This is the "no bailout" target. It has to be ambitious enought to require an effort, but low enough that I really don't need to bail out. If I'm still feeling good, I keep going. I don't do any weird tests to check my conciousness. I know when I've had enough intuitively somehow.

About 20 seconds before I get up, I put my hands on the edge of the pool and bring my body upright. This has 2 functions. First, it feels good and I can steal a couple of more seconds, second I get ready to get up with minimal movement and good support. Don't want to dip into the water and mess up the SP just because I have bad support from the ledge, plus it's a safety thing. Even with a severe samba, I have a better chance to stay above water without help.

Right before I get up, I blow out some air. This is so I can steal even the seconds I would be exhaling after getting up to my performance and when I get up, the first thing I can do is inhale.

I lift my head up enough to breathe, but not all the way up. I take exactly 5 deep breaths before doing anything else. Just supporting my self, face down, breathe, breathe, breathe...I have timed it and 5 breaths is what I can do while still having a healthy few seconds to complete the SP. I also do this in every training max static so it becomes second nature instead of a concious process. Therefore I do it the same way even when close to the limit.

I then remove the noseclip, stare the judge in the eyes, show the ok and say "I'm ok". This is also done in every training max static.

So there you have it. Things that people will not agree with or may want to add/try:
-Last warmup, I don't know many that do an almost max performance just before top. But it works for me
-You may want to settle down for a couple of hours before start. Go somewhere peace full and relax.
-Some light stretching may help

Then there is the no warmup/no breathup school. I agree that if you have the will power, the less breathup you do, the better. All it does is make the breathing reflex easier to tolerate. I have gone down from bordering on hyperventilation to 10 deep inhales and finally now down to 5. About the no warmup I'm not so convinced, but some swear by it. I can do about 90-95% performance with that method, but the consistency is not very good. If you want to get that to work, you need to train it a LOT.

[efattah]

Jome's method for static is almost exactly the same as what I do. The only difference is that I do my warm-ups with full lungs. I also need a long static just before, in order to do well. Usually to make 8 minutes I need to do at least 6 minutes on the static before (for dry static). For wet static it is even worse -- on my pb of wet 7'58", I did 7'22" and 7'27" then 7'58", one after another...

[Narsil]

Interesting stuff. I guess I'm from the "less is more" statics school (which could also mean I'm lazy).

I only do a max static once every two to three weeks. Apart from that I'll practice dynamics approx weekly, go for a recreational sea dive weekly if possible and do some apnea walking. I don't really do dry statics in any serious way.

I don't eat solids for about 5 hours prior, but try to keep water, iron and salt levels topped up a bit. I am very prone to packing black outs, so I'm very careful about hydration.

After a bit of dry stretching and some gentle pack stretching I change into my wetsuit and get in the water 23 minutes before top time.

My current routine then is snorkel breathing / full exhale static / snorkel breathing / second negative static / snorkel breaking / pack and hold. My dive response is quite slow to kick in - this warm up nails that issue pretty well.

I used to push the negatives pretty hard, but I've eased off recently. For the first one I usually only wait for the initial contraction - about 2 minutes for me. For the second I push it out a bit further, but only to about 2.45.

My breathing cycle is pretty standard - reasonably fast inhale, couple of packs, hold for a few seconds, very slow exhale.

At 15 - 20 seconds before top time I start to pack. I need less time than many people as I only pack around 20 times. It's quite a journey finding how much packing (if any) is right for you - too many and you expend too much energy holding it in over the first few minutes.

I actually pack using my snorkel rather than lying on my back. This seems to help keep me centred (even though I'll be taking in a bit of extra residual CO2).

My first contractions seem to come regularly at around 4.30 as well, sometimes a little earlier. I like to bring my hands up a bit earlier than Jome, and then bring my feet under me for the final "push", during the last minute or so. Good to have your forearms (not just your hands) on the pool edge, completely supporting you in case of any samba issues.

Variations on a theme I guess.

[naiad]

Originally Posted by efattah

I also need a long static just before, in order to do well. Usually to make 8 minutes I need to do at least 6 minutes on the static before (for dry static). For wet static it is even worse -- on my pb of wet 7'58", I did 7'22" and 7'27" then 7'58", one after another...

Same with me. I need to do a long first static, and with short rests in between.

[SanderP]

Thanks everyone who have replied! Are you doing the same warm-up when you're just going for a recreational freediving trip (no copetitions, just diving for fun)?

[Narsil]

My comments only really apply for pool based static practice / competition.

For recreational freediving I don't do much prep at all and little of the above would apply. No structured warm up (althought I'll often still do a partial exhale / negative dive to 10m or so to help kick in my dive response).

Best news is that you can eat some food in the hours prior

[jome]

Pretty much the same here. After setting everything up, swimming to the spot etc etc, it's good to settle down for a few minutes. I usually do some negative hanging in reasonable depths (10 m sounds about right). Before any performance dives (that I count as recreational I usually "test" my state by doing an easy static or two. It really helps alot. In the water you are constantly moving, swimming, cold, spotting...You think you're relaxed, but often that's not the case. It's really revealing when you start to do what you thing is an easy static and think you're going to die after 1 minute! But do a couple of those, and suddenly you're in "dive mode" again and the big dive feels like a walk in the park...But if you don't prefer surface statics, then some hangs at shallow depths, possibly on exhale...

I prefer not to go into the water on full stomach, but it's really imporant to have eaten something. Usually 1-2 hours to digest before diving will do, but you'll want to eat something light and easy to digest. A huge stake an hour before would not go well Usually I eat normal on dive days, and 1-2 hours before entering the water perhaps a banana or something...