Want to know exactly what EXERCISES to do to get the BEST RESULTS in your freedive training?
What is Base Training For Freediving? A Simple Guide To Planning Like A Pro
Base training is the first of three training phases that make up the training cycle.
It is a vitally important part of any freediver’s training to make consistent and smooth progress beyond beginner level.
(Just landed here? Read this first: How To Prevent Freediving Plateaus And Set New Personal Bests Using Training Cycles)
The purpose of base training is to prepare yourself to handle phase two and three of the training cycle. This means working on three things;
1. Improving your motor skills and techniques for freediving (concerning your goal).
2. Improving your main freediving weaknesses.
3. Building your general health and fitness and work capacity.
You want to do these things at the beginning of your training cycle because this is the most valuable time to work on them.
You do not want poor fitness, a lack of skills, or any neglected weaknesses to come back and haunt you when you are about to do maximum performances, and it’s too late to work on them.
To help you plan a proper base-training phase for freediving, in this article, I’ll cover:
- - How base training for freediving actually works.
- - What to include in a base training phase.
First, let’s talk base training myths in freediving
Unfortunately, a common base-training myth exists in freediving and limits the effectiveness of many freediver’s base-training phases.
You may hear that base training for freediving is only about going to the gym and doing strength and conditioning. While strength and conditioning are essential parts of base training, it’s not the entirety of what you need to be doing.
You also need to satisfy the other two goals of base-training, which is practicing and refreshing your overall freediving skills-set, and working on your particular weaknesses within the context of freediving, neither of which are effectively trained ‘in the gym’.
How does base training in freediving work?
When defining training phases, the structure is everything.
To satisfy the three goals of base training, you need to be doing lots of different types of training, including dry, wet and cross-training exercises and making sure to perform them far from your personal best(s) in freediving.
Remember the pyramid analogy from the training cycle article?
Base-training represents the bottom of the pyramid. This is the foundation and should include everything you need to support its height.
In this analogy, having a stronger base (i.e. better base training) is going to allow you to build a taller pyramid (i.e. achieve more significant freediving performances)
What to include in a base training phase for freediving
A correctly structured base training phase includes training in all three of these areas:
- - Skill-set training: Things like finning/kicking/pulling drills, turns practice, EQ practice, speed management training, etc.
- - Weakness-targeting training: Things like CO2 & O2 training, muscular conditioning, adaptation to pressure, etc.
- - General fitness training: Things like cardio-endurance, strength, strength-endurance, and flexibility training.
Training ALL of these three areas will contribute to better quality training for the rest of the training cycle, improved overall dive quality, and most importantly, easier and better maximum performances at the end of the process.
In short, the better quality diving you perform at the beginning and in the middle of the cycle, the better performance you can expect at the end of the cycle.
Take care of these things early, and reap the rewards later :)
Want to learn more about how to train most efficiently and effectively to progress as a freediver? Watch our on-demand workshop: Uncover 7 Secrets To Unlocking Your Potential And Setting New Personal Bests.
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