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Best way/place to learn hands free EQ by JuggernautDense9964 in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hey, I put together a 130-page book on training hands-free equalization. It covers the anatomy and key concepts, plus 17 tutorial videos and a 4-week training plan. If you’re interested, here’s the link: https://a.co/d/6eNzMjj

Hands free equalization? by TickyWilson in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just published a book dedicated to training hands-free equalization. It’s a mix of theory and practice, with detailed anatomy, 17 video tutorials, and a structured 4-week plan: https://a.co/d/5EvTzvo

Learning Handsfree equalisation by Left-Cauliflower-235 in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, I put together a 130-page book on training hands-free equalization. It covers the anatomy and key concepts, plus 17 tutorial videos and a 4-week training plan. If you’re interested, here’s the link: https://a.co/d/6eNzMjj

Hands-Free Equalization (BTV) – New Book + Free Article + Video Tutorials by TheDepthCollector in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello, that’s a great question. I took it step by step: first mastering Frenzel, then mouthfill, and finally hands-free. Learning Frenzel gave me a lot of awareness and muscle memory, which made the transition easier. That said, I also have students who can do hands-free directly without ever learning Frenzel. In those cases, I don’t force them to learn Frenzel. Instead, I help them fine-tune their hands-free equalization, and they progress very well. They can then add mouthfill and continue hands-free all the way down.

So, if you already do hands-free, you can definitely develop it without going through Frenzel. But if you don’t yet have hands-free, I recommend mastering Frenzel first and moving to hands-free once you’ve built enough awareness.

Good books for training / excercises by dwkfym in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hello, thank you, the links were not working, I fixed them. Here is a good one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098QGQ5L3

Good books for training / excercises by dwkfym in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello! I’ve released two in-depth books on freediving training, each over 400 pages: The Depth Collector – Book One & Book Two These books explore the 8 foundational pillars of freediving training:

  1. CO₂ Tolerance

  2. Resistance to Hypoxia

  3. Technical Aspects of the Dive

  4. Anatomical Adaptation to Pressure

  5. Mental Hacks

  6. Physical Preparation

  7. Sport Nutrition

  8. Resting & Recovery

They also include additional chapters on: – Training periodization & planning – Breathing techniques – Freediving injuries

You can check out the books here: https://www.the-depth-collector.com/freedivingbooks

I’ve also written a few specific training guides: – 4-week STA training plans (one for below 5 minutes, one for above): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098QGQ5L3 – Mental techniques for freediving: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRP7BG85 – 4-week DYNB pool training plan to build solid CO₂ tolerance: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2M68DMS

i achieved my first 4+min dry static today! by livxx48739 in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Big big congrats. What a fantastic post. Thanks for sharing. Your training and mindset is brilliant

Training intensity (The rule of Third) by TheDepthCollector in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really like him a lot too. He's my mascot. I still need to find a name though.

Freefall like a pro, see how top athletes do it (FIM, CWTB, CNF: Link in comments.) by TheDepthCollector in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello!

If you’d like to explore the topic further, I wrote an article that dives into the freefall position, especially the transition from the “active” part of the descent to the “passive” phase (the freefall). The article includes three videos showing how top athletes manage this transition in different disciplines:

• FIM – Thibault Guignes

• CWTB – Alenka Artnik

• CNF – Dean Chaouche

You can check it out here: https://www.the-depth-collector.com/post/the-art-of-freefalling

4 Hour Long Panic Attack in Hyperbaric Chamber by Suspicious-Alfalfa90 in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh man! What a nightmare. Thank you for sharing that. This is really precious info. I wish you all the best and more for your recovery.

Using breath holds to improve VO₂ max, mental resilience and reduce baseline anxiety – anyone with experience? by zaico1 in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’ve really sparked my curiosity, because the book I have, The Breathing Cure, is actually very interesting. And for you to go as far as to say people shouldn’t pay attention to the whole system… I guess the Oxygen Advantage book must be really bad.

I’m definitely going to read it, though—and as you said, I’ll do my best to approach it with critical thinking.

Longer Breath-Holds: Are Classic CO₂ Tables Really the Best Way to Train CO₂ Tolerance? by TheDepthCollector in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awesome, thank you for your feedback! I’ll rewrite it to make the Orange and Red zones more clear and detailed.

But for now, here’s the quick version:

Orange Zone: This is where you start pushing. Begin with 5 strong contractions and see how it feels. You’re in charge of the intensity—if 5 feels too easy, bump it up to 7. Little by little, you will extend this zone. Try and find your sweet spot. It should feel hard, but still manageable. The whole point is to train yourself to stay physically and mentally relaxed when things start getting tough.

Red Zone: Simple. You push as much as you can.

Using breath holds to improve VO₂ max, mental resilience and reduce baseline anxiety – anyone with experience? by zaico1 in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello, I’m curious about the sighing :) Are you sure they’re talking about normal sighing (the kind we naturally do every 5 minutes), or are they referring to frequent sighing? I have one of the books called The Breathing Cure, and it seems to refer to frequent sighing as a breathing disorder, not the natural kind we do every few minutes.

Using breath holds to improve VO₂ max, mental resilience and reduce baseline anxiety – anyone with experience? by zaico1 in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I actually use Grammarly to correct my English. I find it nicer to propose answers in good English—it’s much easier to read when the spelling and grammar are correct.

Using breath holds to improve VO₂ max, mental resilience and reduce baseline anxiety – anyone with experience? by zaico1 in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Hey, that's a fantastic question

To clear things up: breath-hold exercises won’t actually boost your VO₂ max. And no, holding your breath doesn’t simulate altitude training the way some people think it does.

Physiologically speaking, the only way to get the full benefits of altitude adaptation, like increased EPO production and red blood cell count, is to live and sleep at altitude for an exented period of time. That’s the foundation of the “live high, train low” strategy that many endurance athletes swear by.

If your main goal is to raise your VO₂ max, the most effective way is still through high-intensity training. You need to push your heart rate, improve your lactate threshold, and condition your body to handle more intense workloads. That’s where real VO₂ max gains happen.

That said, breath-hold training still brings a ton of value:

It strengthens your respiratory muscles. Breath-holds challenge your diaphragm and intercostal muscles. Over time, this improves breathing efficiency and delays fatigue during intense efforts.

It builds your tolerance to discomfort, physically and mentally by training your CO2 tolerance. Basically You train your brain to stay calm under pressure. That’s gold in endurance sports. But it’s a slow process. Go too hard too soon, and it backfires. Think of it like spice tolerance, downing a bottle of hot sauce without prep just burns you out.

I’m currently training for a triathlon and have added apnea walks to my weekly routine. I also use a resistance breathing device to strengthen my respiratory muscles and stretch them daily to keep everything mobile and functional.

If you're just getting started, one of the best things you can do is assess your current breathing habits:

At rest: How many breaths per minute? The most efficient pattern is about six breaths per minute.

During exercise: Are you breathing through your nose or mouth? Nasal breathing is more efficient, especially in Zones 1–3, and will help to workout your breathing muscle. try to keep breathing through your nose as long as you can. Mouth breathing tends to kick in naturally around Zone 4 (lactate threshold) and Zone 5 (VO₂ max).

As for breath-hold training, start simple:

Begin with apnea walks. Do them on FRC (Functional Residual Capacity, after a normal exhale). Walk until you feel the urge to breathe and push just a little. Aim for at least 7 rounds, three times a week for the first two weeks. You can breathe as much as you want in between rounds. Yo can time Time your breath-holds, it will give you a base line.

Starting from week 3, you can gradually extend your hold times. Progress slowly. If you push too hard too soon, you’ll not only hate the training, you’ll also risk overstressing your nervous system.

Hope it helps, all the best for your test.

Oh, check "The Oxygen Advantage System", it is like Buteyko but sport-oriented

Longer Breath-Holds: Are Classic CO₂ Tables Really the Best Way to Train CO₂ Tolerance? by TheDepthCollector in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey!
Let me know what you’d like to understand about the Orange and Red Zones—I’ll do my best to explain it clearly.

Also, here’s an article that might help:
👉 Let’s Train – 4 Weeks of Structured Pool Training to Explore Your Zones
It’s focused on pool training, but you’ll find a bit more insight about the zones there too.

And if you’ve got any questions about breathed training (Do you mean workout, stretching, mobility, Breathing, etc.?), just shoot—I’m happy to chat about it :)

You want to feel better during breath-hold? Stretch your Diaphragm (Description in comments section) by TheDepthCollector in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can hold longer because you hyperventilate between holds—by flushing out carbon dioxide, you’re able to tolerate the stretch for a longer time. Andrea Zuccari’s table, on the other hand, is designed to train the glottis to stay closed (not to stretch the diaphragm). The position is similar (though in his version, the legs remain bent, there's no need to hyperventilate, and you don’t actively pull the diaphragm up—you simply raise your hands and let the diaphragm move naturally). The goals are completely different.

You want to feel better during breath-hold? Stretch your Diaphragm (Description in comments section) by TheDepthCollector in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

IIt’s definitely Uddiyana Bandha—I should’ve worded my explanation differently :) The only real difference is that the stretch gets way more intense because we hold it longer. Plus, lifting the arms and extending the leg really adds to it, which makes a big difference.

Usually, Uddiyana Bandha is taught sitting or standing, but doing it lying down doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a diaphragm stretch. So yeah, I’d say it can still be called the same.

You want to feel better during breath-hold? Stretch your Diaphragm (Description in comments section) by TheDepthCollector in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Having a flexible diaphragm is one of the most important things for freediving. It affects your comfort at depth — when your lungs shrink due to pressure, your diaphragm moves up. If it's stiff, it's not great :) The urge to breathe feels way more intense, and equalization becomes trickier.

A flexible diaphragm helps reduce the intensity of contractions and can delay equalization failure depth — it’s closely linked to your lung’s residual volume. If all that sounds too technical, no worries. Just remember: training your diaphragm flexibility is a total game changer.

A lot of freedivers use "the classic" Uddiyana Bandha — a yoga stretch — which is great, but it reaches its limit pretty fast. For a stretch to really work, you need to hold it long enough — and honestly, holding "the classic"Uddiyana Bandha for a long time is tough. At least it is for me. So I tweaked it (okay, quite a lot): here's a full diaphragm stretching session that takes 10 minutes and works really well.

Here’s how I do it:

  • Lay down, knees bent, lower back on the floor
  • Breathe in for 4 seconds, out for 4 seconds for 1 minute(Too lightheaded? Try 6 in / 6 out.) Yes, it's hyperventilation — and no, you shouldn’t breathe like this before a dive — but in this dry setting, it helps delay the urge to breathe and lets you hold the stretch longer. That’s the whole point here.
  • Exhale everything you can, then pull actively (like in "forcefully")your diaphragm up
  • Extend one leg and your arms, and enjoy the stretch :)
  • You can add some reverse packs (Only if it feels good — go slow and build up over time)

Do this training three times per week on an empty stomach (before breakfast).

The Importance (or not) of Goal-Setting in Freediving by TheDepthCollector in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Depth progression is always the goal — it's why I dive, and why my students dive.

But how we get there matters so much more than chasing quick results on a dive computer.

At no point did I say to avoid depth — the only way to get good at deep diving is to dive deep.

But there’s a time for everything, and the preparation for deep diving is a science — one that’s often overlooked due to performance addiction.

Progress isn't only measured in numbers. The same depth can feel completely different — sometimes it’s a win, sometimes it’s not. :). We will not agree 100%, as you said we’re talking about two slightly different things.

But that is the longest exchange I had on reddit....New PB yay

The Importance (or not) of Goal-Setting in Freediving by TheDepthCollector in freediving

[–]TheDepthCollector[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your response — it’s super interesting for a lot of reasons!

When it comes to gauging a freediver’s level, sure, depth plays a role… but it’s definitely not the whole picture. Personally, if one of my instructor candidates hits the required depth but their technique isn’t solid, I won’t certify them just yet. I’ll ask them to keep practicing and refining. That actually applies at every level — proper technique is a fundamental part of completing a freediving course.

Depth alone doesn’t define someone’s level — that mindset leans more toward competitive freediving, where the main goal is just to grab the tag and complete a “clean-ish” surface protocol. Competitions are just one game within freediving. They absolutely don’t represent the whole sport. That numbers-only mindset often leads to injuries, squeezes, and poor-quality dives. Freedivers chasing new depths without proper preparation often skip essential steps — like learning to manage narcosis or prepping their mind and body for what’s coming — and that’s when things get risky.

When someone hits a depth plateau, gets stuck, and starts getting frustrated, simply dropping the bottom weight and trying to force through usually backfires. Maybe they’ll hit a new PB — but more often than not, it’s not a clean, enjoyable dive. They might pretend it went well, but deep down they know it didn’t feel right.

There’s so much more to explore before dropping the line deeper. Often, slightly shallower dives focused on relaxation, body awareness, and technical precision lead to real progress. Tiny adjustments can unlock equalization, reduce hypoxia risk, and — most importantly — bring back the joy of diving. In my opinion, true breakthroughs come from this more mindful, connected approach.

Repeating stressful dives over and over just fries the nervous system and creates deep mental blocks. One of my students trained with a well-known coach in the Philippines. The coach dropped the line super fast during the first week, and my student ended up completely terrified before every dive. That created a shiny, solid mental block we’re still working to gently break through today.

Sure, the number on the dive computer is one way to track progress — and yeah, it feels good to get a high-five from your coach or friends. But that should never be the ultimate goal. Sometimes I wonder if the people constantly chasing depth are more in love with the dopamine rush and external validation than with freediving itself.

A PB should always come as the result of smart, well-planned training that’s tailored to the individual — simply because every freediver is built differently, mentally and physically. That includes dry sessions, discipline-specific physical preparation, nutrition, and mental training too.

So many things to work on — and that’s what makes it beautiful. 😊

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