Freediving means “free diving.” Why casual? First of all, because the diver goes underwater without an aqualung. You are equipped only with a mask, snorkel and fins and… your own held breath!
Man has been diving for thousands of years, and the first diving technique was just going underwater on held breath. Early man searched underwater primarily for food, and later also for treasures of various kinds. The first engravings depicting divers armed with special outfits and apparatuses designed to enable humans to breathe underwater date back to the first century BC.
While Scuba Diving, or equipment diving, is constantly changing and evolving, Freediving remains a challenge thrown to one’s own body. It is a unique form of intense relaxation and detachment from daily worries.
Freediving – what are its characteristics?
Breath-hold diving is diving without breathing equipment, i.e. an aqualung (compressed air cylinder and oxygen mask). The length of your immersion depends on your ability to hold your breath safely.
The average person breathes about 18 times per minute, drawing about 500 ml of air into the lungs each time. Taking a deep breath, up to five times more air enters your lungs, and you can hold your breath for several tens of seconds.
Not enough? These are the seconds that you make the most of, which completely changes the perception of passing time underwater. But that’s not all! Properly designed and regularly implemented physical exercise and breathing exercises make it possible to increase lung volume – from more than 3 to 6 liters in women and from more than 4 to 8 liters in men. In the long term, and in more advanced freedivers, this makes it possible to extend the time spent underwater even to a few minutes.
The world records for static breath-hold diving are 8 minutes and 23 seconds for women and 11 minutes and 35 seconds for men.
Breath-hold diving – a sport for everyone?
Freediving can be practiced in two basic ways – by treating it as a sporting challenge (thrown primarily at oneself) or as a form of relaxation or meditation. Here it all depends on you and your needs.
Diving on held breath is an activity available to a wide range of people willing to go underwater. Basic swimming skills and a positive attitude towards the water are enough. The first free dive should be preceded by a medical consultation, where a specialist will determine that there are no contraindications to this activity.
Freediving can be practiced by children from 12. years of age (optional from 10 years of age, provided they have reached sufficient weight and are able to cooperate with the instructor) and teenagers, adults and seniors (no upper age limit, provided there are no contraindications to diving).
What’s more, Freediving can also be practiced by people with musculoskeletal and visual or hearing disabilities. In this case, too, the principle of no medical contraindications to diving and a positive attitude towards water applies.
For people with physical disabilities, it is most often necessary to engage additional instructors to assist the freediver.
Freediving – equipment needed
Freediving is called equipment-free diving. However, this does not mean that you go underwater without anything! Freedivers do not use an aqualung, which is equipment that allows them to breathe underwater. Instead, he uses what is known as ABC equipment, that is, a mask and goggles, and fins for Freediving.
Freedivers also benefit from ballast, which facilitates effective management of the depth of submergence and the speed of submergence and ascent.
Optional equipment for the freediver includes wetsuits or swim skins (used in open-water diving to protect the diver’s body from hypothermia) and selected electronic gadgets (allowing monitoring of vital body parameters, as well as the length of the diving session).
How do you start your adventure with breath-hold diving?
Best with us! At Deepspot, we provide safe and comfortable diving conditions in one of the most modern and largest diving conditions simulators in the world. At our place, the water has a pleasant temperature of 32 – 34 degrees C. at any depth. It is also perfectly clean and clear. Your safety is supervised by highly qualified and experienced instructors with all the necessary licenses.
Deespot’s breath-hold diving course is an opportunity to gain knowledge and skills that will open the door to the underwater world! Upon completion of the course, you will receive SSI Level 1 Freediving certification. This is the first step in your Freediver career, confirming that you are qualified to dive on held breath in a partner system, in closed and open water environments to a depth of 20 meters.
Do you want to try Freediving? Get in touch with us!
