r/freediving

I have been free diving consistently for about eight months now and I keep stalling out at the same depth every single session. 20 meters. I can get there comfortably but anything beyond that and I feel this weird mental block kick in even though physically I know I have more breath hold capacity.

My equalization is fine, I’m doing Frenzel and I can clear my ears without issues down to 20. My static breath hold on the surface is around 3 minutes 45 seconds which should be more than enough for deeper dives. But the second I pass 20 meters I start feeling anxious and I abort the dive even though nothing actually hurts or feels wrong.

I’ve been diving with a buddy who hits 30 meters regularly and he thinks it’s purely psychological. He suggested I stop overthinking the numbers and just focus on relaxation but that’s easier said than done when you’re descending into blue nothingness.

I also wonder if my gear is limiting me somehow. I’m using a basic mask and snorkel setup and I’ve seen people using things like a sea scooter for drift dives but I don’t know if that’s overkill for my level or actually useful.

My buddy also sent me some weird link to training discussions on alibaba which I didn’t even know existed but apparently manufacturers talk about depth training protocols there.

Has anyone else hit this kind of mental wall? How did you push through it?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I’m a beginner and just want one that’ll keep me warm for pool training. Any recommendations? I’m in the UK. Preferably less than £100.

I have had an open cell Cressi for 5 months now - it gets a lot of use and I always use a lube powder (Slippy Lube I believe)

When I couldn't find it I used conditioner for a few sessions and now the inside of my suit is no longer that grippy, sticky texture I expect but is smooth and not sticky - like I could almost get into it without lubing it at all

Is this what happens as it ages, or an effect of using conditioner, or something else?

Hey yall, I bought the common cressi 3.5 two piece. I used it for the first time recently but getting into it absolutely tore my skin open. My hands were covered in blisters after and I could only get the pants on.

Does anyone have any advice? Feeling like I’ve washed a heap of money and sick about it

Hi there,

I’m a 35-year-old man from Bangladesh. About 3 years ago, I developed post-COVID cough-variant asthma. When I play sports like table tennis, I sometimes get coughing, shortness of breath, and a burning sensation in my chest.

The last time I swam was 10 years ago, and I could swim for a 1km in the pool without feet touching the bottom of the pool.

I’ve recently become interested in freediving, but I’m concerned whether it could be dangerous for someone with my condition. I was considering freediving to only about 20-30 feet or so given my condition. But I know breath-hold diving can put stress on the lungs, so I don’t want to take too much of a risk.

Would freediving generally be considered unsafe for someone with cough-variant asthma or exercise-induced symptoms? If it’s too risky, I’d rather avoid it completely.

I’d really appreciate insights from anyone with medical knowledge or personal experience.

Hey gang! I hope you're all doing amazing!
So, I just did a PB and I was thinking, it would be awesome to have somwhere I can share that to people that would be excited for me (aka not instagram haha)

Do you know if any such app exists?

Would you use one if it there was one? (I'm a developer I can probably start one)

Hi, I recently felt the urge to give freediving a try and i was fully prepared to commit to it, but the whole thing came to an alt because of a medication i take.

Long story short: I've been suffering from mild anxiety for a good part of my life, and in 2020 i finally decided to treat it with actual medications and a proper psychiatric treatment which definitely improved my quality of life: i was finally able to practice sport again, and in 2023 i managed to get a scuba certification and i've been loving it.

This year i finally decided to take an extra step and get into freediving, an old dream of mine. Unfortunately my instructor informed me that the Trimipramine i currently take for my anxiety can actually mess up my co2 tolerances quite a lot and could cause random blackouts, hence he basically told me to think about it very carefully and talk with a specialised doctor (which i am trying to do).

While i am waiting for my appointment, i am trying to gather info about it, but i could not find any scientific paper or even a clue about this mix of freediving and antidepressants.

So my question is, does anyone here have any experience with anti depressants and "anti anxiety" meds and freediving, from personal experience or, even better, as a doctor?

Of course my decision will fully depend on what the doctor says, but i am asking out of curiosity and out of sadness. Giving up on something like this would break my hearth.

Thank you in advance.

Do you make sure they're tied to the buoy with the lanyard so you can just pull up the rope? I'm new and I haven't gone as deep as a lot of people. I don't think I've gone deeper than 10 meters. I've only taken 2 classes and I have AIDA 1.

Any torch recommendations?

Hi, I am a PADI certified AOW diver, and am looking to get into freediving.

I think freediving is more my style. I like to just explore and look at stuff. I dont really like all the BS that comes with scuba (and especially not the costs).

I can travel for salt water diving, but where I live its mostly freshwater environments. But would probably still be cool to look at.

I was looking at some PADI freediving courses, and was wondering if I should do them or if they're worth it? I know freediving isnt as complex scuba, but it still has its own complications.

Any tips?

Thank you

I saw previous posts suggesting aqualung micro mask which no longer seems to be available in the UK. I tried Cressi calibro which was alright apart from the massive nose pocket. I had no contact for equalising. Must be available here…

So my friend lost their phone in the sea in a boatpool. I’m a decent swimmer, and I am confident I am able to retrieve it as long as I have swimming goggles.
I just wanted to ask you divers if it is plausible.
I have always known how to swim, and used to semi-regularly jump in the ocean a few years ago. (This is in the North Atlantic).
There shouldn’t be any boats where the phone is, bc it’s a very small boat pool. And visibility is pretty good, the only thing is if there is some rogue wire or rope that I could get caught in (very small chance) and the temperature. It’s about 7° celsius. And there is always the possibility of a cramp, even though I have never had one before. And I also know for a fact it is less that 4m depth, probably 3m but idk.
I’m also 22 and in decent shape, and a few years ago I was able to swim down 4m in a swimming pool (i know that is very different)

Hello all,

I am having a challenging time doing frenzel consistently. I feel like I am not attune/experienced to the feeling enough that I don't exactly know when to do it.

I did AIDA 1, 1.5 years ago and finally had enough courage to enrol into an AIDA 2 course however I could not get frenzel consistently and I when resurfacing the reason was I already felt that pain that it was already too late.

Does anyone have any exercises or tips that worked for them? Honestly I don't know why but when I search about it it seems so confusing but maybe that is just me 🤣. I wish there was technology that instructors could just directly feel / feed that data in the a computer on what we are feeling so we know if its correct or not 🤣.

I am practising it dry however wondering if there are non-buddy and buddy exercises that helped you that I can do in the pool (I don't have deep pools around me)? Or even non pool.

When I do it dry, for example I first get that pop sound and I think that's correct but when I try to repeat it consecutively I feel that I am using air from my stomach area to push up and I can't get that pop sound any longer.

Had my first pool competition and it was a really nice experience.

Most people were very friendly and relaxed, and it was a great opportunity to learn from athletes who have been practicing freediving for years and to observe how they prepare themselves before performing.

Blackouts were not pleasant to witness, even in a safe environment, but I understand they are part of a sport where people push themselves to their limits.

I noticed a distinction between an underwater blackout and a surface blackout. In the first case, the athlete was forbidden from competing the following day, while in the case of a surface blackout, the athlete was only disqualified from that specific discipline.

Technically and medically, what are the differences between the different types of blackout, and what is the reasoning behind those rules?

From a medical perspective, a blackout is still a blackout. The only additional concern I can think of with an underwater blackout would be water aspiration into the lungs, although that could also depend on the safety response and how quickly the athlete was recovered, rather than solely on the athlete’s condition itself.

Hi all,

Just wondering what system people use for mounting a watch on your neck. Sometimes I miss my alarm during FIM dives when on my wrist and I want repeatability/reliability.

Putting inside my hood solves the issue, however I'm paranoid about loosing the watch if its not properly secured there which I'm sure will happen sooner or later and its an expensive item to replace.

I have seen some divers basically have a string they loop around the neck to use as a "lanyard" but this still seems like the design or system could be better as its still not particularly secure in place.

I was thinking a wider strap (at least as wide as the watch strap) that goes around the neck. Something that is secure enough to negate risk of loss, but still easy enough to remove whilst out on the buoy if needed and is safe/comfortable.

Is attaching to a neck weight a good option instead of going under the hood?

I'm sure I'll come up with something, but I'm curious to hear what others suggest or do.

No lectures on depth alarms being bad please 😉

Hello. I was wondering is there any safety concerns when doing long endurance sessions on apps like STAmina trainer.

For example. 1:30 rest 30 sec hold 100 times

Years ago tried going a few meters down while snorkelling for the first time. I ended up rupturing my eardrums and haven’t been since.

Now I want to start getting in the hobby again but want to learn what I did wrong? So, what happened was, I saw something on the bottom where I was snorkelling, possibly 5-8 meters down (did smaller dives to build up courage).

While I was descending, I equalised by pinching my nose and blowing before my ears started to hurt. I reached the bottom but couldn’t grab the item in time and quickly swam back up for air. A few seconds later, I then tried again by descending but my eardrums ruptured when only around 2 meters down?

Any advice around what I did wrong would be great for a beginner like me.

I will go to Dahab, Egypt, in late June to learn freediving as a totally new beginner. What school do people recommend? I will have about two weeks, and hopefully can get to an advanced level. I will be solo traveling, so hopefully I can find a good/vibrant community and like-minded people while I am spending my time there. Thanks for any recommendations!!!