Mermaid Melanie
04-11-2014, 05:49 AM
Okay Guys so I hope this can help in some way for anyone of you interested in hoe to train for freediving -remember, always have a buddy present, never dive alone and know your limits.
Please note I wrote these as a personal diary log to begin with as I didnt think I would be showing anyone lol but hope you enjoy reading them and again any questions are welcome ! :) x
Freediving Training and Competition Log
28th March 2014
So today I met with Walter Johnson at the pool in Chalong to train for the upcoming DNF Suunto series in association with We Freedive. Walter helped me work on my streamlining, arm recovery, getting the most out of my glide, my positioning, and my kick ( problem area ) and turns. He also helped me become acquainted with the protocol for clean dives for the competitions and we practised the protocol for each of the dives we did that day ( good to install good habits ! )
I managed to get my feet relaxed and into a nice position. Weight wise i used 1KG neck weight wearing a bikini , bibbed hood and sharkskin rashy, and this put me at a nice neutral buoyancy. I managed 2 or 3 - 25 meter dynamics and was really happy with that. We did some timed lengths for Walt - he was aiming to get his time down a bit and managed a cool 34 seconds - just what he was looking for - so overall was a good day !
NOTES - Work on letting that glide carry you, try and remember to do a nice SLOW arm recovery, work on that leg kick!
29th March 2014
Today I met up with Walt and Azam ( MYS ) Azam was training to try and beat the national DNF record (81meters, held by Kin Sing - friendly rival ) I watched on for a bit at his technique and he had a nice rhythm ( something I was struggling with - kicking and arm stroking at the same time wasting energy! ) I did my breathe up and got stuck in pulling out a 36 m DNF - i was really excited about that ! and it felt pretty comfortable! I need to work on coming up at the side as I was coming up midwater and having to swim to the side while taking off my facial gear and following surface protocol. Although I was well able to keep my airways clear of the water so I thought It wasn’t such an issue for me then.
NOTES - Work on that kick, getting the most out of the kick glide. Get in the zone for the competition tomorrow.
( Competition results and Log in Freediving Competition Thread )
Friday 4th April 2014
Static and DYN ( Dynamic ) training with Walter Johnson.
So today Walter and I met at the pool around 9.40am to get some training done for the April DYN Wefreedive Suunto Competition. He gave me the footage from the competition ( edited and raw ) (Thanks Walt ! ) then we went down to get set up.
The weather was a bit drizzly after all this humidity we have been having and was very overcast so the pool was a bit cooler ( thank goodness ) I wore my 5mm wetsuit with shark skin rashy underneath and my hood.
Statics-
We started off with a 3 min breathe up of relaxed tidal breathing, followed by 3 purge breaths, then a full inhale breathing from the belly then the chest then sipping in a little more. I was nice and relaxed in the water and my eyes were comfortably closed - normally open - One minute in I swallowed after feeling a little pressure build up then held on till 2:16. I was happy with this as a warm up as my PB was 2:37 before this. I calmly and slowly went through the surfacing motions and then on to perform the correct protocol.
2nd Static ( I usually find this one to be my best performance of the day )
3 min breath up, 3 purge breathes, full inhale. This time I was feeling discomfort early on, in my head I kept telling myself “you can do it” and Walter kept me on track keeping communication going. I almost gave up after 1:30 but once I passed the 2 minute mark it seems like time flew - Walter stopped telling me the time I had and when I was ready I began the surfacing motions and protocol. 3:03 ! New PB ! Very happy mermaid :D Walt got a picture of me with the stopwatch time and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face! I was happy to leave it there for the day - gradual adaptation is what I’m aiming for and I didnt want to get a lesser time and dishearten myself so we moved on to our DYN techniques.
Dynamic - Using SpecialFins Mermaid Melanie Monofin
Walter checked my positioning and undulation movements and seemed to be pretty happy with that, I need to remember to tuck in my pelvis more for that streamlined position. At first I did about 20m doing Kick, Glide,Kick, Glide. Then we tried Kick, Kick, Glide, which I felt gave me more momentum and was certainly faster. Walt asked me to try a continuous mono fin movement and this came more naturally to me and without a proper breathe up I managed a new PB of 56 meters ! Im pretty excited about what I may be able to achieve with more training ! Walt says 75 meters will be a very reachable goal for me ! We then moved on to working on my problem area which became evident on my DYN PB. Turns. I had a good laugh at how uncoordinated I can be when I over think things, I had to visualise the turns before I did them or they turned out pretty sloppy. We tried the straight legged, L shaped turn into the water (back to the wall ) which I felt I was pretty stiff with. Then moved on to an outside turn with the legs bent more behind my head (facing the wall) this turn worked so much better for me and felt so much more natural - I guess it is very mermaid like ! Walt said it was a very pretty turn so I was very happy with that - Hopefully with work on my turns I can knock out that few extra meters Ill be wanting for the competition ! :D
Walter wanted to work on his timing for one length of the pool for DNF so I jumped out and got the timer ready - previously he was getting 35 seconds with 2.5 strokes and was aiming to cut a few seconds off this ( a few seconds on one length is a lot more meters in a full attempt at a DNF ) He got a great start about 7 -8 meters on the push off and continued with his 2.5 stokes. After doing the workshop on DNF with Sarah Whitcher, his kicks became much more efficient and he looked very at ease and had good momentum. From push off to push off I clocked 32 seconds, which he was very happy with, for consistency he tried a few more and managed to keep the time down by reducing his kicks. A great days training ! Cant wait till the next one !
April 8th 2014
DYN + DNF Training with Walter Johnson
So today I had a bit of a sleep in! Training was to start at 9.30am and I woke up at 9.10am ouch ! but still made it to the pool in time. Was pretty dreary today the weather was very rainy and cloudy with thunder and lightening - I guess I’m solar powered because today I felt very tired very quickly !
We got started on my turns and after tweaking them slightly I was starting to feel I was getting more effective with them ( Mermaid Turn - my fav obv ) I tried the Natalia ( inwards L- shaped legs ) turn after this and got a few on the right track but find it slows me down and requires a lot more effort from my rested arm to turn me into the right position to continue. Very tiring practising turns in water a bit too deep to stand in ! Good hint for turns -
When you get to the T in the pool start to rotate the body and get into position - I did feel I was loosing momentum slightly and its not totally natural yet but that will come with more time and practise. I think I figured the right amount of momentum I need to get a good turn - if you kinda drift into the wall it slows you down and you don’t get that oomph you need! after I thought I had my turns down I attempted a full DYN - only to stuff my turn and forget everything I practised ! I kinda worked against myself at the 25m mark and felt I really expended a bit much energy there ! I made it down to the 50m mark and then came up when I felt I had already fluffed the turn :/ but was still happy with the 50m ! ( PB - 56m) With a longer breathe up I reckon I could do 60m !
I got pretty tired and after one more go at the 25m turn we moved back on to some DNF to work on my kick - which by this time my legs were pretty achey.
10th April 2014
Training at Sapanhin 50m Pool with Walter Johnson.
So after bailing out on training yesterday as my legs were so tired from cleaning the beach the previous day, Walt and I headed over to the lovely 50m pool in Phuket Town. When we first arrived it was buzzing with lots of kiddos swimming and splashing around but we still managed to get a lane to practise in. We got set up and I wasn’t really feeling statics today so we got straight into the turns ! Today they just clicked ! I practised my outside (mermaid) turns in both directions and they felt so much more natural than before. Walter got a few videos for me so I have yet to review them, but I for sure felt them to be much smoother and fluid. After a while doing turns the pool emptied out as the kids headed back to school I guess. Then it was time for a max attempt which we hadn’t really practised before with a proper breathe up etc. For the first dive I did 5 min tidal breathing, 3 purge breathes, 1 full inhale and got a nice clean push off from the wall and right into continuous stroke with the mermaid mono fin. I made it past the 2nd red line and knew the wall (50m) wasn’t far, I got to the T and readied myself for the turn moving into a nice rotation and then made the turn, slightly shallow but smoothly, continuing on I passed the red line again and started to feel the burn in my legs so decided to come up. A nice 72m dive! Surface protocol went fine, nice and clear. PB Woop Woop! I only expected to get around 60m today as my previous PB was 56m.
Turns -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bziSEeqohX8&feature=youtu.be
2nd dive - again we did the 5 min breathe up, 3 purge breathes, 1 full inhale. This time I made just slightly further at about 73m I could feel the burn start at around 60m.
After this I was pretty tired and Walter had a go at a DYN with his Dolphin - super cool looking and he makes it look so easy! 10 min breathe up , 3 purge breaths, 1 full inhale, 100m no problem, surface protocol was very clear.
I decided to go for one last dive as Walter suggested this time doing a 10 min breathe up, although I was getting slightly chilled at this point, 3 purge breaths and then full inhale, this time I knew I was a bit further than before and came up at 77m - surface protocol was no problem and Walt got a cool video of the whole thing, so I was pretty happy I made it past 75 ! If I can do that in Country Home pool I will be very happy ! ( Note Country home is 25m = more turns )
( still waiting for youtube to upload my PB DYN )
Please note I wrote these as a personal diary log to begin with as I didnt think I would be showing anyone lol but hope you enjoy reading them and again any questions are welcome ! :) x
Freediving Training and Competition Log
28th March 2014
So today I met with Walter Johnson at the pool in Chalong to train for the upcoming DNF Suunto series in association with We Freedive. Walter helped me work on my streamlining, arm recovery, getting the most out of my glide, my positioning, and my kick ( problem area ) and turns. He also helped me become acquainted with the protocol for clean dives for the competitions and we practised the protocol for each of the dives we did that day ( good to install good habits ! )
I managed to get my feet relaxed and into a nice position. Weight wise i used 1KG neck weight wearing a bikini , bibbed hood and sharkskin rashy, and this put me at a nice neutral buoyancy. I managed 2 or 3 - 25 meter dynamics and was really happy with that. We did some timed lengths for Walt - he was aiming to get his time down a bit and managed a cool 34 seconds - just what he was looking for - so overall was a good day !
NOTES - Work on letting that glide carry you, try and remember to do a nice SLOW arm recovery, work on that leg kick!
29th March 2014
Today I met up with Walt and Azam ( MYS ) Azam was training to try and beat the national DNF record (81meters, held by Kin Sing - friendly rival ) I watched on for a bit at his technique and he had a nice rhythm ( something I was struggling with - kicking and arm stroking at the same time wasting energy! ) I did my breathe up and got stuck in pulling out a 36 m DNF - i was really excited about that ! and it felt pretty comfortable! I need to work on coming up at the side as I was coming up midwater and having to swim to the side while taking off my facial gear and following surface protocol. Although I was well able to keep my airways clear of the water so I thought It wasn’t such an issue for me then.
NOTES - Work on that kick, getting the most out of the kick glide. Get in the zone for the competition tomorrow.
( Competition results and Log in Freediving Competition Thread )
Friday 4th April 2014
Static and DYN ( Dynamic ) training with Walter Johnson.
So today Walter and I met at the pool around 9.40am to get some training done for the April DYN Wefreedive Suunto Competition. He gave me the footage from the competition ( edited and raw ) (Thanks Walt ! ) then we went down to get set up.
The weather was a bit drizzly after all this humidity we have been having and was very overcast so the pool was a bit cooler ( thank goodness ) I wore my 5mm wetsuit with shark skin rashy underneath and my hood.
Statics-
We started off with a 3 min breathe up of relaxed tidal breathing, followed by 3 purge breaths, then a full inhale breathing from the belly then the chest then sipping in a little more. I was nice and relaxed in the water and my eyes were comfortably closed - normally open - One minute in I swallowed after feeling a little pressure build up then held on till 2:16. I was happy with this as a warm up as my PB was 2:37 before this. I calmly and slowly went through the surfacing motions and then on to perform the correct protocol.
2nd Static ( I usually find this one to be my best performance of the day )
3 min breath up, 3 purge breathes, full inhale. This time I was feeling discomfort early on, in my head I kept telling myself “you can do it” and Walter kept me on track keeping communication going. I almost gave up after 1:30 but once I passed the 2 minute mark it seems like time flew - Walter stopped telling me the time I had and when I was ready I began the surfacing motions and protocol. 3:03 ! New PB ! Very happy mermaid :D Walt got a picture of me with the stopwatch time and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face! I was happy to leave it there for the day - gradual adaptation is what I’m aiming for and I didnt want to get a lesser time and dishearten myself so we moved on to our DYN techniques.
Dynamic - Using SpecialFins Mermaid Melanie Monofin
Walter checked my positioning and undulation movements and seemed to be pretty happy with that, I need to remember to tuck in my pelvis more for that streamlined position. At first I did about 20m doing Kick, Glide,Kick, Glide. Then we tried Kick, Kick, Glide, which I felt gave me more momentum and was certainly faster. Walt asked me to try a continuous mono fin movement and this came more naturally to me and without a proper breathe up I managed a new PB of 56 meters ! Im pretty excited about what I may be able to achieve with more training ! Walt says 75 meters will be a very reachable goal for me ! We then moved on to working on my problem area which became evident on my DYN PB. Turns. I had a good laugh at how uncoordinated I can be when I over think things, I had to visualise the turns before I did them or they turned out pretty sloppy. We tried the straight legged, L shaped turn into the water (back to the wall ) which I felt I was pretty stiff with. Then moved on to an outside turn with the legs bent more behind my head (facing the wall) this turn worked so much better for me and felt so much more natural - I guess it is very mermaid like ! Walt said it was a very pretty turn so I was very happy with that - Hopefully with work on my turns I can knock out that few extra meters Ill be wanting for the competition ! :D
Walter wanted to work on his timing for one length of the pool for DNF so I jumped out and got the timer ready - previously he was getting 35 seconds with 2.5 strokes and was aiming to cut a few seconds off this ( a few seconds on one length is a lot more meters in a full attempt at a DNF ) He got a great start about 7 -8 meters on the push off and continued with his 2.5 stokes. After doing the workshop on DNF with Sarah Whitcher, his kicks became much more efficient and he looked very at ease and had good momentum. From push off to push off I clocked 32 seconds, which he was very happy with, for consistency he tried a few more and managed to keep the time down by reducing his kicks. A great days training ! Cant wait till the next one !
April 8th 2014
DYN + DNF Training with Walter Johnson
So today I had a bit of a sleep in! Training was to start at 9.30am and I woke up at 9.10am ouch ! but still made it to the pool in time. Was pretty dreary today the weather was very rainy and cloudy with thunder and lightening - I guess I’m solar powered because today I felt very tired very quickly !
We got started on my turns and after tweaking them slightly I was starting to feel I was getting more effective with them ( Mermaid Turn - my fav obv ) I tried the Natalia ( inwards L- shaped legs ) turn after this and got a few on the right track but find it slows me down and requires a lot more effort from my rested arm to turn me into the right position to continue. Very tiring practising turns in water a bit too deep to stand in ! Good hint for turns -
When you get to the T in the pool start to rotate the body and get into position - I did feel I was loosing momentum slightly and its not totally natural yet but that will come with more time and practise. I think I figured the right amount of momentum I need to get a good turn - if you kinda drift into the wall it slows you down and you don’t get that oomph you need! after I thought I had my turns down I attempted a full DYN - only to stuff my turn and forget everything I practised ! I kinda worked against myself at the 25m mark and felt I really expended a bit much energy there ! I made it down to the 50m mark and then came up when I felt I had already fluffed the turn :/ but was still happy with the 50m ! ( PB - 56m) With a longer breathe up I reckon I could do 60m !
I got pretty tired and after one more go at the 25m turn we moved back on to some DNF to work on my kick - which by this time my legs were pretty achey.
10th April 2014
Training at Sapanhin 50m Pool with Walter Johnson.
So after bailing out on training yesterday as my legs were so tired from cleaning the beach the previous day, Walt and I headed over to the lovely 50m pool in Phuket Town. When we first arrived it was buzzing with lots of kiddos swimming and splashing around but we still managed to get a lane to practise in. We got set up and I wasn’t really feeling statics today so we got straight into the turns ! Today they just clicked ! I practised my outside (mermaid) turns in both directions and they felt so much more natural than before. Walter got a few videos for me so I have yet to review them, but I for sure felt them to be much smoother and fluid. After a while doing turns the pool emptied out as the kids headed back to school I guess. Then it was time for a max attempt which we hadn’t really practised before with a proper breathe up etc. For the first dive I did 5 min tidal breathing, 3 purge breathes, 1 full inhale and got a nice clean push off from the wall and right into continuous stroke with the mermaid mono fin. I made it past the 2nd red line and knew the wall (50m) wasn’t far, I got to the T and readied myself for the turn moving into a nice rotation and then made the turn, slightly shallow but smoothly, continuing on I passed the red line again and started to feel the burn in my legs so decided to come up. A nice 72m dive! Surface protocol went fine, nice and clear. PB Woop Woop! I only expected to get around 60m today as my previous PB was 56m.
Turns -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bziSEeqohX8&feature=youtu.be
2nd dive - again we did the 5 min breathe up, 3 purge breathes, 1 full inhale. This time I made just slightly further at about 73m I could feel the burn start at around 60m.
After this I was pretty tired and Walter had a go at a DYN with his Dolphin - super cool looking and he makes it look so easy! 10 min breathe up , 3 purge breaths, 1 full inhale, 100m no problem, surface protocol was very clear.
I decided to go for one last dive as Walter suggested this time doing a 10 min breathe up, although I was getting slightly chilled at this point, 3 purge breaths and then full inhale, this time I knew I was a bit further than before and came up at 77m - surface protocol was no problem and Walt got a cool video of the whole thing, so I was pretty happy I made it past 75 ! If I can do that in Country Home pool I will be very happy ! ( Note Country home is 25m = more turns )
( still waiting for youtube to upload my PB DYN )