The freediving performance polygon. A freediving lifestyle table

I have long used this as a basic guide for my own training, although until last night it has only been in my head.

Dah de de de de da daaaaaaaaah. Introducing the freediving performance polygon! A basic guide to training and living for freediving.

So lets have a look at it.

The basic concept is that as freedivers we need to harmonise certain aspects of our lives and training in order to realise our full potential.

Mind

Body

Technique

Each of these can be broken down in to more specific subcategories and so on and so on. It can go on for as long as you wish and can be tailored for each individual diver. I would say that the only elements which really don’t need to be amended are the higher level categories of mind, body and technique.

Ill go over the basic levels which are in my table.

Mind

Peace: The inner peace which you can bring to the forefront of your mind before and during diving.

Control: The ability to control you natural urges to breathe and to fight anxiety etc.

Focus: Having the ability to focus your mind on the sport and its requirements for whatever purpose be it competition or recreational.

Body

Fitness: Aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Muscle strength and flexibility.

Health: Control and awareness of any illness and any disability. Appropriate diet and lifestyle.

Conditioning: Training the body to become used to the requirements of freediving. ie depth, c02 tolerance etc…

Technique

Equipment: Using the correct (not always the most expensive) equipment for you. Ensuring it works and is safe.

Breath: Control and awareness of the breath. Control over equalisation. Understanding your capacity.

Aquaticity: Correct dive technique and profile. Finning style. Fluidity of movement.

As you can see, each of these subcategories have further subcategories which need to be addressed, and so on and so on……

When you are training for freediving its very easy to focus too much on one element, perhaps equipment. This will never allow you to realise your potential as a freediver, due to not appropriating suitable time to focus on the other elements in the training table. By covering each corner of the training polygon you should be a well rounded and confident diver.

I hope this helps you to visualise your goals a little better. Please feel free to use this table for your own training.

All of this and more is covered in our freediving courses.