Fitness is one of the foundations of health, not only when it comes to performing well in sports but also for mental well-being and many other reasons. When engaged in challenging and demanding activities such as freediving, your fitness is paramount. Any lapse in conditioning, strength and mental willpower could be fatal.
As such having a good exercise habit and routine to keep you on the ball is important especially if you are a freediving. In this article, we will share some of the best free diving exercise habits you can adopt to develop a good routine.
Breathing Exercises
Regulating breathing is crucial when it comes to free diving. To condition and strengthen your breath control on off days, you can engage in diaphragmatic breathing exercises. These exercises can help you to improve lung capacity and oxygen efficiency. Apart from that, divers can also undergo CO2 Tolerance Training regularly to manage their breath-holding and air anxiety in real underwater conditions.
Meditation and yoga are great activities you can also incorporate into your everyday life to help with regulating your breathing. Using meditation apps or watching guided meditation videos online can help aid you in practice.
Cardiovascular Exercises
Your cardiovascular health is as important if not more than breathing. A stronger heart can sustain you with more energy during dives. Therefore engaging in regular aerobic exercises like swimming laps, jogging, cycling or stair climbing can help. Incorporate these exercises into your daily workouts to help improve your cardiovascular health as well.
Diet
Eating healthily goes without saying. A good exercise routine will fall flat without a good diet as what you eat will help nourish the body, and help to maintain energy levels and muscle. Having a wide variety of fruits and vegetables goes a long way, and managing protein and carbohydrate intake based on your body type is extremely important in ensuring that you have sufficient energy based on your daily activities.
Apart from food, water is extremely important as well. Hydration is essential for energy and ensuring that your body takes in nutrients in the most efficient way possible. Drink regularly and always maintain a good schedule for when you need to drink a glass of water. During free dives, your body actually loses lots of water just being submerged for such a long duration. Therefore it is essential to replenish your body with water right after a day or even on off days to maintain your fitness.
Relax and Spend Quality Time
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Spending time with friends and family and just unwinding can help relax the body and mind and keep stress at bay. Staying stress-free can help ensure you perform at your greatest level when the time comes.
Conclusion
On your off days, maintaining your health be it physical or mental is important. However, on the days of dives, you should always practise good judgment on your fitness and readiness. Despite all the training and diet, never execute a dive if you're not feeling a hundred per cent. Remember, you can always dive another day.