Best winter / off-season cross-training possible - UWH and UWR

Underwater Hockey and Underwater Rugby are potentially the best off-season training and conditioning that you can do.  I have traditionally played them year-round, with the exception of a few weeks before a max attempt / competition in freediving.

As an added bonus... it's FUN!

Doing Co2 tables and static holds in your bed can get boring and repetitious.

UWH will condition your legs to repeated sprints (at each faceoff) and condition higher levels of Co2 and lactic acid.  This is GREAT for fighting the surf while spearfishing or for a long ascent after a CWT dive.

Note that if you're lucky enough to score a breakaway / hard-fought battle for the puck or score a goal (like I did in the last 5 goals in the vid below), then you have the "privilege" of swimming all the way back to your side and then racing for the puck in the middle again, as I did in the beginning of the video at centre.  Did I mention that it was good for lactic tolerance and leg conditioning??

UWR will also condition your ability too keep cool while staying under, as you're at -5m often (if the pool is deep enough) and a forward or defence position will test your overall stamina and Co2 conditioning, while a goalie position will help to train your static and ability to stay calm under pressure.

My top 2 favourite spearfishing videos:

Great music / score (also check out Lindsey Sterling's original music video) and awesome Florida Keys footage.

Insane talent and shot-accuracy by Mohammed in the video below:

Unorthadox No-Limits dive with seemingly poor equalization technique:

Who am I??

Freedivers are often misunderstood by society and this can lead to some tough internal soul-searching to find an identity.

This reality is well portrayed in the documentary below:

Neckweights

In order to achieve neutral buoyancy and a good long glide, we need to compensate for all of the air in our lungs.  The easiest / most common way is with a neckweight.

The most "popular" method is by filling an inner tube with lead shot and is detailed here:  http://enjoyfreediving.com/2011/03/06/making-a-freediving-neck-weight/

I think this method sucks.

It is not adjustable, is fragile, doesn't allow for good hands-over-head streamlining and is a pain in the butt to construct.  I prefer using 1/2 lb lead "chicklets" and 25mm webbing instead.

They are not always easy to find and sometimes are uncoated as in this picture or come dipped.  The one above was dipped in blue rubber that I peeled away so that you can see the size / shape better.

Once assembled, you can add / remove 1/2 lb increments if your buoyancy changes over time.

For me, I have several neckweights.  One that works for full inhale, one for full inhale with max packing and one for depth work.

My depth neckweight is a very specific length, so that once inverted it falls over my chin and reminds me to keep my chin tucked in, so as to avoid a trachea squeeze.  It is also of random colours that were available at the time.  I am not trying to make a fashion statement with it:

I have used electrical tape to add 3 more chicklets to the outside of the main row, for added weight.  I did not tape the rest of the neckweight (to hide the colour) because I need to travel with this weight and the flexibility comes in handy, as it will be tossed around in luggage, etc.

My pool neckweight for packing is a thing of beauty.  I love this thing:

Looks a little more badass than the watermelon themed depth one above.

To get the appropriate weight needed, start with say... 4 - 5 lbs and have a friend watch you in the pool (you do have a buddy, right??).  Take a full breath and push off from the wall and hold the glide until you stop.  You will be able to determine if you need more or less weight and where to distribute it based on if you sink or float... and what parts of you rises / falls.

Most men can get away with just a neckweight, while many women may also need a little lead on their hips / belt.  I use the same weight on my neck and adjust what is on my belt to match the suit's buoyancy that I am wearing.  If I am not wearing neoprene or just a skin I will wear just the neckweight and forego anything on the belt.

Cold-waterproofing your fins

And now for something completely jury-rigged - AKA, crude but effective:

I live in the Toronto area.  As such, some of our waters are cold early and late in the season (or under ice).  I have a set of fins that fits 6mm socks, so I am fine, but not all of my dive partners have thought as far ahead... and as a result their feet get cold and they have to get out of the water before me.

This means that I do not have a safety / spotter / buddy and therefore my dive ends prematurely... ARGH!

The traditional way has been to wear "oversocks" which is just a pair of neoprene socks of the desired thickness with the toe cut off, so that you can roll them down over your fins, once they are on.  This helps with the ankle and heel area... but the toe is still exposed and most fins have an opening there that will let the cold water in.

I find that oversocks work best with a monofin, which more often is tight-fitting (no room for thick socks inside), has a closed toe and open heel.

To deal with the toe-opening, I have jury-rigged a patch that can be done easily / cheaply for cold water dives.  Make sure your safety divers / spotters have this done so that your dive isn't cut short by their poor preparation!

Start with a duct tape patch:

Then start wrapping with electrical tape:

Until fully sealed!

It may not look pretty... but it is simple and effective!

Note that electrical tape can also be used to tighten up a loose footpocket on a borrowed fin, etc.around the top of the foot or even in place of finkeepers (if they are forgotten).

Fin fitment tips

Fins - the additional propulsion that we gain from these is significant and they also allow us to achieve greater distances and reach greater depths than we could without them.

Having said that, if they do not fit correctly (most common mistake is too loose), we will have a lack of power transfer (inefficiency) and worst case, a lost fin at depth!  This is a serious safety issue that must be avoided.

Size:
Make sure that your fins fit tightly with the desired sock-thickness required for your most common water temps.  As a rule of thumb... if you can get them on dry... they are too loose.  So trying them on in a store is not always the best way, unless they have a bathtub or will hose you down first.

I bought fins that were a size and a half too large, so that I could fit 5-6mm socks inside for single-digit temp cold water diving.

I prefer at minimum to use a thin 2mm bootie, just to avoid chafing / blisters and also allows for diving in cooler waters / cold at depth for shorter periods of time and still retains good power transfer.

Those living in a diving paradise (Egypt, Caribbean, Thailand, etc.) may opt for no socks at all for simplicity and better power transfer.

Here is a very interesting looking sock that I have yet to try, but is on my list: http://www.canamuwhgear.com/product-p/bootie-argos.htm

Fin-keepers:
I find these essential and tremendously helpful in both keeping the fin secure and aiding in power transfer.  It makes the fin both safer and more efficient.

I choose these thick ones which are far superior to the thin ones commonly available.

Finserts:
I found that my UWH fins were softening up over time and many people experience their foot pockets on freedive fins getting tired with age.  A great old UWH trick is to make a "finsert", which is really just a polypropylene orthotic.

I bought a 12"x 24" x 3/32" thick sheet of polypropylene from Amazon.com for $8 (plus $10 shipping to Canada) and this was enough for 6 finserts.

I took the insole out of a pair of shoes and traced it and then cut it out with some tin snips (overkill) and then edged them with electrical tape (freedivers tape) so that the edges didn't abrade the rubber foot pockets.

They stiffen up the footpockets and help with power transfer.  If you don't have much space in your footpockets, you can use 1/16" thick.

The advantage with these is that you can double the thickness with a second pair if you want to use a thinner sock with your fins.

Something like this is now commercially available from Mares and available at diveinn.com and canamuwhgear.com as well, but I have no experience with them.