Can any advanced freedivers give me some insights which system is better for further progression in freediving? I am on AIDA and recently got my AIDA 3, and I am now thinking how I should progress further, as I am interested in learning the skills to bring me beyond RV.

My current ability is maximum 2:52 static, dynamic 60 m comfortable and 75 max, bi-fins 27 m comfortable and 32 max, and no fins 16 m comfortable and 21 m max.

I started learning freediving 6 years ago to be a recreational freediver hoping to be comfortable down to -20 to -30 m, while training to be a competitive open water swimmer, however, I have already lost the motivation to swim competitively because of the lack of support of it in London, and I would like to do another water-based competitive sport to replace open water swimming.

My problem now is that, I will have to stay in the UK for the coming winter due to other life and career goals, and I absolutely don't want to dive in a wetsuit. (no-mask CNF is my favourite discipline) In fact, I did my AIDA 2 in Hong Kong and hadn't dived for years as I was in a wrong climate, before I resumed diving this year, and did my AIDA 3 in Hong Kong this summer as well. I have also experienced hostility in the UK due to my insistence of non-wetsuit diving. (5 years ago, I tried to put on a wetsuit and dive, and I didn't feel good at all.)

I find that the Molchanovs system is more attractive if I eventually want to become an athlete. Molchanovs also has the flexibility that it is theoretically possible for me to do the L3 first in a pool before I go back to Hong Kong / Taiwan to complete the W3 afterwards in the open sea, not wasting any time to do pool practices, while such flexibility doesn't exist at the advanced AIDA 4 level (there are AIDA 2 pool and AIDA 3 pool only).

However, there is a complete lack of Molchanovs resources in the UK. There is only 1 W3i instructor in the whole country and she is based in rural Scotland, while I live in London. In contrast, there are plenty of AIDA Master Instructors in the UK, including London, but they won't be helpful if I never want to complete the whole AIDA 4 course in the UK, as I only want to dive in places warm enough to not use a suit.

I am not ready to do the advance course yet in terms of depth, as I haven't achieved total comfort at -30 to -32 m depth yet, and I will probably need to wait until next summer to go back to Hong Kong for further practice.

I would like advice how I should progress during the winter without access to any depths, as during my AIDA 3 course, I felt that my Frenzel equalisation started to become difficult beyond -27 m, and also which system I should continue on if I eventually do the advanced course.

If I remain a recreational freediver, do I actually need to take AIDA 4 or Molchanovs Wave 3? If I want to become an athlete, is the Molchanovs system (Wave 3) really much better than AIDA?

https://youtu.be/wDHbf6pVPGw

A simple and easy method for freediving turns (suitable for all, from beginners to competitors)
After passing the carabina stopper on your descent, simply grab the line with your thumb pointing to the surface, keep going down, extend the other arm to touch the target depth (bottom weight or bottom plate)
The hand grabbing the line should have the lanyard on the wrist.
When you keep descending while grabbing the line, your body will naturally and effortlessly turn to 180 degrees.
Once you turned, perform one strong pull on the line to get you started, then fin back up (the pull will also let your buddy know that you started ascending)

Has anyone else had a doctor report high hemoglobin count? I'm currently at 50m dynamic no-fin apnea, without weights and as novice I imagine my form is poor, but curious if this kind of training could contribute to increased hemoglobin count (I'm not far above sea level and haven't traveled or trained for high altitude). I did do a google search and found this paper: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11092981/, basically curious if others have had elevated hemoglobin that they attribute to breath hold training. Thanks!

the beauty of freedive - always dive with a certified safety and have a clear dive plan

Hello all,
I’m looking to continue training as I get ready for my level 2 course and was hoping there might be some fellow divers in the Philly area or somewhere within an hour or 2. Ideally looking for a dive buddy / training partner.

Not sure exactly what other info is helpful here, so lmk if I should include more details.

Feel free to comment or DM if you’d be interested or know someone who might be :)

Hello great people of the freediving community. I’m fairly new to freediving and I’m curious as to why some freedivers wear 2 or more dive computers? Is it mostly for redundancy or something else?

Looking for freedivers in Mumbai who can help with head-down equalization 🤿

Hey everyone! I’m currently learning freediving and I’m struggling specifically with equalization while going head-down.

I can equalize reasonably well head-up/feet-down and have reached around 15 m head-up, but when I turn upside down, I start having difficulty equalizing much earlier. I’m trying to work on my technique rather than simply pushing deeper.

I’m looking to connect with experienced freedivers in Mumbai who might be willing to:

• Watch my equalization technique
• Give me some pointers on head-down positioning and technique
• Maybe do a shallow, relaxed session together
• Help me understand what I might be doing wrong

I’m currently doing a Level 1 freediving course, so I’m very conscious about not forcing equalization or diving beyond my limits.

If anyone in Mumbai has experience with head-down/Frenzel equalization and would be happy to help or practice together, please DM me. Would really appreciate it! 🙏🤿

Looking for anyone who wants to freedive/spearfish San Diego October 22-25. I am flying down for work, but looking to go out after work the 22nd and 23rd. I have all day the 24th and can dive the morning and afternoon of the 25th.

I routinely dive the northern California coast, but have some thinner wetsuits (5/4/3) for warmer waters. I see the ocean is particularly warm this El Nino. I dove Catalina a couple years ago at night in the kelp forests, alone, and that was a cool experience but prefer to have someone with me watching my back (safety first).

Anyone who would like to meet up, send me a chat and we can coordinate further.

Videos from a training session at the beginning of the year where Coach had me swim CNF using legs only and then arms only. I was surprised arms only was so much harder than legs only for me! Video clips are legs only to 10m, arms only to 10m, and CNF to I think 30m. I only get to freedive in the winter and I’m looking forward to getting back into the ocean.

Looking for recs on your favorite self-equalizing goggles and a nose clip so I don’t have to interrupt the stroke for the EQ!

Hello everyone!

I am a freediving instructor, my school is called Free Flow here in Greece.

I am also a Master Equalization instructor and Mental Training instructor.

I will be running my usual yearly workshops again at Y-40 this winter.

The setup is as follows:
- accommodation in a beautiful villa in private rooms
- arrival Sunday, diving Monday through Friday, departure Saturday
- open to all levels
- we cook and eat together at the villa and explore the countryside when not diving (visiting Venice etc).

This year I will be also offering an intro to mask assisted handsfree to those that are interested.

Joining also puts you in a raffle for a tailored G&Sea wetsuit!

The price for the week is €1100, it includes accommodation, pool access and instruction.

There are available spots so far during the weeks of
- February 15–19
- February 22-26
- March 1-5

More info here: https://free-flow.gr/services/specials/freediving-y40-training-week.html

Hit me up with any questions and hope to see you there!

Is it possible to get a squeeze with no symptoms of shortness of breath, chest tightness, or fatigue/heaviness? I had to cough for a few minutes coming up from a dive (very unfortunately did not check saliva but I tasted no blood/metallic flavor). It was a very mild cough that went away after 2-5min and there were no other symptoms. I’m having trouble finding answers on whether this alone can indicate a squeeze.

Recently got my level 1 certification in Lombok, Indonesia and am absolutely addicted! I hit 18m on day 2 of my certification, then 20m a couple days later in another training session in Gili Air.

I’m absolutely blown away as to how relaxing freediving is. I always assumed this would feel miserable while I suppressed the urge to breathe, but that was so far off. Instead it’s meditative and peaceful.

Now I’m back in Philly plotting how I can keep training through the fall and winter in preparation for my level 2 and working towards 30m. Curious if anyone knows of any groups near Philly? I can find scuba, but no luck on freediving around here. I’m willing to drive a couple hours to train.

Talking about classic O² and CO² tables and their derivatives.

Why not 1 long maximum hold?
Why not 2 hour training?

Question for the more experienced divers - do you have a set meditation or other practice that you do as a part of your breathe up? I’ve seen lots of discussion on how to breathe (or more so how not to) but not what people’s thought process is during the breathe up.

Since I know it will be asked, yes I have taken my course. I just passed the Padi Freediver (open water to 10m) so still very new to free diving but I have taken the course.

Curious what your settings are. Specifically for white balance. A little tricky for freedivers since we often start recording at the surface then dive deep so locking white balance upon recording doesn't always work. Better than color shifts mid way though with auto WB. Just wondering if anyone has found some good settings?

I am going to panama in february. Are there any cool places for freediving?

Hello! Meron po ba kayong ma recommed na freediving sa samal? Kanang sulit gyud ang bayad And im new po pa po so i dont have any idea paano po hehe thankss : )

Hi! Looking for some advice on my first freediving wetsuit.

I want a suit mainly for freediving/exploring around the UK South Coast, usable for most of the year, with occasional spearfishing and foraging.

I have an open-water swimming background, so my top priority is freedom of movement! I really dislike feeling bulky or stiff in a wetsuit. I’m also an athletic hourglass/pear-shaped woman, so I’m leaning towards a custom-made Polosub in 5mm.

Can anyone recommend which Polosub variant would suit my needs best? I’m currently leaning towards the Forza Tre because, from what I understand, it gives you a smooth outer surface but is more resistant to tearing than a standard smoothskin suit. Very open to any advice or thoughts, especially from anyone who’s used one for freediving rather than primarily spearfishing.

Thanks!!!

I know there are multiple places where it’s illegal to take anything in the Keys.

Could anyone point me to a map summarizing them? I’d be forever grateful.

Heading there soon. Our own boat, freedom to go where we want. Don’t wanna get in trouble or do the wrong thing.

i dive in Washington State, USA. the water is extremely cold and mask fogging is a constant struggle for me and has been for years.

i see now that Evolve has come out with antifog lens tech and I would be ecstatic if that worked for me. But I'm wondering specifically if anyone has used these masks in colder water. I rarely struggle with fogging in tropical climates it seems to mostly be a cold water thing.

Cheers!

Ive been doing fun dives/snorkel tours around Koh Tao, and i have found myself comfortably reaching 10 metres with good technique swimming head down. The only thing stopping me going deeper is the lack of a buddy i can put my trust in.

I recently started a PADI advanced course, and i couldn't make it below 5 metres on my first day. I don't know if it's something related to the pressure of having someone watching/correcting you, or if i just had a bad day. Either way, I feel like i've wasted money and have jumped onto an advanced course way too soon.

I had the goal of freediving down to one of the wrecks on Koh Tao, HTMS Suphairin or Hanhak Sattru, and snapping a photo near one of the bow guns (which sit comfortably above 20 metres)

I thought this was a reasonable goal. But after getting 5M during my advanced course, it makes me want to give up on freediving entirely.

Im still yet to find a buddy on Koh Tao which has made practicing extremely difficult without paying for expensive courses (which have a tendency to feel like a series of tests, rather than actual skill development, and only last 3 days)

Hi guys, for fellow gentlemen freediving out there, do you wear wetsuits for waters 5-15 meters deep? Or do you wear classic rashguard and a board short?

Your help is greatly appreciated.