To perform great dives, especially without contractions, mastering the art of peaking is essential. Your nervous system needs to adapt and recognize that a 100m dynamic apnea (DYN) dive is a safe and achievable goal. The peaking process facilitates this crucial adaptation.
Before commencing this stage, ensure you have thoroughly mastered the foundational steps. All preliminary exercises should feel easy and you should have reached your maximum potential in those areas. This requires patience and consistent effort, but it’s a valuable investment for future dives.
To maximize training benefits and increase the distance you can dive comfortably, with minimal or no contractions, it’s necessary to temporarily suspend all other forms of training and concentrate solely on target dives.
This approach fine-tunes your body and mind for performing single, maximum effort dives, effectively desensitizing you to the process.
For a 100m DYN dive, whether it’s your initial attempt or your first try without contractions, a series of approximately six peaking dives is recommended.
This requires dedicating six individual training sessions exclusively to these target dives. Each session should consist of:
Warm-up: Begin with a warm-up routine. A 45-second static apnea (STA) followed by a 30-40m DYN is recommended, which should be easily manageable at this stage of training.
Single Target Dive: Perform one maximum effort dive per session, gradually increasing the distance. Suggested distances for the peaking dives are: 70m, 70m, 75m, 80m, 85m, 85m.
Attempt 100m on Session 7: After the six peaking sessions, attempt the 100m DYN.
While some contractions may occur during the peaking dives, your nervous system will adapt to the single, maximum effort, and your body and mind will integrate previous training. Consequently, the 100-meter dive is likely to feel more comfortable.
Peaking allows freedivers to comfortably extend their dynamic apnea distances.
With consistent peaking, many freedivers achieve their target depths without experiencing contractions.
