FREEDIVER (BEGINNER) COURSE
2.5 days – 9am to 4pm
285 Euro
Includes: SSI Standard Digital Manual all languages – Digital SSI International Certification – Equipment.
Your future Performances: 2-3 minutes Static breath-hold – 10/20 meters freedive
Theory:
The diving reflex is triggered when a mammal’s face comes in contact or is submerged in cool water. Humans are terrestrial mammals so this reflex works on us as well! You simply need to learn how to trigger it and how to train it. Once activated some physiological changes occur in order to optimize the body’s conservation of oxygen. Your heart rate will slow down, you will experience a deep relaxation similar as the one you have when you wake up from a nap. Blood will shift away from your legs and arms to feed vital organs. Holding your breath will be a 100 time easier. Your freediving instructor will go through the science and art of breath-holding. You will understand how freedivers do it, then it will be your turn to try. Learning freediving in Egypt is great!
The course also include 1 Breathing & relaxation session.
Static Apnea:
To be able to swim deep below the surface of the ocean you need a good breath-hold. Before trying to hold your breath while you moving is best to try without any movement because it’s easier. Sit in your chair, take a deep breath and start the timer… After 30 seconds, you will start to feel uncomfortable. This happen because your heart rate is too high during the breath-hold so you are using oxygen too fast, which results in too much CO2 in your blood. With proper technique you could already hold your breath for 2-3minutes on the first try! Your Freediving Instructor will explain you all the basic techniques of breath holding and Dahab waters will be your new playground.
The course includes 1 Static apnea session.
Dynamic Apnea:
During this part of your Freediving course, we will take you to a swimming pool or to the clear shallow waters of Dahab to train this freediving discipline. The distance you can do horizontally will give you an idea of how deep you can go. When you can swim 30-40m horizontally, you can potentially freedive to 15-20m depth and come back up to the surface, as you are swimming the exact same distances vertically. Dynamic Apnea is the best discipline to learn all the important Freediving skills. You will practice finning, body position and practice some safety skills. It’s also during this part of your freediving course that you will get familiar with the equipment such as long fins.
Many freedivers don’t have regular easy access to deep water, maybe the same will be true for you after your course. Not everybody has the chance to live by the sea but that won’t stop you from becoming a great freediver. This makes dynamic apnea a great way to train Freediving away from the oceans and lakes. In Dynamic Apnea you work on improving both techniques and mental and physical strength, even if your main focus would be open water freediving. You will gain a lot of experience by playing around with different swimming speeds, breathe-ups and finning techniques. Many freedivers train mostly in pools and take trips occasionally to go deeper. Get ready to swim few laps at Freedive Dahab.
The course includes 2 dynamic apnea sessions.
Depth Training:
This is where you use all the knowledge and technique you learned in the shallow training. In Dahab we don’t need a boat to Freedive. We have 40-50m 100 meters from our Freediving center. In the bay, where the bottom is approximately 20m, your instructor will set up a vertical dive-line with a surface buoy. The dive line you use as a visual reference to swim vertically, and as a safety device. Together you will freedive a little deeper on each try. Your swimming technique will be corrected for maximum efficiency underwater. The goal is to find relaxation and to fine tune your techniques. Freediving is a form of meditation; it’s easy to learn and require no fitness abilities unless you are at competition level. You will feel like floating in space. After 2 days of training with us in Dahab, you will freedive comfortably to 10-20meters. You simply need to buy a mask, snorkel and fins for your next holiday, and the ocean is yours to explore. Dahab is the perfect spot to learn freediving beginner skills. The water is warm, clear, calm all year long. The marine life and corals are stunning.
The course includes 3 open water sessions.
SCHEDULE: (9am to 4pm)
DAY 1: We usually start in the morning around 9am with a 1 hour breathing and relaxation class followed by a dry breath hold. We will follow with the first confined water session lasting about 60-90 minutes, then have a lunch break before some theory and then follow with the fist open water session.
DAY 2: We start with more theory followed by another confined water session to learn duck diving. After the lunch break we have our second open water session.
DAY 3: Last day we have morning training session followed by final exam and wrap-up at around 12:00.