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30 METERS DEEP FREEDIVING MANUAL 1

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30 METERS DEEP
FREEDIVING MANUAL
A Comprehen!"e G#!$e %o %he Ar%
o& Bre'%h (o)$ Free$!"!n*
By: Brian Pucella
C!yri"#$ % &0'& (y Brian Pucella
All ri"#$) re)er*e+,
inclu+in" $#e ri"#$ - re!r+uc$in
in .#le r in !ar$ in any -r/.
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30 METERS DEEP FREEDIVING MANUAL 3
This book is dedicated to all those who have perished while freediving.
Please remember
Never Dive Alone
Never Hyperventilate
Never Over Weight
now yo!r limits.
"espect #o!rself$
the Ocean
and All %ife&
Dive 'afe ( Have )!n&
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30 METERS DEEP FREEDIVING MANUAL 4
A#%hor+ No%e
This man!al is a collaboration of information that * have gathered over the past +, years.
*t was at that time that * bo!ght a sailboat and moved aboard with my girlfriend at the
time$ now my bea!tif!l wife -eannette. .ach winter when we set sail for the tropical
waters of the /ahamas and 0aribbean it was my d!ty and passion to provide fish for !s.
Not being a great fisherman with a rod and reel$ and wanting to be more proactive in my
h!nting * t!rned my foc!s to spearfishing while freediving. *t was a passion that still
b!rns strong within me.
*n ,112 while sailing thro!gh the 0aribbean we anchored off %ong *sland$ /ahamas and
serendipito!sly met William Tr!bridge. We witnessed William perform a world record
no3fins freedive at Dean4s /l!e Hole and my life has forever been changed.
Thinking abo!t how that level of freediving co!ld benefit my spearfishing as well as the
draw to p!sh my own limits of depth had me motivated to learn as m!ch as * co!ld abo!t
freediving. And so for the past si5 winters -eannette and * have ret!rned to %ong *sland$
/ahamas to freedive Dean4s /l!e Hole and spearfish the ama6ing reefs.
*n ,117 * became a member of Team 8ertical /l!e$ an elite freediving school fo!nded by
William Tr!bridge. 9y position was as a safety diver for the ann!al 8ertical /l!e
freediving competition. Over the ne5t fo!r years * have spent months at a time training
with William and absorbing as m!ch as * co!ld abo!t freediving. *t was so m!ch more
than :!st an ed!cation in depth freediving$ it was a :o!rney within myself of discovery
and p!shing my limits. A discovery of efficiency in freediving as well as my mental
strengths and weaknesses. William has been my mentor in freediving and in his
complete en:oyment of the sea$ in all of its bea!ty and power.
The following season * became an assistant instr!ctor for with 8ertical /l!e and was
asked to be the 0hief of 'afety for the 8ertical /l!e 0ompetition as well as for William4s
historic no3fins Hectometer dive to 3+1+ meters.
Altho!gh most of my training has been with William and is based from both his
ed!cation thro!gh the Apnea Academy and thro!gh his own e5periences$ * have also
st!died freediving thro!gh many other so!rces. * have attended co!rses with P)*
;Performance )reediving *nternational< instr!ctors$ been to seminars by 9artin
'tepanek$ and had the privilege to dive with some of the most elite freedivers from
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30 METERS DEEP FREEDIVING MANUAL 5
aro!nd the world that visit Dean4s /l!e Hole.
And so it has been thro!gh all of these e5periences that * have collected the information
that is within the pages of this man!al. =1 9eters Deep )reediving 9an!al is aimed to
ed!cate beginner to intermediate freedivers looking to reach =1 meters ;or in the >'
+114< deep. *t is a f!ndamental look into the world of freediving that yo! can adapt to
yo!r !se according to yo!r technical level and ability in the water. This man!al is an
ed!cational tool and is to be !sed with common sense and awareness of yo!r own
limitations. =1 9eters Deep )reediving man!al does not take the place of an instr!ctor$
nor is it eno!gh to read these pages before confronting the sea.
*t is my wish to share the information within this book to bring abo!t awareness of the
proper techni?!es to !se when freediving. 'o please share this book with yo!r friends
and dive b!ddies$ it is information that co!ld save their life or even yo!r own by sharing.
8isit www./rianP!cella.com
for
)reediving ( 'pearfishing
*nstr!ctional 8ideos
(
)reediving 0o!rse
*nformation for
)lorida and the /ahamas&
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30 METERS DEEP FREEDIVING MANUAL 6
C,NTENTS
Page

1. Welcome To Freediving 8
+., *ntrod!ction 9
2. .?!ipment 11
,., 9ask 11
,.= 'norkel 13
,.@ )ins 14
,.A Wets!it 16
,.2 Weight 'ystem 17

3. Physics of )reediving 18
=.+ Archimedes Principle of /!oyancy 18
=., /oyle4s %aw 20
=.= "esistance of Water and 8elocity 22
=.@ Thermal 0ond!ctivity of Water 23
4. Physiology of )reediving 24
@.+ .?!ali6ation 24
@., 8alsalve 9ane!ver 25
@.= )ren6el 9 ane!ver 26
@.@ 9ammalian Dive "efle5 27
@.A /lood O5ygen 'at!ration 28
@.2 /lood 'hift 29

5. Relaxation and reat!ing Tec!ni"#e$% 30
A.+ Approach to "ela5ation 30
A., Diaphragmatic /reathing 33
A.= /reathing 0ycles 36
A.@ "ecovery /reaths 37
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6. &n Water Tec!ni"#e 39
2.+ Weighting 39
2., B!ick "elease Weightbelt 41
2.= D!ckdives 41
2.@ '?!are D!ckdive 42
2.A 'pearfisher4s D!ckdive 43

7. 'et &n T!e Water 44
8. (2 ) *(2 Training Ta+le% 45
9. Freedive Training ,--% 47
10.(t!er Training Tec!ni"#e% 49
7.+ Open Water 50
7., *n The Pool 50
7.= Dry %and Training 51
11. .a/et0 53
+1.+ The /!ddy 'ystem 53
+1., One >p ( One Down 54
+1.= '!rface 0omm!nicationC DAre #o! OEF 56
+1.@ Observe The )reediver )or =1 'econds 57
+1.A Open Water ( Depth '!pervision 58
+1.2 'tatic Apnea '!pervision 61

12.lac1o#t% 63
++.+ 'igns of a Near /lacko!t 64
++., 'ymptoms of a Near /lacko!t 65
++.= 'ign ( 'ymptoms of a /lacko!t 66
++.@ Assisting a Near /lacko!t 66
++.A Assisting a /lacko!t 68
13.T!an1% ) *ontin#ed 2d#cation 70
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30 METERS DEEP FREEDIVING MANUAL 8
3ia-!ragmatic reat!ing
'ince we breath from the day we are born till the day we e5it this .arth$ most of !s give
little tho!ght to this ongoing movement of life. O!r everyday breaths tend to be shallow
and short compared to o!r total l!ng capacity and for this reason the m!scles involved
are tight and restricted from not being !sed to their potential. /!t before working on
stretching the m!scles involved$ we need to develop an awareness of o!r breath. This
simply means taking the time to listen$ feel and be conscio!s of how o!r breathing
flows. /y doing this we are then able to control o!r breathing and !se this control as a
techni?!e to rela5. This control and awareness d!ring the preparation of a dive not only
g!arantees minim!m !se of o5ygen by red!cing the body4s metabolism$ b!t also brings
abo!t an inner peace and greater awareness of oneself and s!rro!ndings which in t!rn
makes for a more en:oyable and safer dive.
/oth yoga and meditation refer to respiration
techni?!es that foc!s on diaphragmatic breathing
to help bring a better awareness to the breath and
the body. The diaphragm is the flat plate of
m!scle between the stomach and l!ngs and plays
a f!ndamental role in breathing. O!r l!ngs can be
vis!ali6ed as two pyramids with the widest
segment and therefore the most vol!me at the
bottom connected to the diaphragm. nowing this
it becomes apparent of how important the
diaphragm is for the freediver looking to
ma5imi6e l!ng vol!me. /reathing with o!r
diaphragm is something we are born doing$ b!t thro!gh social and c!lt!ral press!res we
repress this nat!ral form of breathing with a more restricted style of breathing that keeps
o!r belly4s s!cked in for a more slimming appearance. To reconnect with diaphragmatic
breathing we need to start by DfeelingF o!r breaths and vis!ali6e each breath flowing in
thro!gh o!r nose$ filling o!r l!ngs$ then flowing back o!t all in a fl!id e5change. *t helps
to close yo!r eyes$ bringing all yo!r attention to yo!r breath. As yo! work on this
concentrate on remaining completely calm and rela5ed$ which will allow yo! to address
any discomforts$ becoming more aware of yo!r entire body and discovering new levels
of inner peace. 'trive for a slow and fl!id e5change of yo!r breath to find a pace in yo!r
breathing that promotes a rela5ed feeling. Once yo! discover this rhythmic pattern
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30 METERS DEEP FREEDIVING MANUAL 9
practice it as often as yo! think abo!t it thro!gho!t the day. As yo! e5plore yo!r rhythm
of breathing yo! can then begin to incorporate deeper diaphragmatic respiration
techni?!es.
The most basic techni?!e for learning to improve diaphragmatic respiration is best done
by laying on yo!r back with yo!r knees !p. P!t one hand on yo!r chest and yo!r other
hand on yo!r belly. As yo! inhale$ foc!s on the air flowing into the bottom of yo!r l!ngs
ca!sing yo!r belly to rise. To concentrate on only breathing with the diaphragm$ take
normal breaths and make yo!r
hand on yo!r belly rise with the
inhale. The hand on yo!r chest
sho!ld remain still. As yo! e5hale
p!sh the air o!t with the m!scles
in yo!r stomach area ;the
diaphragm<$ ca!sing yo!r belly to
collapse and the hand on it to
drop. Again the hand on the chest
sho!ld not move. The p!rpose of
placing yo!r hands on yo!r chest
and belly are to feel yo!r
movements d!ring yo!r breathing$ with the hand on the chest remaining still and the
hand on the belly moving !p on the inhale and down on the e5hale. This also makes a
physical connection with the signals of yo!r brain that are controlling the m!scles of the
diaphragm. The more yo! practice breathing with the diaphragm the stronger the brain
signals are connected to the diaphragm and the more a!tomatic this style of breathing
becomes. This way when yo! go to dive and have all kinds of other distractions yo! can
simply place yo! hand on yo!r belly$ feel that yo! are breathing with yo!r diaphragm$
know that yo! are breathing correctly which will allow yo! to t!rn yo!r foc!s on the
dive. As yo! practice this techni?!e yo! can begin to p!sh yo!r physical limit on both
the inhale and e5hale$ actively e5ercising and stretching the diaphragm. This is a good
e5ercise to do when yo! lay down to bed at night ;do not !se a pillow<. 'ince yo! are
already laying down for bed means yo! will be doing this at least once a day. Another
benefit of doing it before yo! go to sleep is the connection of going into a rela5ed state
that comes from breathing with the diaphragm while performing the e5ercise.
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/!ilding on this basic techni?!e we then move on to !nderstand that each complete
diaphragmatic respiration consists of three phasesC
abdominal ;diaphragmatic<
thoracic ;chest<
clavic!lar ;top of the l!ngsGchest e5tending into the throat<
Again$ vis!ali6ing each breath flowing in thro!gh yo!r nose$ first filling the lower
cavity of yo!r l!ngs and raising yo!r belly in the process ;abdominal phase<. The breath
then moves it4s way !p$ filling the chest area ;thoracic phase< and this time e5panding
the ribcage. )inally reaching the clavic!lar phase the breath then fills the top of the l!ngs
and trachea$ ca!sing the sho!lders to rise to gain ma5im!m vol!me. *n the e5hale phase
the same process sho!ld be e5perienced in the reverse order ending with the belly
s!cking in to p!sh the diaphragm !p$ e5pelling the last bit of air. To help !nderstand the
correct inhalation process it is !sef!l to pict!re yo!r l!ngs as three different sections$
each section having to reach ma5im!m capacity before the ne5t section is opened. )or
the e5halation process a !sef!l image is to see yo!r l!ngs as a bag with the air being
rolled o!t from the top down$ with the last bit of air s?!ee6ed o!t with the diaphragm
flattening the bag. Another e5tremely important detail is that the breathing m!st remain
fl!id with the d!ration of the e5halation at least twice as long as the inhalation. This
inhale to e5hale ratio is f!ndamental to diaphragmatic breathing and promotes the body4s
a!tomatic response for rela5ation. eep in mind that if at any point yo! become
lightheaded or di66y this signals hyperventilation and the techni?!e sho!ld be slowed
down. This techni?!e will
re?!ire a bit of practice and
concentration to be preformed
correctly$ b!t will provide yo!
with a solid fo!ndation for the
correct freedive breathing
techni?!e.
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30 METERS DEEP FREEDIVING MANUAL 11
Th'n- &or re'$!n*
30 Me%er Deep Free$!"!n* M'n#')
Please visit
www./rianP!cella.com
for
)reediving ( 'pearfishing
*nstr!ctional 8ideo4s
(
0o!rse *nformation&
Please send all comments and s!ggestions to
/rianP!cellaHgmail.com
Dive 'afe ( Have )!n&
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30 METERS DEEP FREEDIVING MANUAL 12
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