TRUE or FALSE? Better Static = Better Freediving

By Kristina Zvaritch
Contributor: Patricia Paige Ong

Static...you either love or hate it, but you should DEFINITELY train it - here’s why!

Are you one of the many who dread static apnea (STA)? Well, the good news is that you can actually learn to love it, especially through Florian Dagoury’s STA Challenge Base Training + Program.

Photo credit: @Mr10minutes
Pictured: @Mr10minutes and his brother at the Jeju 2023 Indoor Pool World Championships in Jeju, South Korea

Florian, also known as ‘Mr. 10 Minutes’ for his 10’33” breath-hold, can transform your perspective on STA, making it enjoyable while enhancing your relaxation and breath-hold times. And while breath-holding is definitely a freediving discipline, it really is so much more - it’s a cornerstone skill for all underwater activities.

Keep reading to discover the following about STA:

• Common misconceptions
• The importance of a developmental approach to training
• How to increase your confidence and performance
• The non-freediving benefits of being good at breath-holding
• STA Challenge course components

Busting the STA Myth

Some people think that being good at STA doesn’t really transfer to other freediving disciplines because the focuses are different. STA involves holding your breath while seemingly doing ‘nothing,’ while dynamic and depth involve movement. Unfortunately, this results in many freedivers training depth and dynamic yet neglecting STA. But in reality, STA is the basis of all freediving disciplines!

If you have an excellent base for a breath-hold and don’t have to worry about fighting against contractions or reaching hypoxia, your mind and body are free to do so much more! You’ll be able to more easily relax and focus on other essential parts of your dive, which opens the doors wide to longer dynamic performances and deeper ocean dives.

STA Challenge’s Developmental Approach

Did you ever hear the phrase, ‘You must learn how to walk before you can run?’ Well - same for STA!

Since progress is made in small steps rather than giant leaps, Flo designed three separate programs: 3-minute, 4-minute, and 5-minute STA Challenges. Each program is designed to be followed consecutively, starting with the 3-minute STA Challenge (even if you’re aiming for 5 minutes already!). This way, your skills are built gradually according to your individual level and pace, making training more personalized - and all at your own pace.

Dramatically Increase Your Confidence and Performance

Photo credit: @Kaloyplar

With these increased breath-hold times, your confidence and performance will naturally skyrocket.

After all, if you can easily hold your breath for 4 minutes, deeper dives won’t feel nearly as intimidating. Think of Alexey Molchanov - his official personal best in STA is 8’33”. That impressive breath-hold is what helps him dive to 136m (446ft) in a monofin, which took him 4 minutes and 30 seconds of holding his breath to get to that depth and back!

With each performance gain and all of that newfound confidence, you can finally remove worrying about breath-holding from your mind and focus instead on managing your relaxation, equalization, or technique - leading to better overall performances in all freediving disciplines!

Broader Benefits

Put aside freediving for a minute - think about how you’ll improve in other areas of your life!

The techniques you learn apply to your life on land, too. Better stress management, finding it easier to reach a state of relaxation, protecting yourself from injuries with better flexibility...the options are endless. Plus, recreational freedivers doing fun dives, scuba divers, spearfishers, surfers, underwater rugby/hockey enthusiasts, etc., will definitely reap the benefits of a better breath-hold!

STA Challenge Course Components

Flo’s STA Challenge focuses on 6 key components that provide the foundation for longer breath-holds.

From stretching and learning science on land to warming up in the water, learning and mastering each one will get you well on your way to not only holding your breath longer, but loving the journey itself.

Stretching

Flexibility is KEY to breath-holding and impacts your performance! While your lungs are super flexible, your intercostal muscles and diaphragm could probably use some work. Flo gives you all the top stretches that, after enough training, will stretch to their fullest, allowing your lungs to take a fuller breath.

Breathing

How you breathe before breath-holding is just as important as the breath-hold itself. That’s why Flo makes it a point to teach techniques that optimize oxygen technique and manage breath-hold times so you can make the most out of your maximum holds.

Relaxation techniques

‘Just relax’ is easier said than done - but it doesn’t have to be. Flo gives you all kinds of methods to reduce stress and improve your overall breath-hold capability. With so many options, you can choose what works for you!

CO2 and hypoxia training

Photo credit: @junglefreediver_diver @lizaulanova @philabroad69

Is carbon dioxide getting you down before you even reach hypoxia? That’s why you need specific exercises to build that tolerance to high levels of CO2, as well as exercises for the low oxygen levels you’ll encounter when CO2 stops being your problem!

Warm-up routine

Do you know how to properly warm up for STA? We’re not just preparing our bodies - we’re also preparing our minds. Flo teaches you exactly how to do that so you can get the most effective breath-holds out of each performance.

Science and psychology

Don’t forget theory! Understanding the principles behind breath-holding is just as important as training to make your training sessions more effective and get those longer breath-hold times.

Start Flo’s STA Challenge Today

Photo credit: @Mr10minutes

Flo’s STA Challenges are fully accessible from your smartphone, tablet, or computer, and no equipment or buddies are needed for the dry training - so there are no excuses NOT to train! Go at your own pace and take as little or as long of time as you need - just be prepared to love and excel at STA in the end.