Bodybuilding physique and Freediving a problem?

I have a question regarding bodytypes and diving.

As from what I can understand the "maraton-runner" type physique is ideal for freediving(correct me if I am wrong).
This has worried me alot since I have always had a quite muscular body, and after 10 years of natural bodybuilding I have put on a few more pounds of "beef". From what I can understand there has been at least one big-bodied proffessional freediver there (thinking of Enzo as I have understood that he was big).
Can you encourage me with telling me that there are other "sprintertype" freedivers out there who has recieved remarkable results under water?
(or am I doomed because of my bodytype?)

For the reckord im not "huge" but rather have the same kind of physique as a typical sprinter (176cm:s tall and 90kg:s heavy aproximate 10% bodyfat)

Would it improve my diving if I lost a few pounds of muscle? (what I mean by "improving" is mainly to increase my ability to stay under water)

As a complete rookie I would love to hear what you have to say about this...

ninjan:

I have a question regarding bodytypes and diving.

As from what I can understand the "maraton-runner" type physique is ideal for freediving(correct me if I am wrong).
This has worried me alot since I have always had a quite muscular body, and after 10 years of natural bodybuilding I have put on a few more pounds of "beef". From what I can understand there has been at least one big-bodied proffessional freediver there (thinking of Enzo as I have understood that he was big).
Can you encourage me with telling me that there are other "sprintertype" freedivers out there who has recieved remarkable results under water?
(or am I doomed because of my bodytype?)

For the reckord im not "huge" but rather have the same kind of physique as a typical sprinter (176cm:s tall and 90kg:s heavy aproximate 10% bodyfat)

Would it improve my diving if I lost a few pounds of muscle? (what I mean by "improving" is mainly to increase my ability to stay under water)

As a complete rookie I would love to hear what you have to say about this...

Click to expand...

No you are not doomed! Don't give up. I am 6'5" and weigh 240 lbs and I am quite pleased with what I can do in the water. Personally, I feel that virtually anyone can become highly efficient in freediving. I also feel that our greatest barrier is, and will continue to be, mental weakness and not physical attributes.

My personal belief is that extra muscle, particularly in the upper body (chest, back, shoulder, and even arms) will cause you to burn more oxygen than is optimal.

However, freedivers come in many different sizes and body types and I think that you can perform very well without having the optimal body type. I personally know a guy who learned to freedive to around 230 feet in about 2 years and he is rather muscular and has more than 10% fat.

If you're not out to set a world record for free diving, who cares if you can only stay down ten feet for 30 seconds? The main thing is that you're enjoying yourself.
I free dive and spear fish and I've never actually timed any of my dives. I have used scuba and gone to some of the places I free dive to see how deep I actually was. But I think you can count on the fact that the more you do it, the longer you can stay down comfortably. One tip to help you....I always use a wetsuit and being weighted properly (neutral with a full breath at about 15 feet) allows for minimum effort descending and staying on the bottom.

I assume you are referring to breath holding. This ability is in part hereditary and learned. In other words, training can make a difference. There are mental and physical factors, however acquired, which affect this ability. The physical factors are metabolism, circulation and vital capacity, eg, the size of the lungs and strength of the heart. All else being equal, metabolism is going to influence this ability. A heavier body, regardless of whether muscle or fat, results in higher metabolism and therefore increased oxygen demand. It seems contradictory that a big fat person whould have higher metabolism but this is born out by recent research and relates to the extra effort required to haul all that weight around. Cardiovascular fitness, the size and strength of the heart and lungs, make a difference. Someone who pants after minor exertion (current) is going to have limited breath hold ability. Yes, your extra muscle is a limiting factor inasmuch as you have a higher metabolic function. Some penalty has to be paid. On the other hand, general fitness and training is a big plus. There is another factor which I have not seen in the literature. This is the general efficiency of the mitichondria and the Krebs cycle. A program of nutritional supplements might improve this, particularly in older divers. There is also the ability to tolerate anaerobic exercise. A person with well toned muscles is accustomed to lactic acid build up and presumably has the ability to recover faster. Therefore, theoretically, a muscular diver should be able to power down to the bottom and return before the body experiences build up of lactic acid and CO2, depletion of ATP-- and resulting oxygen demand kicks in. However, the body and mind may require something extra to implement this potential advantage. One trick used to increase bottom time is to limit calories. The body interprets this as starvation and reacts by slowing down some body processes including basal metabolism. The human body has the potential to impose active control on some autonomic functions, including circulatory priorities such as heart rate. Meditation has been shown to increase a divers ability WRT heart rate and apnea. It is a complex subject but I hope these comments covers some of the bases.

First of all, let me start off by telling you all that I am very pleased with how friendly and helpful you all are at this forum.
Thanks Pescador, Freediver, Hank and you other replying so fast=)
I get so many insightful and motivating replies to my questions from experienced freedivers like yourselves and that is great.

Regarding the bodytype question I have made the following interpretation about muscular physique

The bad:
-You consume more air than a typical or slender bodytype person would
-Your metabolism is probably higher than the average persons(muscles consumes quite a few calories), thereby using up more air

The Good:
-You look great outside of a wetsuit
-Your muscles will be able to work harder without producing lactat acid(Have I understood this correctly?)Thereby you are able to propel yourself faster than "normal"

Am I getting this correctly?

Good freediving is not generally associated with moving your body faster. It's probably most important to move your body at an OPTIMAL speed, not too slow, not too fast. To demonstrate this to yourself, you might try a land based experiment: see how far you can walk holding your breath. Then, repeat and try to see how far you can get doing a slow/moderate jog. I can get a lot further with a single breath on a jog.

I don't want to belabor this. Muscles consume energy by conversion of oxygen and fuel. However, this is done in a rather circumspect manner. The "furnaces" are tiny organelles called Mitochondria. Oxygen based metabolism has some limitations such as response time. Think of stoking up a steam engine. Once it becomes necessary to build speed, it then takes a while to heat the boiler and get your steam launch underway. The muscles can not operate this way, they must have instant energy on hand which does not depend on rapid conversion of oxygen and fuel. This chemical energy is stored in small quantities to meet the need for instant response. This is called anerobic metabolism and it carries a penalty, eg an oxygen "deficit" is allowed to accumulate and there is a corresponding build up of waste product, lactic acid. This acid must be cleared eventually as it is detrimental to stamina over the long run. Weight lifters and sprinters are accustomed and conditioned to this type of exercise, short bursts of energy lasting, say a few minutes. The large muscles can be employed in strenuous work for several minutes before the need to breath hard catches up to the demand. So, it is my opinion that people who have trained this way should have the potential to hold their breath longer when exercising strenuously such as would occur during a deep dive. The gurus of free diving emphasize "relaxation" during dives. Indeed, the control of nervous anxiety does appear to be the more important factor in breath holding on a real dive; more important than morphology. As a practical matter, I believe this is true, eg mind body control is more important than small differences in metabolism.

I think what Pescador is trying to say is "yes" you can freedive and to relax and go out and have fun!!

The large body with more oxygen consuming cells can be offset by large lungs. A small body and small lung capacity has no advantage in that case if oxygen intake capacity is the same ratio to BOD. (bio chemical oxygen demand)
But relaxation is a real key for me. Monitor your heartrate after sitting calm in a chair for 10 minutes. (60 bpm?) Now get up and slowly walk around the room, sit and immediately monitor you rate. (70?)
Take this concept into the water with you. Before you dive, lay on the surface as relaxed as possible and do this between all dives to slow your respiration rate. Of coures, it you just shot a fish with a free shaft and you need to go back and chase him down..... you have to go...