Stop wasting your pool time

Kelly Starrett has this concept he calls “practicing the practice” - the idea that you can’t just show up and wing it if you want to get better. You need intentional structure, not random effort. Most freedivers treat pool sessions like they’re just going to figure it out when they get there.

They don’t.

Here’s the thing about pool training: it’s the most accessible, most repeatable environment you’ll ever have for freediving work. Controlled temperature. Consistent depth. No currents, No boats. And most freedivers completely squander it by showing up without a plan, doing “a few dives,” and calling it training.

That’s not training. That’s just getting wet.

The problem with winging it

In strength training, Starrett emphasizes movement quality over random volume. You don’t just do stuff - you practice specific positions, specific breathing patterns, specific progressions. The pool is your freediving gym, but most people treat it like an open swim session.

You see it all the time: someone does a dynamic dive until they feel like stopping. They rest for… however long feels right. Maybe they do another one. Maybe they try a static. Who knows? There’s no progression, no measurable stimulus, no adaptation happening. Just swimming around holding their breath.

The body adapts to specific stress applied consistently. Random effort produces random results. (This is why Progressive Training: Why Freedivers Need to Stop Winging It matters-structure beats random effort every time.)

What actual pool training looks like

Structure matters. Not because structure is inherently virtuous, but because your physiology responds to patterns.

Here’s what you should be tracking in pool sessions:

Dynamic Work: Distance per dive, rest intervals, total volume, kick count (yes, kick count - if you’re taking 25 kicks to cover 25 meters, we need to talk about efficiency). Are you doing pyramids? Intervals? Long singles? These are different stimuli.

Static Work: Warm-up protocol, attempt duration, recovery time between attempts. If you hit 3:45 after a 2-minute recovery versus a 5-minute recovery, those aren’t the same dive. Context matters.

Technical Drills: Streamlining work, turn efficiency, equalization practice. This is the boring stuff that actually makes you better. (Shocking, I know.)

The real value of Pool Sessions

Look, depth training is sexy. Everyone wants to talk about their personal best in the ocean. But pool work is where you build the foundation - CO2 tolerance, movement efficiency, mental protocols under controlled conditions.

Dan John talks about “boring but big” in strength training. Pool sessions are boring but essential. You’re not going to post Instagram stories about your 50-meter intervals. But you’ll notice the difference when you’re at depth and your kick cycle is dialed, your turn is automatic, and you’re not panicking at the first urge to breathe.

The pool lets you isolate variables. You can work pure CO2 tolerance without worrying about depth. You can drill technique without boat logistics. You can test mental protocols without safety concerns beyond the standard pool setup.

Programming that actually works

This isn’t complicated. Pick a focus for each session:

1. Volume days: Higher rep, moderate intensity. Build your base conditioning.
2. Intensity days: Longer holds, deeper stress, full recovery between attempts.
3. Technical days: Perfect movement quality at submaximal effort.

Three different stimuli. Three different adaptations. Rotate them. This is basic periodization applied to freediving.

The problem is remembering what you did last week, tracking whether you’re actually progressing, and having a plan beyond “I’ll do some dives.” Which is where having structured programs in Appneist actually helps - you log the session, see the progression, and know what stimulus you’re applying. No guessing, no amnesia about what you did last Tuesday.

Where this actually pays off

When you finally get to depth, everything feels familiar. The CO2 buildup patterns you’ve trained. The movement efficiency you’ve drilled. The mental protocols you’ve practiced. Pool training isn’t separate from “real” freediving. It’s where real freediving gets built.

Stop treating pool time like a warm-up for the “real” training. The pool is the training.

Show up with a plan. Execute the plan. Track the results. Let the boring work build something worth bragging about.