Recently I have given a beautiful workshop in my hometown, Genova.
Most of the theoretical part of the workshop was focused around the concept that there is no such thing as talent in freediving, nor in any other thing if that matters.
My understanding of talent is a grandma recipe made of a lot of quantifiable hard work over a long time and an unquantifiable pinch of this and a little bit of that.
My work as a coach has been that to give a name to all things and skills that can be quantifiable in freediving. We know as a fact that if something can be identified, then it can be trained, and therefore it can be improved.
Let’s call this set of skills, The Hard Skills in Freediving.
How do you define Hard Skills?
Hard Skills are defined as the technical competencies required to complete a given job. These have different attributes, but in general:
They are universal
They can be acquired and quantified and are usually demonstrated by a particular qualification
They can be improved through further trainings and studies
So what are the Hard Skills in freediving?
We can identify a few Hard Skills in freediving, let’s see a few:
Aquaticity, or how acquatic are you? This skill measures one’s own comfort in the water.
Mobility and thoracic flexibility
Relaxation - yes, relaxation is a skill and, as such, it can be trained!
Apnea: resistance to hypoxia and hypercapnia
Equalization: it needs to be trained first and foremost outside of the water
Tecnique: bifinning or monofinning technique, free immersion, CNF
Strenght and resistance
Nutrition - yes, it’s also a skill - what works for me might not work for you, and what works for everyday life might not work for peak performance
Rest and sleep - and that one is a skill too!
The chain will always break in its weakest link
As an architect I am very practical, and whenever I encounter a problem in my freediving journey, I try to break it down in simple practical pieces, so that I can tackle the weakest elements of the chain and fix them.
Remember, the chain will always break in its weakest link!
One thing I learned this year is the ability of identifying one own’s weakness - once the weakness is identified, then one can work on it to rectify the situation.
There is little point in adding extra trainings in the gym if the main limiting factor of your diving is equalization.
Likewise you might be the fittest you have ever been, but if your nutrition isn’t right for you in your peak performance, you’ll have a failure because you might lack the necessary fuel to complete a dive. (Been there, done that)
If this article got you interested, here is the second part of the article, about the Soft Skills in freediving
Interested in coaching or workshop with me? Get in touch!
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