Surf Apnea – Maximise the Length of your Breath-Hold

Every river surfer knows this massive urge to breath when getting pulled under by a powerful wave, a whirlpool or in strong currents. Sometimes you are in the under for like ten seconds but it can feel like two minutes. When being grabbed by a wave, your natural reaction is to re-surface and breath again as fast as possible. Surf Apnea, however, recognises that it is primarily a mental hurdle to understand that your body is usually able to handle that situation and that the urge to breath is not something in the immediate. Learn how to apply Apnea breathing techniques to increase the length of your breath-hold with freediving expert and instructor Timo Niessner.

Here is Timo’s Apnea philosophy and all you need to know about the ApneaSurf camps and courses he offers:

Control, power and hard training is what you don’t need to hold your breath for a couple of minutes. The will to learn, to accept and let go are more important then strength. First, it’s crucial to develop a deep understanding of how your body and mind actually work. Your body can do way more than you think it’s capable of. Most of what you need to hold your breath longer, is already in you. So simple? Yes and No.

Your body can do way more than you think it’s capable of.

What happens when you are hold-down by a strong wave or in a nasty low-head dam? Think like “I can stay here for a while”. The goal is to achieve a relaxed state. This helps you to keep a clear mind allowing you to set effective actions instead of panicking. While being under water you often need to do the exact opposite of what your mind tells you.

ApneaSurf takes the knowledge of breathing and breath-holding and brings it to the surf community, where the situation is more like an emergency breath-hold

You need to change your current pattern and stop thinking about time. Thinking about time leads to stress, which leads to muscle contraction, which consumes oxygen leading to a much stronger urge to breath. Understanding the physiology of your breath-hold gives you a huge advantage in knowing what’s going on in your body, finally giving you the confidence you need to endure longer hold-downs.

Relaxation and the right mindset are key to endure longer hold-downs.

We are now offering ApneaSurf courses to improve your breath-hold during emergency situations. Usually, people start off with in a group or 1by1 Skype session. After spending time on listening to yourself and accepting your physical sensation the next step is to get more comfortable with holding your breath under water. In our courses we mix, dry and/or wet sessions to simulate different situations.

The following ApneaSurf courses and camps are available at freedive-your-life.com:

1by1 SkypeSession to master your fears and experience what holds you back in taking the next step
Course (1 Day) for up to 4 persons in the pool or lake (dry+wet)
Workshops (1/2 – 1 Day) up to 20 persons in a dry environment
Camp (1 – X Days) at the Lake Constance (Bodensee) – WakeSurfing, ApneaSurf-Workshop, SUP, Camping, Grill and Chill

Stay safe and keep the stoke alive!
Timo, Freedive-Instructor & Systemic Coach | freedive-your-life.com

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