10 ADVANCED SNORKELING TIPS from a freediver
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🐬🐬 Join me on this channel as we dive into the world of breath holding and being underwater. Together, we will explore a range of techniques, including expert breathing methods, longer breath holds, and strategies for calming down the mind through meditation.
Additionally, we will examine fundamental freediving techniques, so you can start exploring the joys of being underwater.
🐬🐬 Gert Leroy is a certified freediving instructor, 1x national record holder, and a freediving KZheadr. His passion is to bring to you the experience of peace through the practicing of skilled breathing & breath holding techniques of freedivers. He helps you find peace - in every breath.
#snorkeling #Freediving #Swimming
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Equalizing is totally my limiting factor. When I started freediving I was surprised how quickly I could extend my breath hold way beyond the time I was actually underwater by doing the exercises. I’ve never felt desperate for air at the end of a deep freedive. Instead I get stuck and have to turn around because my ears won’t equalize. It’s frustrating. Sometimes if I pause a moment and try a few extra times my head will clear and then I can keep going but not always.
for almost everyone EQ is the limiting factor..
Try equalizing in shallow depths as a means to train yourself and , in a sense, stretch the eardrum into being more flexible. You'll be surprised to see that even after a day of this training, how quickly you will be able to equalize and enjoy the the deep dive. Sometimes, before a vacation, I go to the pool to 'train' this so I don't waste time during my vacay ;)
@@arekusu6936 you’ll be happy to hear equalization is no longer what limits me. I can now easily do 15m and the only thing stopping me from going deeper is the bottom of the lake I dive in. Doing lots of dry equalization exercises at my desk at work is what got me past that hump. Feeling like 10m isn’t an obstacle but a beginning was a great feeling.
so much great info in this short video. Thanks!
Thanks for the video. The best information I've seen so far!!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for Sharing these tips!
welcome 🙏
Each and every tip is worth gold
Such a no nonsense tutorial! So straightforward!!Thank u so muchBb
Thank youuuu ✌️
Thanks a lot sir. You are one of a kind indeed.
You are most welcome
Excellent 👏
Great! We want more long format videos! As a beginner, your channel is very instructive. Thanks!
Thank you 🙏
thats a pump boat behind you, you're in the Philippines... thanks for sharing, ❤... keep safe...
yes this was filmed in Panglao 🇵🇭
Simple and easy, you are the best.
I appreciate that!
Great video…i cheat a bit before my dives to help with equalization…i use two puffs of afrin in each nostril 30 minutes before i enter the water.
Great tips , thanks. 👍
welcome🙏
Thank you 🙏
Welcome 🙏
Snorkel out of the mouth is a game changer, how have I not realised this before. Thanks.
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 Thank you!
👍👍👍👍
Fish in Every Breathe😊🤟
Yeah man ✌️
Video very helpul. Enjoyed it
Glad it was helpful!
Great video .. thank u so much
You are welcome!
Gert, you are a legend. Thank you so much for this. You should do a video where you show us your favourite places to freedive. Show us some of that undersea beauty.
Thank you. About my favourite spots: have you seen my latest videos??? 😁😁
Excellent no nonsense advice. Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for sharing i wish i can hold my breath at least 3 to 4 minutes
One day you will ✌️
Very informative video. You just earn a sub 😉 I am absolutely struggling with equalisation, and also my breath holding is very low, only 45secs. Practicing only for 2 days so it might get better
Süper teşeküler 🙏👍😙
💯💥👍🙏🙏
A technique I believe its very commom (at least in Brazil) is to dive with the snorkel on, and when you back to surface you keep snorkeling positiong and use the air and the force of your lungs to clear the water stuck in your snorkel, so you can keep breething on it witthout having to take your head out of the water. Some snorkels even have a valve near your mouth to help you with that.
in freediving we recommend not doing that. the first thing you wanna do when you come up is breathe, not purge a snorkel.
@@gertleroysounds like I need to kick that habit then and remove the snorkel. Just learned the Frenzel technique thanks to your vids and have been diving down to film the turtles on the bottom in Amed today!
also if you blackout with a snorkel in your mouth water will rush into your mouth and lungs
@@stretch34318 it's just safer overall to remove the snorkel
Great vid thanks, I’ve been stuck at 3/4m for years - I can’t even equalise while sat on a plane 😂 never mind it’s still cool being in the water.
Watch my playlist EQUALIZATION TECHNIQUES thanks 🙏
My wife and I just got back from a beach trip and equalizing was my biggest hinderance. At one point I had to walk around for 10-15 minutes because it felt like I was being stabbed in between my eyes with an ice pick.
progress slowly and if possible use a buoy and descend line to hold on to. EQ is something that needs time
I did many, many dives (apnea), even 20+m WITH snorkel in my mouth. How to start breathing? Super easy - just breath away all air from Your lungs through the snorkel. Thats it!
Gert's hair gone wild haha 😂
More towards the end of the video I guess 😂
I used to get a lot of pressure on my mask as well but equalizing helped.
masks need to be EQ as well 👌
"never dive alone" how? exactly how
always have a buddy
Excellent! New Subscriber Here! 😀👋
7:59 - 8:03 : If you're spearfishing, & you shot a big fish, & the big fish is stronger than you...😅😂
I have not had time to dive much the last months so no idea how deep I be able to go now, but my record is about 15m deep. My static breathold record is 5.5min so Equalization is 100% the problem stoping my depth gainz. I do the Frenzel tecnique. I have been doing it naturally even before diving or knowing what it was.
Great! Hope you'll be able to get back to water soon
@@gertleroy there is a freediving course coming up in my city now. I live in Norway so it will be cold. But I dived with the instructor before and he said I can take CMAS freediving * or *** on that day. We will see. I told him I'm out of practice so might not be able to do the *** right now, but we will see on the day if I go there.
Great, up to the point guide (double thumbs up)! The only thing would be great if you could give some suggestions on what can be done in shallow water snorkelling (2-3 meters) then taking snorkel out of mouth, as it though good but a bit too much of procedure if you hold a breath for minute or two and just want to re-dive again (if there is relatively safe way how to clear up simple tube snorkel on surface or what to pay attention to when you continuously going up and down so to be sure that you do not intake water on your full recovery breath through the snorkel?) .
thanks. take snorkel out. period. all you have to do is remove it from your mouth. the snkeklw. with hang next to your face since it's attached to the back of the mask strap. you can also just hold the snorklw in your hand if you prefer. there is ZERO reason why you should keep the snorkel in.
My ears does not hurt but my head. Idk why
pressure. it's all related. learn to relax and equalize properly.
Thanks for the video! Very helpful! If I turn my head, it feels like water is flowing in to the inside of my ear. It is very uncomfortable. What can I do against it?
Great video as always, dear you really have to justify your content to some people in the comments, u keep it very cool!! Yes everyone is entitled to an opinion but your the professional in this and I am your humble student 🧐
Thank you so much!! 💥💥
Recently, I was trying to dive as you with no weights, just a rashguard and swim shorts. I was aiming to reach the bottom at about 3m but was only able to dive 1 to 1,5 meters before getting up by buoyancy. Is that normal or there was something I was doing wrong?
I'm a former US Navy Deep Sea Diver. I regularly free dive to 100' FSW for recreation and spear fishing. I have never heard a suggestion to remove the snorkel from your mouth during decent. Nor have I heard that it dangerous to keep it in. Is there a remote possibility that you might swallow or inhale some water in the snorkel? Of course! But that could happen on the surface as well. After you do it once, you'll definitely be careful not to do it again. Taking the snorkel out of your mouth negates the possibility of clearing the snorkel upon surfacing. Learning to clear a snorkel is something that everyone who is going to use a snorkel should learn and practice. The average human head weighs 11 pounds. It's much less effort to keep your head in the water than it is to lift it out.
on freediving, the last thing you wanna do when reaching the surface is clearing the snorkel. Agreed, this video says "advanced snorkeling" but still.. when you reach the surface after a dive that was a bit more challenging than you expected, the first thing you wanna do is breathe. not clear the snorkel. All freediving courses teach to take the snorkel out of the mouth. It is of no use anyway underwater.
The main reason you spit it out is that if you pass out with a snorkel in, you’ll suck in water. If you spit it out and pass out you won’t take in water
When I dive a little bit too long I take my snorkel on the way up because I know I prefer to breath directly. 1 of every 1000 times. But it's a completly different experience to snorkel without interruptions. Eyes out of the water completly destroys the flow of the snorkeling experience. Doing it every single time is just absurd, it's not snorkeling anymore, it's freediving. @gertleroy
@@joan_bcn well.. that brings us to the discussion when does snorkeling becomes freediving 😊
@@gertleroy don't you enjoy the experience of being always head in the water? No interruptions for one hour or more, always clearing the snorkel, always looking, seeing the fishes. It's amazing. Like flying, I imagine.
I am a very novice diver, but my big problems was pain in the sinuses and in my molars. I'm not sure what to do. Equalizing helped with the ears and mask pressure, but not in my sinuses or teeth.
progress gradually. relax all muscles in your face, mouth, tongue... give yourself time to slowly adapt
I'd suggest to visit dentist. Probably your molars were healed incorrectly, with air bubbles remained inside.
I used to smoke heavily. What a waste of life and money that was 😢 I thank Jesus I'm no longer a slave to addiction ❤
Great tutorial. Equalization has always held me from going deep. Have a snorkeling trip planned for september and I hope I can figure it out with all your help. Thanks
please watch my Playlist EQUALIZATION for freediving
@@gertleroy Thanks. I will. Also, can you give some idea as to what some good masks are? Not real expensive.
@@shopnwoods9901 please watch my video FREEDIVING GEAR FOR BEGINNERS 2022
Wow great video..! my question is how to stay underwater without weights? When diving, my body goes up shortly after the duck dive.
You need to keep on finning. It's the forward momentum that keeps you under
I thought i was weird about the frenzel because i didn't know that it was a thing
it is
Thanks for these tips, my limiting issue is i am incredibly boyant, i just cant get down further than 2 meters and then i start surfacing again, diving down is extreemly difficult for me. I float on the surface as if i have a wetsuit on. Even as a kid, i was that kid who could never touch the bottom of the pool, never mind being fancy and sitting at the bottom. I scuba and neutal boyancy is not something that comes easily for me, regardless of the weight i add, at saftley stops i need to activley swin down :( I can float on the surface with a fully deflated BC. No one ever believes me till they see it LOL
Is it weird that I can equalize without holding my nose? I just use that tongue method and use my sinus muscle to block the air from my nose.
Equalization is not quite my limiting factor whilst freediving. My main limiting factor is actually the depth of where I'm diving. Whenever I go out I struggle to find anywhere more than 20 meters and when I do find an area like this I manage to reach the bottom each time.
stay safe. I hope you're diving with a skilled buddy. if depth is limited, you can either increase bottom time or take in less air. keep in mind this is an advanced method and shoukd only be practised under supervision. also, for 20m please dive wirh a buoy. cheers
@@gertleroy Thanks for the advice
@@user-vy5fz5db9q 🙏
Note: most of this advice is applicable _only to this guy_ with this specific body. I don't think he realizes this, but buoyancy is vastly different depending on each individuals specific density.
you don't think I realize this? 😉 please read my bio.. 😁 Even if you are more buoyant than the average person because of body composition you can still duckdive perfectly and overcome those first meters without weights. Lack of technique is the real reason you can't go under. Not buoyancy. (assuming that's what you're referring to) Please search for my videos on duckdive technique.
I agree that even the most buoyant people can learn to duck dive. I think the problem is more with staying in one position if you are too buoyant eg. to film just above the bottom.
@@Jefferson-ly5qe the shallower you wanna stay let's say 3m the more difficult yes. if you stay deeper it becomes more easy. The key in shallow water is to either use weights or exhale, but the latter is for advanced divers.
@@gertleroy "because of body composition" is just one of buoyancy related factors, none of which I saw treated, ratio of mask air-volume to mass, specific lung volume ratio to mass, specific distribution of adipose tissue, so many factors
This makes sense. From what I've read a safe approach is to do a positive buoyancy test at the surface to make sure you keep your mouth above the water in the event of a surface blackout. Is that what you recommend as well?
I dont use a swimsuit, but i do use a weight. It really helps in saving energy because it is easier to pull yourself down with it. I use 4kg weight and it gives me neutral at 7meters deep. And i always dive with a snorkle in my mouth. It is much more comfortable. Rest of advises are great.
This is a great video Gert, I host people visiting Hawai’i and I’ll definitely be sharing this with them when I know they’ll be snorkeling 🏝 🤿 🤙
Thanks 🙏🙏
rule #1. never outshine the master
I disagree. on competitive level freediving your biggest accomplishment as a coach would be for your student to go deeper than you. Just my 2 cents...
Thank you for sharing your experience! What about mustache? How do you avoid your mask from leaking because of the mustache?!)
shave the upper part only.
I’m going to be snorkeling soon and I’ve been snorkeling before, but I just can’t seem to hold my breath very long. I was wondering if there are any ways to improve my breath holding while under water?
watch my playlist breathing techniques for freediving
Hi Gert ,Eq limit me at 10-12m Can you explain the right tongue position please
Watch the playlist EQ on my channel ✌️
Hey love the video would have to disagree with the no wetsuit no weights I’m a big boy and swim with weights and no wetsuit :)
Hey! snorkeler here. You don't actually need to take the snorkel out of your mouth, you just need to control whether you swallow it or not, it wont even reach your throat if you dont want it to, by putting your toung on the sky of your mouth. For the second reason that you presented, Gert, you dont need to take it off because you can do something that even helps your lungs get bigger! you simply have to blow out with one single strong push, if that doesnt take out all the water, do another, also there is a way to not even needing to do this but i dont recomend it, which is getting a valve snorkle that just wont let the water in, i dont recommend valve snorkles because there is a fair chance that the valve can fail, and then yes, you will be caught offguard and maybe drown. Good luck new divers!
no. for safety reasons take out the snorkel. the last thing you wanna do when coming up from a challenging dive is to have to blow the water out of the snorkel. in all freediving courses we teach to take the snorkel out. And please use normal simple snorkel. just a simple tube.
@@gertleroy That's what I use. just a simple snorkel tube. Also, I'm talking about not that deep dives for about like 15 meters! Nothing so deep down that you'll need to take it out. I usually take it out when I got for deeper dives at around 30-40m .
i weigh 120kgs and are a lot more buoyant than someone thin... i have a 5kg lead weight laying around? should i give it a test?
try with fewer weights first and beer dive alone
Super tips, but there are more things to learn and practice in snorkeling, to do it right. Such as keeping mask clear, equalize mask pressure, purging snorkel, adjusting weights, finning techniques and more. There is little about snorkeling available in internet, and I had to learn on my own mistakes, or from freedivers. About the weights, I use them to reduce ascent speed, not to be faster than air bubbles.
most of these topics are covered in my other videos. please go through them.search for GERT LEROY HOW TO FREEDIVE, or FREEDIVING TIPS, etc..
what's this about ascent speed being slower than bubbles?
@@Ayce47 in breathhold diving there is no such thing as reducing ascend speed. you can ascend on any speed you want. there is no risk of DCS like in scuba diving. (provided you're a recreational diver not a deep professional diver. in deed diving let's say deeper than 80m DSC might occur under certain circumstances). Also respect your surface interval times: 3x your dive time.
@@gertleroy Thank you very much! Next week i'm going to greece and would like to snorkel there and also dive a bit for the first time. I searched a bit around but aside from propper fitting of the gear and equalisation, i haven't found anything that could pose a risk. I will ask the guys who sell the gear there, as they also spearfish from what i have seen if there are any dangers i should be aware of. (Didn't know about surface interval untill you mentioned 😬)
@@Ayce47 the danger is to black out in the water and kill yourself. NEVER DIVE ALONE, and never dive without proper tuition.
What type of fin is used in this video?
carbon short fin from the brand Alchemy
What’s up with the “snorkel out of your mouth” bit? Displacement clearing seems to work just fine - reach the surface, snorkel clear and ready to breathe. Also, I’d love to hear any comments / thoughts on the increased respiratory deadspace of a snorkel.
in freediving we take the snorkel out of the mouth. first thing you wanna do when you come up is breathe, not purge the snorkel.
@@gertleroy Thanks. I’ve gotten used to displacement clearing / purging. As you near the surface (1-1.5m) just exhale as some people do anyway. With your head / eyes up, the (partial) exhale displaces the water from the snorkel. Snorkel pops out at the surface ready to use. Just a technique that works for me. More of a spearfishing technique, I guess, than for a max effort freedive... but I’m always ready to learn, adapt, improve.
@@steveclark8731 in freediving we know that many spearfishermen purge the snorkel. it's not what we teach. especially in spearfishing a dive can take longer or was more difficult than expected, and when you come up and you're on the verge of blacking out, that extra effort of purging the snorkel might be fatal. We advise to create the habit of taking snorkel out. Also, your recovery breaths (5 big breaths) are just easier and fuller without a snorkel.
I can't add much experience on this topic as I am just a beginner level snorkeler who appreciates good tutorials like this one. But I watched a video of two advanced spearfishermen discussing on this topic, one diving with snorkel in the mouth and one spitting it out. Maybe interesting to hear the idea behind keeping the snorkel in the mouth: kzhead.info/sun/oc5sp96BpqWLp3k/bejne.htmlsi=Q9IccAgbI_UJnifa (second half of the video)
how do free divers equalize without their hands? They do it so naturally, I find it really hard to pinch my nose over the snorkel mask. Do they have something pinching their noses under the mask?
there is a technique called handsfree EQ but this is advanced and not everyone can do it. You need to learn to gently pinch the nose through your mask. pinch your nose from the bottom, not from the top. and use your finger tips, not the flat part of the finger.
There is an important piece of information missing, first equalisation should occur on the surface before duck dive is performed.
that is always a good thing to do yes. thanks for the add.
I've always heard to let out breathes every few metres when you dive to release stores of Carbon Dioxide build up? Is that still true i.e releasing bubbles
noooooo.please watch all my long format videos. keep your air in
ik im late to the video but i have quite congested sinuses and cloudy middle ear, so i’ve always been a bit cautious to repressure my ears. should i be worried or any tips?
of you have a history of congested sinuses then id suggest finding out why that is ans then fixing the issue..
About the weights I have a highly positive buoyancy body so I might do like 7 pounds even if I only use a Lycra and shorts
depends on how deep you dive. and you should always still float when exhaling passively, for safety reasons
What brand of fins are you using? Thank you..
alchemy v30 short carbon fins, with cetma s-wing foot pockets
@@gertleroy ❤
Hahaha! No wetsuit? Come snorkel in Canada. 😂 Nice video.
What? You don't like the cold ? 🥶🥶🧊😁
@@gertleroy I did some training on the line this weekend, and I had to bust out the 5mm gloves! 😩 (14 degree Celsius surface temp right now).
@@LaLtheGaL wim hof would say it's good for your health ✌️
@@gertleroy haha, you are such an instigator!
Keep it in your mouth, just blow a little air on your way up and it is all clear. What are you wearing if it is not a wetsuit? You videos are great, thanks.
in freediving we advise against keeping the snorkel in for safety reasons.
I dont have sinus disase.. but everytime I try valsava method I never get the equalization.. this makes me sad x.x should i just swallowing to equalize?
learn to frenzel. watch my playlist equalization techniques for freediving
What happened to blowing the water out of the snorkle when you resurface? Taking it out of your mouth seems like it defeats the purpose, no? Ive snorkled for years. Rarely do i touchy snorkle after the first time it goes in my mouth. Its in my mouth when i dive amd i blow out the water using my breathe at the surface and recover my breath all without touching the snorkle. Why is this not common practise? I'm not a very deep diver though. Maybe thats why.
When you do a deeper more challenging dive you don't have energy nor force to blow the snorkel when surfacing. The first thing you wanna do is breathe, not blow water out of a snorkel
Also, Gert didn’t mention this in the video, but most freediving courses train you to exhale 😮💨 your lung full of air in the last 5 meters before braking the surface. This both slows your ascent, reducing the chance of blackouts, and leaves you no air remaining to clear the snorkel. It also primes you so recovery breathing is the only reflex you need.
@@VimCommando Noooo! That is not true. Education systems do NOT teach you to exhale on the last 5 meters. That's only for advanced deep divers who pack and have to release the extra amount of air before surfacing. I'm not aware of ALL education systems but for sure Molchanovs and Aida do not teach you to exhale.
@@gertleroy That is interesting, my level 1 class with FII did and made a fairly strong point on it when we watched videos of blackouts worsened by people breaking past the surface too fast. They also made a point it should be a long and slow exhale, not to quickly empty your lungs and drop your buoyancy.
I am way out of any professional school, just some trainer's recommendations (I apologise if may be interrupting a subject), I was "taught" that if you dive deep and your lungs start "burning" due to depth pressure not due oxygen depletion, start slowly release air up to 30-50% capacity so you can swim up in the end. Am I (probably) doing something wrong? I have never free dived more then 15m, so all suggestions are welcomed.
The duck pooped
I soak my face in the pool with a mask and I ended with a headache although I successfully removed the pressure in my ear still I got migraine for almost 4 days.
😮😮😮😮😮😮 👏👏👏👏👏
You see scubadivers do the bicycle kick when they’re entry level, on the course or straight out of it, same as any other entry level water activity, such as say people who are new to snorkling and freediving or just common swimming. Few people continue that habit as it actually makes useful propulsion in anything but poollike conditions and a flat water surface next to impossible. CLEARLY scubadivers need strong propulsion and proper technique as soon as we are working swells, strong current - particularly at depth or during prolonged surface swims. Let’s not pretend that scuba-divers “don’t need to propel themselves”, just to glamourize freediving that’s ridiculous, speaking as a scuba instructor AND freediving cold water spearfisher.
are u in phillippines?
yes
I would say body fat plays a big role in the weights or no discussion.
correct 🙏
My mask doesn’t allow me to pinch my nose… what do I do for equalization
buy a new mask 🙏
Edit the title to Basic Snorkeling Tips
I would consider duck diving and staying underwater as advanced Snorkelling. most poeple don't even get there. the next stage would be called freediving
Ive seen people using weights in a bikini before. Is it a matter of personal preference?
body composition and bone density determine your buoyancy
I have a built-in wetsuit. I suppose I'm eligible to wear some weights after all. ;)
Hi I want to thank you for your teaching, and I watch all your videoes but because I can't understand English very well I want to ask you speak slower please.
to can playback the video slower
Look like bangka around you ? ...
Many of them ✌️
@@gertleroy welcome back in Philippines...
Hey love the video would have to disagree with the no wetsuit no weights I’m a big boy and swim with weights and no wetsuit :)
body composition might make a difference yes... 🙏