Four weeks of focused, low-volume prep makes the difference. You don't need to become a fit freediver before the course. You need to arrive with a functional swim base, a usable equalization technique, the start of breath-hold relaxation, and the right mindset. Here's how to build all four in 30 days.
What You Need to Be Able to Do on Day 1
AIDA 2 has four hard standards. Knowing them shapes the prep:
- Swim 200 meters non-stop without fins (or 300m with mask, fins, and snorkel). This is the gating prereq before the open-water portion.
- A 2-minute static breath hold. Performed in a pool, with a buddy.
- A 40-meter dynamic swim with bi-fins. One breath, underwater, in the pool.
- A 12-meter (~39 ft) Constant Weight Bi-fins dive. Open water, on a vertical line, with safety on standby.
All four are reachable for almost anyone in reasonable health with a month of attention. The prep below targets each one specifically.
Week 1 — Swim Foundation
The goal of week 1 is removing the swim test as a stressor. If you arrive day one already comfortable with the 200m or 300m, your nervous system has more capacity to absorb the actual freediving curriculum.
Three sessions, 30–40 minutes each
Session structure:
- 5 minutes easy freestyle warm-up
- 4 × 50m freestyle, breathing every 3 strokes, easy pace
- 1 × 200m freestyle continuous — if you can't make it the first try, build up: 100 + rest 30s + 100, then 150 + 50, then unbroken 200. Most people get to unbroken 200 by session 5 or 6.
- Cool down: 100m breaststroke or backstroke, very easy
If you don't have pool access
The ocean works. La Jolla Shores has a marked 200-meter buoy run during summer (yellow buoys roughly 100m and 200m off the lifeguard tower) — swim it, rest, swim back. Bring a swim buoy if you don't have a strong open-water swim background. Be honest about ocean conditions before going.
What to track
You don't need a stopwatch. You need the answer to one question: can I swim 200 meters continuously without stopping, without feeling like I'm racing? Once that's a yes, this part of prep is done. Move maintenance to one session a week and shift effort to the others.
Week 2 — Relaxation and Frenzel Equalization
Week 2 is the most underestimated week. The two skills it covers — diaphragmatic relaxation and Frenzel equalization — are what separate students who hit 12 meters comfortably from students who struggle to get past 6.
Diaphragmatic Breathing (daily, 10 minutes)
Lie on your back. Place one hand on your chest, one on your belly. Breathe in through the nose for 4 counts and feel the belly rise without the chest moving. Breathe out through the mouth for 8 counts. Repeat for 5–10 minutes daily, ideally before sleep.
This is the foundation of the breath-up you'll use before every dive. The point isn't to maximize lung capacity. The point is to lower your heart rate and quiet your nervous system on demand — a learned skill, like any other.
Frenzel Equalization (5 sessions over the week)
Frenzel uses the tongue and soft palate to compress air into the eustachian tubes, instead of the chest-pressure Valsalva most people default to. Frenzel works deeper, costs less air, and dramatically reduces sinus and ear barotrauma.
Learning Frenzel dry is straightforward. The drill:
- Close your mouth and pinch your nose.
- Make a "K" sound, like the start of "key" — feel the back of the tongue press up against the soft palate.
- Now make a "T" sound — the tongue tip presses against the roof of the mouth just behind the front teeth.
- Combine: with nose pinched, do a "K" then push the tongue forward like a "T" — you're now compressing the small pocket of air in your mouth and throat into the eustachian tubes. You'll feel your ears pop.
Do this 20–30 times a day for a week. By the end of the week it'll be automatic. If you can't get it from text — and many people can't — there are good video tutorials (search "Adam Stern Frenzel" for the cleanest one). Our existing guide to equalization goes deeper if you want the full picture.
Week 3 — Static Breath Hold and CO2 Tolerance
Week 3 builds the 2-minute static breath hold and starts conditioning your body to the urge-to-breathe sensation that will show up around the 1-minute mark on most dives.
Static Apnea Tables (3 sessions, ~25 minutes each)
Always do these lying down or sitting with your head supported. Never do breath-hold training alone in or near water — this is non-negotiable. On dry land, the risk is much lower, but still: lying on a couch or bed is safest.
The progression:
| Session | Pattern |
|---|---|
| 1 | 5 × 1:00 hold with 1:30 rest between each |
| 2 | 5 × 1:15 hold with 1:30 rest between each |
| 3 | 5 × 1:30 hold with 1:30 rest between each |
The breath hold should feel easy for the first 30–45 seconds. Around 60–75 seconds you'll feel the first contractions — your diaphragm involuntarily pulsing as CO2 rises. This is the most important part of the training. The instinct is to break the hold. The skill is to stay relaxed, let the contractions happen, and notice that they're uncomfortable but not actually emergency signals.
Your job is to find the texture of that discomfort and develop tolerance to it. Most people, by session 3, can hold 1:30 with contractions and feel like they could keep going.
CO2 Tables (2 sessions)
A CO2 table holds the hold duration constant but shortens the rest periods. This conditions your body to handle higher CO2 levels without panicking. A starter table:
- 1:00 hold / 2:00 rest
- 1:00 hold / 1:45 rest
- 1:00 hold / 1:30 rest
- 1:00 hold / 1:15 rest
- 1:00 hold / 1:00 rest
- 1:00 hold / 0:45 rest
- 1:00 hold / 0:30 rest
- 1:00 hold (finish)
The last few rounds will be uncomfortable. That's the point. Our full CO2 tolerance training guide has the deeper protocol.
Week 4 — Taper, Integration, and Readiness Check
The final week is not about pushing harder. It's about consolidating what you've built and arriving on day one fresh.
Volume drops by ~50%
One easy swim of 200m. Two short static sessions of 3 × 1:30 with full rest. Equalization drills every day. Diaphragmatic breathing every night before sleep. That's it.
Readiness self-check
Use these as a passing checklist 48–72 hours before your course:
- Swim 200m continuously without fins (or 300m with mask/fins/snorkel) and step out of the pool not gassed.
- Hold your breath for 1:30 lying down without panicking through the contractions.
- Equalize your ears (using Frenzel, ideally) ten times in a row without effort.
- Breathe diaphragmatically and slow your heart rate noticeably in under 60 seconds.
If any of these are still a struggle, tell your instructor before day one. We can plan around it. The day-of surprise is what makes courses harder than they need to be.
Practical preparation
- Rest. Sleep is the most under-utilized freediving performance enhancer.
- Hydrate, but not the morning of. Heavy fluids day-of can make recovery breathing awkward.
- No alcohol or recreational drugs for at least 48 hours pre-course. Both significantly raise blackout risk.
- Light meal 2 hours before water sessions. Not a fasted state, not a full state. Toast and an egg, or a banana and yogurt.
- Bring layers. San Diego sun gets hot between dives even when the water is cold. A hat, a hooded sweatshirt, and a towel are the kit.
What to Expect on Day One
Most AIDA 2 courses spend day one on theory, a pool session, and getting you familiar with the equipment. By the end of day one you'll have done your static hold, your 40m dynamic, and the swim test (if you didn't do it ahead of time). Day two moves to open water — buoy, line, gentle introduction to the dive itself. Day three is performance: line dives to your target depth, rescue scenarios, and the final ocean component for certification.
Coming in with the prep above means day one feels achievable instead of overwhelming. You're not learning Frenzel for the first time in front of a stranger. You're not gassed from the swim. You're not surprised by what a contraction feels like. You have capacity to absorb the parts that can't be prepared for in advance — being on the line, equalizing head-down, surfacing protocols.
Booking the Course
AIDA 2 at LJFC is $575 in a group (2+ students) and $800 private. Course minimum is 2.5 days; we typically run it as a full 3 days with one evening theory session. See current course dates or use the course inquiry form to request a window that works for your schedule.
Show up ready and the course becomes one of the better weeks of your year.
