Breathology or manual of freediving?

i'm interested in this as well. was planning on buying manual of freediving as soon as i got a couple of visa gift cards in the mail.

are these the top 2 books? which is better?

IMO manual of freediving is a waste of time if you just want to go out there and dive better. Even if you can bear reading through it, it's like homework.

Quote from Alejandro

i'm interested in this as well. was planning on buying manual of freediving as soon as i got a couple of visa gift cards in the mail.

are these the top 2 books? which is better?

I can't speak about Breathology. But I've read the "manual of free diving" here and there many times and its a great book.

Its a little tedious, and goes very into depth on things like the history and pysiology of freediving. Finning, equalization and breathing technique etc. I found that I came away with a ton of very helpful information on breath hold diving and even diving in relation to spearfishing, stuff that greatly improved my abilities and confidence. But expect to ignore or forget large chunks of the book that you don't find directly applicable.

Quote from Dan

IMO manual of freediving is a waste of time if you just want to go out there and dive better. Even if you can bear reading through it, it's like homework.

Dan, I agree that large chunks of the book are like homework, and some absolutely useless for diving and spearfishing. But between the charts of fin-strokes and yoga mind exercises I feel there is a lot of very simple directly applicable information that an inexperienced diver can benefit greatly from. I would say that many tidbits of information I learned in the book I incorporated into my diving and they helped go out there and dive better.

Manual of Freediving is like a school textbook. It's full of all kinds of positive and useful information, but if you don't have a professor explaining it, you won't learn much. I read it, thought I learned quite a bit, took FII, then reread it and realized that I read it completely wrong.

I haven't read Breathology so I can't help there.

Quote from smilinmatt

Manual of Freediving is like a school textbook. It's full of all kinds of positive and useful information, but if you don't have a professor explaining it, you won't learn much. I read it, thought I learned quite a bit, took FII, then reread it and realized that I read it completely wrong.

I haven't read Breathology so I can't help there.

As someone who's read the book but has no intentions of taking a free diving class. Im curious which parts of the book did you read completely wrong? Did the instructors provide missing explanations, or a different interpretation of the books contents?

so is neither book a "must-buy"? i don't think i'll be spending the money on FII any time soon and was planning on picking up one of these types of books in the mean time.

Quote from Alejandro

so is neither book a "must-buy"? i don't think i'll be spending the money on FII any time soon and was planning on picking up one of these types of books in the mean time.

Spend that money on gas and go diving

Umberto Pellizari the author of "The Manual of Freediving "is a pioneer of the sport. The original Italian text was translated to English by World Record holder freediver and spearfisherman , William Trubridge. They are currently working on a new version. The original is somewhat outdated but it is the first comprehensive publication on freediving. The sport has progressed greatly since its publication and there are many new theories and training programs.
Breathology is by Stig Severinsen , former record holder , scientist researcher. Here is his website :
Breatheology

Federico Manna has great books on breathing and equalization, also.
movinglimits.com

All of the books focus on relaxation and flexibility. That is why the yoga is in all of them. A flexible diaphragm is an important element to an increased breath hold. Relaxation will help you burn less oxygen; that is one reason your breath hold improves as you dive more. The more comfortable you are, the less oxygen you waste. Good fin and dive technique also make you more efficient.
Reading these books is helpful and then you need to go out and practice the techniques. Have a buddy film you with a GoPro and you can see what you are doing well and what needs work.

Hope that helps.
Carla

Quote from O2 deprived

Umberto Pellizari the author of "The Manual of Freediving "is a pioneer of the sport. The original Italian text was translated to English by World Record holder freediver and spearfisherman , William Trubridge. They are currently working on a new version. The original is somewhat outdated but it is the first comprehensive publication on freediving. The sport has progressed greatly since its publication and there are many new theories and training programs.
Breathology is by Stig Severinsen , former record holder , scientist researcher. Here is his website :
Breatheology

Federico Manna has great books on breathing and equalization, also.
movinglimits.com

All of the books focus on relaxation and flexibility. That is why the yoga is in all of them. A flexible diaphragm is an important element to an increased breath hold. Relaxation will help you burn less oxygen; that is one reason your breath hold improves as you dive more. The more comfortable you are, the less oxygen you waste. Good fin and dive technique also make you more efficient.
Reading these books is helpful and then you need to go out and practice the techniques. Have a buddy film you with a GoPro and you can see what you are doing well and what needs work.

Hope that helps.
Carla

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that helps a lot, actually. i posted this over at sb and got similar responses. i think i'm going to go with breathology. thanks for the help!

I wouldn't totally discredit these books. While nothing makes you comfortable in the water like practice and time spent, sometimes you read something that changes your mind a little and may make you more at ease. That being said I have 0 interest in looking at c02 tables

Quote from O2 deprived

Umberto Pellizari the author of "The Manual of Freediving "is a pioneer of the sport. The original Italian text was translated to English by World Record holder freediver and spearfisherman , William Trubridge. They are currently working on a new version. The original is somewhat outdated but it is the first comprehensive publication on freediving. The sport has progressed greatly since its publication and there are many new theories and training programs.
Breathology is by Stig Severinsen , former record holder , scientist researcher. Here is his website :
Breatheology

Federico Manna has great books on breathing and equalization, also.
movinglimits.com

All of the books focus on relaxation and flexibility. That is why the yoga is in all of them. A flexible diaphragm is an important element to an increased breath hold. Relaxation will help you burn less oxygen; that is one reason your breath hold improves as you dive more. The more comfortable you are, the less oxygen you waste. Good fin and dive technique also make you more efficient.
Reading these books is helpful and then you need to go out and practice the techniques. Have a buddy film you with a GoPro and you can see what you are doing well and what needs work.

Hope that helps.
Carla

Display More

Aside from time in the water doing tables helped me increase my breath hold and my knowledge of the limits of my current ability.