Let’s be honest — static training sucks. Or at least, it feels like it sucks when you’re doing it wrong. You lie there, still, holding your breath, counting imaginary ceiling tiles, wondering why on earth you chose this sport in the first place. If you’re anything like I was, you probably think static is all about willpower, pushing through discomfort, and seeing how long you can suffer in silence. But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if your static training sucks… simply because you’re approaching it with the wrong mindset, the wrong tools, or no guidance at all? This is the story of how I went from dreading every breath-hold to actually enjoying them — and how you can too.
Relearning to Hold My Breath Without the Suffering
If you know my story, you know that equalization was the bane of my freediving existence. Seriously — I struggled so hard with it that I nearly gave up on freediving altogether. I was heading into my Wave 1 course for the third time, and just three days before the trip… I injured my ear. The trip was paid for. Flights booked. So I thought, fuck it, I’ll go anyway and just chill on the boat.
While everyone else was diving, improving, and glowing under the guidance of my teacher Dan, I was stuck on deck — injured, frustrated, and honestly kinda hating life. I remember watching another guest surface from a 27-meter dive and thinking… This sucks. I needed something. I needed to be good at something too. So I decided, right there and then, lying on the boat under the hot Whitsunday sun: I’m going to start training static breath-holds.
Why not multitask? I figured I’d tan and train at the same time. I did oxygen tables — the only thing I knew how to do at the time — and I lay there every afternoon under the sky. Three days later, I went from a 2:20 static to a 4:45 dry breath-hold. And yes… it sucked. But I really wanted to get better. That was my first real relationship with static training. It wasn’t love at first breath-hold.
Fast forward a few years…
I signed up for an instructor course. I trained with tons of CO₂ tables — holding my breath for a minute at a time, with just one or two breaths between repetitions, both in the pool and dry. Again, everyone was smashing it at depth… except me. Equalization still had me stuck at 7 meters. So when pool day came, I gave it my all.
I passed every requirement and even hit a 5:05 breath-hold — over a minute more than I needed. And yeah, you guessed it… it sucked. But it gave me a sense of accomplishment. While others were struggling, I actually had something I could do on the first go. It made me feel a little less like a fraud. Like, maybe I did belong here.
I was proud of that static. Really proud. But eventually, I figured out how to equalize, and like many freedivers, my obsession shifted. It became all about depth. I stopped caring about statics. I stopped training pool disciplines entirely.
After a while, even my warm-ups — those slow, calm 10–15 meter hangs I used to love — became uncomfortable. I went from spending 3 minutes at 35 meters feet-first with ease… to being uneasy with a 2-minute hang at 12 meters. Something in my mind had linked breath-holding to discomfort, to suffering, to “Yuck.” And because I was still diving deep, I pushed those feelings to the back of my mind.
The ego trap
I think it was my ego, honestly, that kept me from going back. I didn’t want to face the possibility that I couldn’t hold my breath for five minutes anymore. I didn’t want to train for it again. I didn’t want to suck at something I used to be good at. So I avoided it.
Then I did a crossover to become a Molchanovs instructor. And guess what? I had to hold my breath for four minutes. So I did. And yes — it super duper ultra sucked. After that (about three years ago), I never held my breath again. Not even once.
I knew I could do it… I just didn’t want to. It felt like the worst idea ever. Why do people do statics? What’s wrong with them?
Life had other plans…
Earlier this year, I was getting ready for a competition in the Philippines when life — as it often does — hit me with a plot twist. I had to undergo minor nasal surgery, which meant no diving, no swimming, no nothing… for three months.
So what now?
Well — when I can’t dive, I get good at something else.
As much as I dreaded it, I knew static training didn’t have to suck. I realized that all those years, I had been doing breath-holds powered by willpower alone. No guidance. No coach. No strategy. Just brute force. So I swallowed my pride and admitted: I don’t have a five-minute static in me right now. And that’s okay. I reframed the whole thing.
Just like I do when diving deep and that little fear voice kicks in saying “What if I don’t make it all the way down?” — I try to flip it:
“What an amazing opportunity to go deeper. Let’s see what happens.”
Same with statics:
“This is a chance to see where I’m at now. Let’s see how I can train smart, without suffering, and maybe go deeper with more ease in the future.”
So I reached out to Jarrod — someone I knew from years ago, someone I remembered as kind. And I started training.
And here’s the surprise…
The first few sessions, I was anxious. How much is this going to hurt? Do I even have it in me to go back there?
But now — after just three weeks of static breath-hold training (dry, in my bed, mind you)…
I. Don’t. Hate. It.
Like — at all.
I actually look forward to static training now.
One of the biggest mindset shifts for me was letting go of the PB chase. Just because I held my breath for four minutes yesterday doesn’t mean I have to hit 4:10 today. Every day is different. The point isn’t to suffer — the point is to explore. Some exercises are still tough, of course. But there’s no judgment anymore. No constant comparing. Just awareness, presence, and curiosity.
I’m not at my five-minute breath-hold yet. But I’m pretty damn close.
And guess what? I’m not hating it.
In fact… I might even admit — I’m enjoying the journey.
❤️ If you’re dreading static training…
You’re not alone.
But maybe it doesn’t have to suck.
Maybe it’s just a matter of how you’re training — and why.
If you’re getting back into static training or just want to make it suck less, you might also enjoy these reads: How to Control Your Urge to Breathe, 5 Effective Ways to Increase CO₂ Tolerance, and Why Improving Your CO₂ Tolerance Is Important. They’ll give you practical tools, deeper understanding, and a few mindset shifts to help you feel more in control and less like you’re drowning on dry land.

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