Dynamic or Static? Which Pool Discipline Is Right for You?

I used to think I needed to choose.
Pick a side. Pick a style.

Dynamic or static?
Distance or stillness?

But freediving doesn’t work like that. It’s not about where you’re better. It’s about where you feel more like yourself.

The Stillness of Static

Lying face down. The world going quiet. Time stretching like honey.

For some people, that’s a nightmare. For others, it’s medicine.

In static apnea, you don’t move. You float. You soften. You meet yourself with nothing but your breath and your thoughts. It’s the most stripped-back version of freediving. The one where there’s nowhere to hide.

It’s also the one that’s taught me the most about surrender.

There’s no fin to kick, no wall to reach. Just your heartbeat, your will, and your capacity to let go.

A recent study in Frontiers in Psychology showed that mindfulness and emotional regulation directly correlate with longer static breath-holds. Source

The more present you are, the longer you stay.

The Flow of Dynamic Freediving

Then there’s the glide. The rhythm of movement. Arms pulling, fins sweeping, the silence broken only by your body slipping through water.

Dynamic gives you something to do.

That can be grounding. Empowering. Even fun.

You aim for distance, but the real achievement is feeling flow. That moment when effort disappears and all that’s left is a kind of moving meditation.

And if static has taught me surrender, dynamic has taught me rhythm.

I wrote about training without pressure and how some days the win is just showing up. Dynamic rewards that kind of consistency.

You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to begin.

It’s Not a Contest Between Them

Some athletes love the mental game of static. Others dread it.
Some thrive in the physicality of dynamic. Others get lost in it.

There’s no right answer. There’s just your answer.

Which one do you look forward to?
Which one teaches you more about yourself, even when it’s hard?

In my own competitions, I learned that static was where I could test my fear. And dynamic was where I could feel free.

If you’re not sure, try both. Try all the styles: DYN, DNF, DYNB, STA. You don’t have to commit. You don’t have to be the best.

Just follow what feels honest.

Choosing What Supports You

In the end, you get to decide.
Not based on what you think will impress people.
But based on what will help you grow.

What supports your nervous system?
What lights up your training, even when you’re tired?

And if your answer changes over time, that’s okay.
It should.

The Discipline I Love Most

The truth is, my favorite discipline is usually the one I’m currently training for. There’s a kind of intimacy that comes with preparation—when I’ve been showing up, doing the work, staying consistent. Training gives me the confidence to love the process.

But going in unprepared? That’s like setting a trap for myself. It’s where disappointment breeds. High expectations with no foundation only lead to two outcomes: either I accomplish the goal but walk away hating it, or I fall short and convince myself to give up.

It’s not about the discipline. It’s about the relationship I build with it through training.

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Still unsure? Read: What Freediving Taught Me About Patience, Pressure, and Progress, Freediving Competitions: It’s Not Just About Winning, or Competing Against Yourself: The Real Mental Game of Freediving.