This 12-week plan is designed for swimmers who have completed AIDA 1 and want a clear roadmap to AIDA 2. It assumes you can already swim 200m continuously and are comfortable floating face-down in the water.
Weeks 1–3: Building the Aerobic Base and Breath Awareness In these weeks, the goal is not depth or duration — it is developing the body-breath connection. Each session should include: • 20 minutes of CO₂ tolerance tables in the pool (breath holds with fixed rest periods) • 400m of relaxed swimming with bilateral breathing • 10 minutes of static apnea practice, target: 2:00 minutes
Benchmark at end of Week 3: Static apnea of 2 minutes, heart rate below 100 bpm after surfacing.
Weeks 4–6: Introducing Dynamic Apnea Dynamic apnea (swimming underwater horizontally) builds breath-hold capacity in a way that static practice cannot, because it introduces the physiological demands of movement and orientation. • Begin with 15m dynamic no fins (DNF) and extend by 5m per session • Introduce the duck-dive technique in the shallow end • Begin relaxation training: progressive muscle relaxation before each session
Benchmark at end of Week 6: DNF of 35m, duck-dive without fins.
Weeks 7–9: Depth Orientation (Pool and Shallow Open Water) If you have access to a pool deeper than 3m or a safe open water site, these weeks introduce you to the sensations of descent. • Practise neutral buoyancy at 5m • Learn equalisation technique (Frenzel preferred over Valsalva at this stage) • Begin Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) dives to 5–8m
Benchmark at end of Week 9: CNF dive to 8m with clean equalisation.
Weeks 10–12: Consolidation and AIDA 2 Preparation The final phase is about making your diving efficient and repeatable under the conditions of the AIDA 2 assessment. • Practise the full AIDA 2 assessment sequence: 2:30 static, 50m dynamic, 16m CWT • Introduce buddy system safety protocols (no freediving alone — ever) • Focus on dive reflex optimisation: face cooling, relaxed entry
Note: this plan requires supervision from a qualified freediving instructor for all open water dives. Do not attempt open water training without a certified buddy.
