Imagine you've wiped out, got caught inside by a triple-overhead set, and got pulled deep into an endless hold-down.
I am Carolin Ballweg, a professional freediving athlete and instructor, and I do know what surfers go through.
In this complicated situation, surfers generally behave differently: some panic and gasp, others stay calm, conserve oxygen, resurface in control, and recover. And the latter highlights the difference freediving training can make for a surfer.
Freediving is the discipline of diving on a single breath, using relaxation and precise breath control to extend your time underwater.
For surfers, these same skills translate directly into better composure during wipeouts, improved breath efficiency, faster recovery, and a stronger connection to the ocean environment. It actually changes everything.
So, here are five ways freediving can level up your surfing. They're entirely backed by my experience, physiology, and measurable gains.
1. Understanding the Ocean Reflex: How Your Heart Rate Drops and Your Body Transforms Underwater
Understanding what happens in your body when you hold your breath changes everything. Have you ever thought about that? Here's what's at stake. The mammalian diving reflex (MDR) is a response that activates when your face is submerged in water, especially cold water.
It's an oxygen-conservation reflex that helps mammals, including humans, survive without breathing underwater. It slows the heart, shifts blood to vital organs, and even releases oxygen-rich cells. In other words, it's a built-in system that shows how perfectly your body is designed for the water.
One of its most immediate benefits is the ability to remain relaxed during unexpected situations underwater. So, if you're able to trust your body's natural mechanisms, you can gain the confidence to manage long hold-downs without panic and eventually lose your consciousness.
2. The Urge to Breathe and Contractions: You Can Hold Your Breath Much Longer Than You Think
When you're held underwater, it's not the lack of oxygen that creates the feeling of panic. Instead, it's the rise of carbon dioxide (CO2). As CO2 builds up, the brain sends stronger signals to breathe, and the diaphragm begins to contract in waves. These contractions can feel uncomfortable, but they're actually a sign that your body is doing its job and that oxygen is still available.
Learning to recognize and stay calm through these sensations is a game-changer. By understanding that the urge to breathe is driven by CO2 - and not by danger - you will begin to relax, conserve oxygen, and stay composed longer underwater. The goal is to stay centered under pressure or in heavy water scenarios, to build confidence, control, and trust in your body's resilience.
In freediving, this ability is either trained in dry exercises or through static apnea, a discipline where you hold your breath while floating still, face down, in the water, for as long as possible. Static apnea is actually the purest form of breath-hold training, as it teaches us total relaxation and control over the mind's urge to breathe.
The current world record stands at 9:22 minutes for women (Heike Schwerdtner, Germany) and 11:35 minutes for men (Stéphane Mifsud, France). They're extraordinary examples of what's possible when body and mind work together in complete trust. In the end, it makes you wonder: how long could you stay calm underwater if you truly trusted your body?
3. Breathing for Performance: On the Board, Underwater, and After the Fall
Breathing may feel instinctive, but for surfers, it's a crucial skill that shapes performance, recovery, and calm. How you breathe while paddling, before a hold-down, and after resurfacing determines how efficiently your body uses oxygen and how fast you recover between rides. The way you breathe while performing a full-power off-the-lip turn will influence the way you'll drive your surfboard off the bottom a few seconds later.
When sitting or paddling out, many surfers breathe faster than they need to and often through the mouth. This "over-breathing" lowers CO2 levels, which can actually reduce oxygen delivery to the muscles and increase tension in the body. That's why a more effective way is to breathe lightly, slowly, and through the nose. Nasal breathing keeps CO2 balance stable, improves oxygen uptake, and promotes relaxation.
Therefore, right before a hold-down, you should try to calm the body and slow the heart rate. All you need is to take one or two gentle breaths, with a slightly longer exhale than inhale. Then take a final deep but relaxed breath and let your body soften. This "surfers' breath-up", adapted from freediving, reduces oxygen consumption and delays the stress response when you're pulled underwater.
When you resurface, resist the urge to gasp for air. Instead, use recovery breathing, which is nothing but a quick active inhale through the mouth followed by a soft, passive exhale, and repeat this three times. Freedivers use this technique to quickly re-oxygenate and stabilize their breathing. For surfers, it shortens recovery time and helps you regain focus before the next wave.
Understanding how to breathe in every phase - lying on the surfboard, underwater, and in recovery - turns your breath into a tool rather than a reaction. It builds resilience, calm, and the ability to stay present no matter how powerful the situation might get.
4. Move Smarter Underwater: Learning from Freediving Technique
As we've pointed out, when a massive wave or wall of whitewater drags you down and everything spins, your instinct tells you to fight. The problem is that struggling burns oxygen fast. On the other hand, staying calm and moving efficiently makes all the difference.
Freedivers train this technique through Constant Weight No Fins (CNF), a discipline where you dive without fins or ropes. The body movement looks similar to breaststroke, but it's designed for efficiency with minimal effort in depth.
Each stroke is broad, slow, and fluid, and uses the whole body as one wave rather than separate arm-and-leg actions. It's all less about power and more about rhythm and streamlining, so the body glides farther on each movement while using less oxygen.
Surfers may adopt these principles while inside the endless washing machine of a giant broken wave. The key is to keep your body long and relaxed, move rhythmically instead of chaotically, and let buoyancy assist the ascent. All this will help you save energy and stay oriented.
Understanding how to move like a freediver can make the difference between panic and control when the ocean takes over. In the end, it's not strength that brings you up - it's awareness, efficiency, and trust in how your body moves through the water.
5. Equalization: Relax Your Ears
Here's one last tip that adds an increment of useful freediving knowledge to your surfing sessions. Even though you rarely dive deep when surfing, knowing how equalization works can make managing multiple-wave hold-downs easier.
During heavy wipeouts or deep duck dives, pressure builds quickly in your ears and sinuses. Freedivers use gentle techniques to equalize this pressure, not by force, but through awareness and timing.
If you get into them a bit more, you may prevent ear pain and be relaxed in turbulence, while simultaneously building confidence when the ocean pulls you deeper than expected.
Who I Am and Why This Works
I'm a freediving athlete, instructor, and breathwork coach living and training between Portugal and Egypt.
As the founder of Ocean Flow, I organize retreats and workshops focused on freediving, surf-apnea, and relaxation techniques.
My work combines breath control, safety courses, and mental focus to help anyone stay calm, efficient, and confident in the water.
How to Begin
1. Build CO2 tolerance
Practice calm breath-holds and light CO2 training to stay relaxed as levels rise.
2. Refine breathing on the board
Use slow nasal breaths and gentle exhales to keep oxygen use efficient and your body calm.
3. Breathe before - and recover after
Take one or two slow breaths before going under, then use recovery breathing after resurfacing to restore balance fast.
4. Move efficiently underwater
Stay streamlined and relaxed - less effort, more control, quicker recovery.
5. Learn safely with professionals
Freedivers never train alone. Join a surf-apnea workshop or a freediving course to learn more. Training under guidance helps you understand your limits, stay safe, and develop correct habits early on.
Words by Carolin Ballweg | Professional Freediver and Founder of Ocean Flow
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