Snorkeling: some tips to make sure everything goes well!

Some tips on how to best practice snorkeling


Both snorkeling and spearfishing are sports in their own right. The only difference and not the least that there is with land sports is that it takes place in a specific environment which is water. This therefore means that the overall practice of your activity will have to be further specified. Let's put ourselves in the shoes of a freediver or an underwater hunter for a day!

Tips to apply before your freediving session

Often the preparation for your activity will start the day before.

Preparation of your apnea equipment

Prepare your apnea equipment the night before in order to have a clear mind and remove a task to do the next morning: fins, mask, snorkel, belt, weights, wetsuit, buoy (and crossbow for spearfishing ) , everything is OK? Great, all you have to do is take your bag with you the next day and take the road to the sea ;-)

Sleep, important to be in good shape

Like all sports, your body must be rested before engaging in any sporting activity such as it is. If your snorkeling or spearfishing trip is early in the morning, it is essential to get a good night's sleep. Good sleep has a positive influence on the athlete by increasing his alertness, energy and performance. Try to sleep in 6 and 8 a.m. the night before if possible.

Food for snorkeling

As with any athlete, diet will be a determining factor in the performance and well-being of freedivers and spearfilers. Also in the case of a morning activity, it will be important not to eat too heavy the night before: avoid animal fats, fatty dairy products (which promote the production of mucus and can complicate your compensation) and fatty meats. This is also a good time to stock up on carbohydrates: brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole legs in order to have an optimal energy reserve for your snorkeling the next day.

A question often comes up when it comes to breakfast before going in the water: should you eat or not?

The answer is unique to everyone: if you are used to starting your day without lunch, you can go hungry but be sure to take some energy with you for your outing: energy bar, banana, etc.

If you are a breakfast fan, try to respect the 3 hours rule as much as possible: after 3 hours after the meal, digestion is generally slower. Otherwise eat light like water fruits (watermelon, melon, etc.) and avoid acidic foods like industrial orange juice.

Are your things ready? Are you rested and full of energy? We can therefore train or have fun for a snorkeling!

Tips for your snorkeling

Warm up! Whether running or weight training, for example, warming up is essential, it is the same in water. There are multitudes of warm-ups depending on your activity that you can find in the technical sheets of our online school.

More simply: if you are doing vertical freediving, make 3 to 4 descents while increasing the depth gradually and never reach your maximum depth during the warm-up. The same in spearfishing begins with a few shallow descents in order to put your body in apnea mode and check that all the parameters are green to then fully start your activity. You are in a specific environment and in apnea: your body needs time to adapt in order to understand the environment that surrounds it, as a runner will not start at full speed from the first seconds of a race. the same goes for you. Progressivity is necessary in order to be efficient and safe. Warming up in apnea is also necessary for the establishment of the immersion reflex which is a sequence of physiological reflexes such as bradycardia or peripheral vasoconstriction and the establishment of which varies according to each individual.

During your practice you will exert yourself energetically. It is therefore necessary to have a nutritional and energy supply during a snorkeling or spearfishing trip lasting several hours. For that, take with you on the boat or on your buoy an energy bar, dried fruits or even a banana (rich in potassium) that you will eat in several batches in order to have a constant energy supply.

The same goes for water. When you do physical activity in the water, you don't realize you are dehydrated. Do the same with the food: Drink a few sips at regular intervals rather than a large amount all at once.

Dive for two: we can never say it enough, whatever your discipline, practice snorkeling in pairs. A pair is one person who dives and another who watches and is ready to intervene in the event of a problem. In spearfishing the rule of a crossbow for two may apply for optimum safety. It is all the more rewarding to share your practice with a partner because it can help you progress each other and above all create a bond that will only be beneficial for your practice.

Tips for after the snorkeling 

Rinse your clothes and rest well after your snorkeling. You have just had a fairly long sports session in a demanding environment.

Hydrate yourself properly, regain your strength by having a balanced meal after your outing. Take advantage of this “good” fatigue created by the marine environment. Remember that, like any sport activity, the body needs some recovery time in order to regenerate itself. So if you have to practice two days in a row, try to space your snorkeling trips as much as possible and follow the above instructions correctly in order to make the most of your passion in complete safety!