Title: History of scuba diving and freediving Objectives: The main goal of the thesis is to gather available information and resources about scuba diving describe and analyze the historical development of diving and freediving. Methods: In order to achieve the objective of the thesis, it has been analysed all available information including literature, internet software, materials about diving, description, comparison and interview. Results: This thesis shall provide, to those interested in the sport and to general public, a comprehensive and clear description and historical development of diving and diving equipment from the early beginnings to the present, with main focus on freediving. Keywords: history of diving, sport, diving, swimming, freediving.

Title: The influence of spinning on a time extension in the static apnea during free diving Objectives: The objective of this work was to find out whether even a short and intensive training can have an affect on the increase of a vital lung capacity, on a time extension in the static apnea, and on a performance improvement during free diving. Methods: The search of available literature and its recherche. Measurement methods determination: digital stopwatch for the apnea, spirometer for the vital lung capacity, and a Sport-tester and a Borg scale for the spinning program. Data collection. Results: The statistical analysis of the values of a vital lung capacity and a static apnea before and after sports training Keywords: diving, vital lung capacity, spinning, apnea, free diving

Title: Prolonged apnea: monitoring brain activity in freedivers Objectives: The aim of this study is to monitor the brain electrical activity during the prolonged apnea in freedivers. Prolonged apnea in the water and prolonged dry apnea were compared to each other and also to a resting state before the apnea, all states with the eyes closed. Brain activity was obtained from the scalp EEG and evaluated using the sLORETA program. Methods: The research was conducted in 11 healthy men at the age of 23 - 51. The data was obtained from the scalp EEG. The record was first taken at a resting state before the apneas with eyes closed, then at maximum prolonged dry apnea with eyes closed and finally at maximum prolonged apnea in the water with eyes closed. The lenghts of the prolonged apneas ranged from 2:15 minutes to 5:30 minutes in idividual probands. There were pauses of at least three minutes between each apnea as by the proband's needs. The compared pair groups were following: prolonged apnea in the water against prolonged dry apnea, prolonged apnea in the water against resting state before the apnea and finally prolonged dry apnea against resting state before the apnea, all with the eyes closed. Selected sections of EEG record without artefacts were processed by sLORETA program. In the statistical...

Title: Comparison of Special Breathing Exercises versus Specialized Physiotherapeutic Interventions for Static Apnea Objectives: The aim of this diploma thesis is to look deeper into the issue of improving performance in static apnea, one of the competitive disciplines of freediving and compare its training with 1) special breathing exercises for divers (Mana, 2018) and 2) physiotherapeutic intevrentions based on working with the diaphragm and deep stabilization system of the spine (Kolář, 2009). The aim was to find out which group achieved a more effective result and what is the overall diference between the training result of both groups in terms of posture quality and performance in static apnea. Methods: The experiment involved 14 healthy people, men and women, aged 19-23 years old. The experiment consisted of three parts: 1) Initial measurement of static apnea and examination of four tests to determine the quality of one's postural muscles, 2) four-week lasting training according to the division into groups (breathing exercises for divers or training based on physiotherapy intervention), 3) final measurement of static apnea and re-examination of posture tests. The obtained data were recorded and processed. Results: It appeared that due to the small amount of statistically signifiant data and...

AbstractUnderwater sports such as artistic swimming and freediving, are characterized by periods of voluntary arrest of breathing, known as apnoea, while exercising. It is well known that apnoea leads to bradycardia and some other oxygen conserving responses, but little is known when exercise is conducted underwater, and the differences between exercise with intermittent and maximal apnoea periods. This review aims to understand and compare the physiological responses of the exercise performed underwater and the effect of the diving reflex in the heart rate, blood lactate, arterial pressure, arterial oxygen saturation and oxygen uptake, in different types of apnoea. A systematic review was conducted, searching studies in five scientific databases, according to specific criteria. 14 articles were selected for the analysis, using the method called PRISMA with systematic research, including just articles where trials were performed underwater. Artistic swimming and depth modalities of freediving are perceived as high intensity exercise. Blood lactate concentration (BLa), heart rate peak (HRpeak) and mean arterial pressure (MAP), depend more on exercise intensity, whereas arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) and minimum heart rate (HRmin) is more related to apnoea duration. The diving response is more pronounced in freediving depth modalities due to impossibility of breathing. High intensity exercise mildly counteracts the diving reflex due to muscular and oxygen demands. Further investigation is needed in underwater sports, and physiological measurements should be performed according to a general consensus among researchers in order to avoid wide ranges of values in trial outcomes.