G'day legend,

This one's a bit different. A short rant on pool training, three new articles you can choose from depending on where you're at, and a favour to ask at the end. Let's go.

🏊 The Pool Is Your Mid-Week Training Session

Wayne Judge wrote something on the Noob Spearo blog years ago that's stuck with me. People say the best training for spearfishing is spearfishing. Wayne's reply: if that were true, footy teams would play a game every Wednesday instead of training.

Marathon runners don't run 42km every week either. They do shorter sessions that build toward race day. Spearfishing is the same. Most of us can't get in the ocean three times a week, but nearly all of us can find a pool. One or two hours a week will keep you fit for the days the conditions line up.

But here's where I'll get a bit opinionated.

You don't need to train anywhere near your max to get better. Not in the ocean, and not in the pool either.

Training near your max carries real risk. Push into that zone and you're flirting with LMCs, sambas and blackouts. Even in a pool with someone watching, you're rewarding your body for switching off. In the ocean, it can kill you.

Pool training also builds CO2 tolerance, which quietens your urge to breathe. Pair that with a max-effort mindset and you carry a dangerous habit straight out to the reef.

The big gains are hiding in the boring stuff. A 3% better streamline means a smoother, more effective drop. Fixing your head position and straightening those bent knees pays you back over every kilometre you fin on a dive day. Add a consistent breathe-up and recovery routine, and the ability to relax on command, and you'll feel the difference fast.

​Adam Stern talks about this on the podcast. Training should leave you feeling good. You're building neural pathways, so make sure your brain links breath-hold training with good things. Do reps at a moderate, challenging level. Have a laugh with your mates between sets. Leave every session wanting more.

No maxes. No PBs. No pushing it. Just good reps, done often. That's how you show up to the reef fitter, calmer and safer.

📚 Pick Your Path

Three new articles. Click the one that fits where you're at right now:

🌱 Haven't started yet? → Your First Pool Session: Mask, Snorkel and Fins​

Nine simple surface activities to get comfortable with your gear before you ever chase a fish.

🐟 Getting started? → 3 Beginner Breathing Skills: Full Breath, Breathe-Up and Recovery​

How to fill your lungs properly, prepare calmly for each dive, and the recovery breaths that keep you safe at the surface.

🎯 Got a few seasons under your belt? → Delay Training: The Closest Thing to Spearfishing in a Pool​

Three stages of delay training, including the most underrated one: a short static at the end of your swim. It mimics your reel line jamming or a cramp kicking in just as you're heading up, and trains you to stay calm when you want to surface. Done at a comfortable level, with a buddy watching every rep.

🚨 Coming Soon: 1-Day Spearfishing Safety Workshop

Our beginner retreats start at $1,600. That's a big ask when you're just starting out, and safety knowledge shouldn't be locked behind a price tag like that. So I'm building something more accessible.

A 1-day workshop covering the risks we face out there, how to reduce them, and what to do when it goes wrong: shallow water blackout, buddy systems, rescue techniques, speargun safety, entanglement and plenty more. Practical, hands-on, for spearos at every level.

We'll start in Brisbane, then take it to the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and further afield.

​👉 Jump on the waitlist​

(First dibs when dates drop.)

BRISBANE FROTHERS, NEED A HAND! 🤙

Here's the roadblock. I need a venue.

I'm looking for a pool in the Greater Brisbane / Moreton Bay area that might host the practical side of the workshop. Ideally:

• 🏊 A pool at least 10m long, with space for a small group doing supervised water safety and rescue exercises
• 🏫 A classroom or meeting room for around 16 people, on-site or nearby
• 📅 Weekend availability, preferably with the pool session in the arvo

The pool session will be run by qualified freediving instructors, with strict supervision ratios, safety procedures and insurance.

Know someone who owns, manages or works at a pool, swim school, school or aquatic facility? Or are you involved in a club that already hires pool space for specialised activities? I'd love an introduction.

We're on Brisbane's northside, but I'm happy to travel for the right venue. Just hit reply with your lead.

Hopefully we can get this off the ground and help more spearos look after themselves and their mates in the water.

Full Froth, No Ego! 🤙🌊

Shrek