17 Sept 2026
From -46m to -80m in two weeks — the power of pool training & effortless dives
This week’s episode, I talked to Bartosz Jakubowiak, whom I met in Kalamata while he was training at depth, diving around -85 meters.
What really caught my attention is that he only started freediving about four or five years ago — and yet he has progressed incredibly quickly in depth.
So I was really curious: How did freediving come into his life? And what helped him progress so quickly?
Bartosz told me that his dives feel effortless, and that one of the main reasons is his pool training.
Pool training is a superpower.
He follows a structured training schedule: pool training several times a week, static training once a week, and gym sessions twice a week.
They also have a lake in Poland where he can train FRC and RV dives to work on EQ and physical adaptation.
He told me something else that I found really interesting: he doesn’t do any mental preparation before his dives.
But he focuses on recovery — sauna, cold plunges, compression boots, and, most importantly, sleep.
He says that during his recovery routine, especially in the sauna and cold plunge, his mind becomes quiet.
And I think this is so interesting because we’re all different. Our minds and bodies work differently, and what works for one diver might not necessarily work for another.
He also shared something that really stayed with me:
“After experiencing overtraining, I learned that less is more.”
That really says a lot about his approach — consistency, quality, and recovery rather than simply doing more.
And his progress in depth is pretty incredible. He went from -46 meters to -80 meters in just two weeks.
He told me he was simply curious about where his limits were. And at around -50 meters, it just felt so good.
For me, one of the biggest takeaways from talking to him was the importance of pool training.
If you can build distance in the pool, depth becomes much less intimidating.
Or, as he likes to say:
“Pool training is a superpower.”
Bartosz also has a full-time job as a software engineer, and he created The Freediver, an app designed for professional athletes.
The app helps you stay calm, focused, and completely relaxed in the starting lane during competitions. It’s also a powerful tool for depth training, with detailed analysis of your dives, as well as a great pool-training tool where you can invite your coach to join and analyze your sessions together.
So today, we’re going to talk about training, depth, pool training, recovery, overtraining, — and what it really takes to progress in freediving.
I found our conversation incredibly inspiring, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Let’s dive in.
Connect with Bartosz:
https://www.instagram.com/bartosz__j/ (https://www.instagram.com/bartosz__j/)
Download the App: Freediver
https://freediver.club (https://freediver.club)
Connect with me:
https://www.instagram.com/janna_nadjejda/ (https://www.instagram.com/janna_nadjejda/)
www.endlessbluefreediving.com (www.endlessbluefreediving.com )
https://www.instagram.com/endlessblue_freediving/ (https://www.instagram.com/endlessblue_freediving/)
