Pool freediving on
Apple Watch Ultra
DYN, DYNB, DNF and STA on the wrist. Pool mode in FreeDive Ultra times every rep and every rest and saves one pool length per rep. With Pro, it runs your pool alerts and guided workouts.
The set is the unit of pool training. The watch keeps it.
Pool freediving is trained in sets. 8 x 25m with a short rest, 6 x 50m with equal rest, eight static holds with the rest getting shorter. Whatever the plan, the numbers are the same: how far, how long, how much rest, how many reps.
Pool mode on Apple Watch Ultra keeps those numbers for you. Choose DYN, DYNB, DNF or STA when you start. Every dynamic rep, push-off to surfacing, is detected automatically with its time and rest, and saved as one pool length. The Crown changes it when you swim further. In STA, the Action Button starts and stops each hold.
Select Pool on the home screen, tap Start Pool and choose your discipline, or let Auto Launch start the session the moment you pass the start depth. From there the Crown and the Action Button are the only controls, and the session ends when you end it.
Set it up once
Everything lives in Pool Training settings, on the watch and on iPhone. Whichever you use, the other stays in sync. Pool length and start depth are free. Default Discipline and the pool alerts are Pro features.
Pool length
25 m, 33.3 m, 50 m, 25 yd or 50 yd, or a custom length for the hotel pool. Every rep saves one pool length automatically.
Start depth
0.8 m by default, adjustable from 0.6 m to 1.2 m. Set it deeper so a dip at the wall does not count as a rep, shallower for a shallow pool.
Pool alerts PRO
Dive, Rest, Breathe Up and STA. Dive, Rest and STA buzz at a time you set, once or at every interval. Breathe Up counts down from the Action Button before the first rep, and a long buzz means go.
Push off. Surface. Dial. Rest. Go again.
The watch below is a true representation of what Pool mode does on a DYN, DYNB or DNF set. Press the Action Button on it to try the stopwatch underwater and to save a different distance at the surface.
- Tap Start Pool and choose DYN, DYNB or DNF, or let Auto Launch do it. Pool length and start depth are already set.
- Push off. Pass the start depth and the rep starts on its own: rep time, rep number, depth and heart rate on screen. Press the Action Button underwater and you have a stopwatch.
- Surface. The rest timer starts alongside your heart rate, with rep count and last rep time underneath.
- Check the distance. One pool length is already saved on the rep. Swam further, a 50 in a 25 m pool for example? Turn the Crown to 50 m and press the Action Button to save it.
- Rest. With the Rest alert on, a Pro feature, the timer turns amber and the watch buzzes at the time you set.
- Go again. Every rep, rest and distance is in the session until you end it.
Static, on the Action Button.
Choose STA from Start Pool and the watch waits on READY. Press the Action Button to start a hold, and again to stop it. The rest timer runs between holds, and every hold is saved with the rest before it.
Start Pool
DYN, DYNB, DNF and STA, then Workouts at the foot of the list. With Pro, your Default Discipline is highlighted, and the Action Button and Auto Launch start it. The discipline you choose is saved with the session.
A hold
Hold time, with the hold number, your best hold and heart rate underneath. With Pro, the STA alert buzzes at the time you set and the hold time turns amber, and the Rest alert does the same between holds.
Your set, run by the watch. PRO
Guided workouts are a Pro feature. For STA, use the Static CO2 and O2 tables. For any discipline, build your own workout on iPhone or iPad, in Train, then Pool: sets of apnea and rest, each with its own change per set. Select it on your watch before entering the water: Start Pool, then Workouts.
Select a workout
In Static CO2 the hold stays the same and the rest gets shorter each set. In Static O2 the rest stays the same and the hold gets longer. Your own workouts sit underneath. You can adjust either table in Train, then Pool.
Rest, counted down
The rest counts down to the next set, with its distance and the set you are on. Start the next rep early and the plan moves on with you.
Train, then Pool
Choose a discipline and see its workouts: the static tables for STA, and every workout you have built.
Every set, before you start
Sets of apnea in pool lengths, or hold time for STA, with the rest between them. After the session, its page shows every planned set beside what you did.
Underwater and at the wall.
Underwater
Rep time in cyan, with the rep number, depth and heart rate beneath it. The Action Button runs a stopwatch without ending the rep.
Surface
Rest time in cyan, amber once the Rest alert has buzzed. Reps, last rep and heart rate in a row, and the distance underneath: one pool length saved on every rep, the Crown to change it, the Action Button to save the change.
After the session
A summary shows as you end the session. With Pro, open it in the watch logbook for every rep or hold, with the rest before it and the distance.
Every rep, in the log
The session lands on your iPhone the moment you end it, and on your iPad through iCloud, with every rep, rest and distance. Opening it in full is a Pro feature. Sign in at app.freediveultra.com to open it on a big screen as well: the session profile, every rep, and your titles, notes and conditions editable from there.
The set at a glance
Session profile, reps, best distance and longest rep. The session carries the discipline you chose on the watch, and you can change it here, for your lifetime pool stats.
The rep list
Every rep with its time, rest, heart rate and distance. Correct a distance, or the pool length, and the totals follow.
One rep at a time
Swipe through the reps: rest time, distance, rep time, and pre-rep and post-rep heart rate.
Lifetime pool stats sit under the Pool filter in the logbook, and every pool session goes to Apple Fitness as a workout with heart rate and calories while HealthKit Integration is on in Settings, General Settings. It is on by default.
What pool freedivers ask
Does Apple Watch Ultra count lengths in the pool?
It counts dynamic apnea reps. A rep is one push-off to one surfacing, and a wall turn happens underwater where the watch cannot see it, so a 50 in a 25 metre pool is one rep. Every rep saves one pool length on its own. For a 50, turn the Crown to 50 m and press the Action Button to save it.
Is Pool mode free?
Recording is free: DYN, DYNB, DNF and STA, with every rep and rest timed on the watch. Pool length and start depth are free too. Default Discipline, pool alerts, guided workouts, and opening your pool sessions in full on the watch, on iPhone and on the web are Pro features, with a 7-day free trial. Upgrade and every pool session you have already recorded opens in full.
Can I run static tables in the pool?
Yes, with Pro. Choose Start Pool, then Workouts, and select Static CO2 or Static O2. The watch counts down every rest and buzzes when a hold reaches its target, and the Action Button starts and stops every hold.
Can I build my own pool workout?
Yes. Guided workouts are a Pro feature. On iPhone, open Train, then Pool, and build sets of apnea and rest for DYN, DYNB, DNF or STA. Then select it on your watch before entering the water: Start Pool, then Workouts.
Which Apple Watch does it work on?
Every Apple Watch Ultra: the original, Ultra 2, Ultra 3 and Ultra 4. The depth sensor is what starts and ends each rep. FreeDive Ultra is for Apple Watch Ultra only.
Does it work in a 25 yard pool, or a short hotel pool?
Yes. The presets are 25 m, 33.3 m, 50 m, 25 yd and 50 yd, and a custom length covers anything from 10 to 100 metres or 10 to 110 yards.
Does Auto Launch work in the pool?
Yes. With Pool selected, Auto Launch starts the session the moment you pass your pool start depth, 0.8 metres by default and adjustable from 0.6 to 1.2 metres. It starts your Default Discipline, a Pro setting, or DYN without Pro. Walk in and push off without touching the watch.
Do I need a buddy for pool training?
Yes, every session. Blackouts in the pool happen at the surface and at the wall. Train with a buddy who is watching, not swimming.
Take it to the pool tonight
Free to download. Push off, and let the watch keep the set.