Why you should log your freedives

Do you log your freedives? I don’t just mean checking your dive times or depths on your computer — I’m talking about keeping a proper freediving logbook.

In the scuba diving world, having a logbook (digital or paper) is more common. All training dives must be logged, and proof of logged dives are a requirement for enrolling in some courses such as Divemaster. But it’s less usual for freedivers to own a logbook. In this post, I’ll share why I log my freedives and why you should too.

Why should you log your freedives?

There are three main reasons. One is to record useful information that otherwise you might forget. Such as how much weight you needed with a 3mm wetsuit in the freshwater cenotes.

Another is to track your progress over time. It’s perhaps easy to remember your maximum depths, but do you remember how long were your dive times? As your technique improves you will find that your time improves too. Also, looking back at information longer term may help you to identify patterns or analyze what works for you.

A third reason to log your freedives is to make your training sessions more effective. For example, imagine you’ve been struggling with your duck dives, but towards the end of a session, you finally find a technique that works. If you write down what felt difficult and what you changed to improve, you can review it before your next session. That quick reminder helps you remember the details of your good technique and repeat it more easily. Without those notes, the memory can fade, and you might waste time in your next session trying to rediscover what worked.

What information should you log?

Whatever is important to you. Logging every single dive in a training session is not required, nor is it practical either. Some people like to draw beautiful artwork of the dive site or marine life. Others will focus on how they felt during the dive. But for instance, when I train in the cenotes, I make a note of:

The date and dive site
Who I was training with
What kind of warm-up I did
My max depth of that session (discipline, and time)
My feelings of that session (eg my mind, equalization, relaxation)
One or two things to improve on for next time.
Any important things to note about the dive site

I don’t get the opportunity to train so much as I’m busy teaching, and reviewing my last few freedive training sessions in my logbook has been really useful for me and to ensure that the time I do spend in the water is effective.

Digital or paper log?

I love my Teric dive computer and the information it can give me from each dive. And I know that I can download that data to my laptop. But trawling through that kind of detail is not good for me, and I prefer the act of writing by hand in a notebook at the end of each day. It helps me to consolidate my session and think about how it went. Whether it was a good or bad day, there’s always something to learn.

I bought a pretty notebook and take pleasure in spending a few minutes to jot down some information after my training sessions.

If you prefer digital, there are a handful of apps (and desktop tools) out there that can help you log freediving / apnea dives (not just dry training). Their capabilities vary — some allow automatic syncing from dive computers, others rely on manual data entry.

Will you start logging your freedives?

If you’re serious about improving your freediving skills, logging your freedives is one of the simplest yet most powerful habits you can build. Writing down not just your dive stats, but also your sensations, mindset, and conditions, helps you spot patterns, track progress, and fine-tune your training. Whether you go for an old-school notebook like me, or a modern freediving log app, make it part of your routine — your future self (and your breath-hold) will thank you.