Olivia Møller
Freediver - Activist - Explorer
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Olivia Møller
Freediver - Activist - Explorer
Creatine is a word that often drifts into conversations about weight rooms, sprint tracks and muscular performance, yet it rarely finds its way into the world of freediving. At first glance that makes sense. The ocean appears to demand a different kind of athleticism, a slow fluid grace rather than explosive power, and a deep internal stillness rather than brute strength. Yet beneath the surface of the freediver’s calm exterior lies an extraordinary metabolic challenge. Muscles contract against pressure, oxygen becomes scarce, blood shifts inward, and every stroke draws from a finite well of cellular energy. That is the point where creatine quietly becomes relevant. The supplement has become one of the most widely researched ergogenic aids in sport science. It enhances the body’s ability to sustain and regenerate high energy phosphates within muscle cells, helping them produce and recycle ATP at higher rates. For athletes on land this supports repetitive bursts of power and faster recovery. For the freediver, however, the implications unfold along more complicated lines. In order to understand them we must explore what creatine does in the body, how that intersects with the unique demands of apnea, and how a diver might experience its effects in training and in the water.
Creatine exists in the human body naturally, synthesized in the liver and kidneys before settling predominantly into skeletal muscle as phosphocreatine. There it remains like a quiet battery, ready to donate phosphate groups to ADP in order to regenerate ATP. The body uses this system for short and intense muscular actions, the kind that cannot rely solely on oxygen dependent pathways. A freediver relies heavily on slow controlled movement and energy conservation while underwater, but that does not mean high intensity demand disappears from the equation. Deep dives require forceful fin strokes during descent. Ascents are sometimes steep, especially in cases of strong current or difficult line position. Dynamic freediving disciplines can include long moments of slow gliding that transition into powerful accelerations when the diver rises or changes direction. Even recreational divers who spend hours in the sea encounter intermittent efforts. In spearfishing and exploration dives there are dives that feel effortless, followed by dives that demand real physical output. The difference in energy cost between a smooth relaxed fin stroke and a hurried recovery kick can be significant. Creatine does not make muscles consume less oxygen, and it does not change the urge to breathe, but it gives them a slightly larger metabolic bank account from which to draw in moments of high demand. This is where theoretical value emerges. Less cellular struggle to produce force might translate into fewer contractions, less panic, less tension, and a calmer internal experience on the way up.
For many freedivers the question is not whether creatine can increase power but whether that power matters in a sport where relaxation is everything. The answer lives in the rhythm of training rather than in single maximal attempts. A freediver rarely makes one dive. They make many. It is here, between efforts, that creatine shows its most interesting potential. Supplementation increases the rate of phosphocreatine resynthesis after use. In practice that means a muscle can recover faster between repetitions. The diver who performs repeated training dives, or repeated dynamic efforts, or long spearfishing sessions, may find that their muscles stay fresher throughout the day. Fatigue often creeps in gradually, bringing inefficiencies in technique and a rise in perceived effort. A small boost in recovery could theoretically prevent the physiological spiral in which inefficient movement invites more oxygen consumption, which in turn worsens hypoxia, which then degrades technique further. A freediver who finishes strong after their eighth dive instead of their third may experience significantly different adaptations over months of training. Muscles learn differently when they are not exhausted. Technique refines differently when each stroke is executed with awareness rather than survival.
Creatine is also deeply tied to water. When a diver begins supplementation the body often responds by drawing more water into muscle cells. This is a known effect and typically appears as a modest increase in weight. In normal athletic environments this is of little concern. In freediving, the story changes dramatically. Buoyancy becomes a variable. A diver whose body mass increases by even one kilogram must reevaluate their weight system. A slight shift in neutral depth can change the feel of an entire dive. More body mass also means greater kinetic momentum during descent and more effort required on ascent. This subtle shift may not matter for someone swimming in a pool but can be noticeable in the ocean where the diver is balancing comfort and economy. For a diver nearing the edge of personal bests, weight adjustments are precise. Creatine supplementation therefore demands awareness, monitoring and adaptation. The benefit to muscular performance must be weighed against the inconvenience of recalibrating the entire dive experience, from wetsuit buoyancy to fin rhythm to equalization strategy. Every supplement must be evaluated not just for what it adds but for what it alters, and in the ocean alterations ripple through the entire dive.
The freediver must also consider hydration far more carefully than the average athlete. Immersion itself triggers changes in renal function, blood pressure and circulating volume. Long sessions at sea can lead to dehydration without the diver noticing. Creatine increases the importance of maintaining fluid balance, because its mechanism draws water into muscle cells and away from other compartments. A diver who supplements without adjusting hydration can experience cramps, sluggishness or unusual fatigue. Conversely a diver who remains hydrated and maintains steady electrolyte intake may experience the full benefit of creatine with minimal drawbacks. This is why freediving, perhaps more than any other sport, demands a holistic view. A supplement never acts in isolation. It interacts with diet, hydration, breathing, relaxation and sleep. It interacts with stress and recovery. It interacts with the ocean itself. No capsule or powder overrides bad balance. But those who do build their training intelligently may find creatine to be a subtle but steady support beneath the surface of their preparation.
When we look at the scientific landscape we discover a gap. There is strong evidence for creatine in sprinting, lifting, cycling and swimming. There is emerging evidence for cognitive benefits during stress. There are new questions about its role in neuroprotection and brain energy metabolism. But there is almost no direct research on how creatine affects apnea or hypoxic performance underwater. Freedivers must therefore make decisions based on physiology, analogous athletic studies and anecdotal experience. This does not diminish the potential but requires humility. The ocean teaches humility more effectively than any study ever will. While creatine may support the muscular component of a dive, it will not directly affect the mammalian dive reflex, the spleen contraction, the tolerance to rising carbon dioxide, or the redistribution of blood that helps preserve oxygen for vital organs. These processes determine much of a diver’s safety and performance, and no supplement substitutes for them. Creatine does not increase the amount of oxygen stored in the body. It does not extend the safe duration of apnea. It may, however, make muscular work slightly more efficient for a moment, and in freediving a moment can mean everything.
The most appropriate timing for creatine supplementation may not be before a maximal depth attempt but during the training blocks that precede it. Strength work, conditioning periods, and phases focused on repeated dives create demands that fit well with creatine’s capabilities. A diver who trains in the gym might experience greater progress from leg strength work, helping them generate force with less relative effort later in the season. A spearfisher who performs dozens of dives each week may find sustained energy throughout long days in the water. A dynamic freediver training multiple pool sessions per week may feel the benefit in repeated lengths. These are scenarios where creatine aligns with the workload. The ocean rewards consistency more than intensity. A stronger, more capable body handles stress more gracefully. If creatine works, it works not in the spectacular moment but in the quiet stacking of sessions over time. It becomes part of the background of an athlete’s physical evolution.
The experience of taking creatine is subtle at first. There is rarely a dramatic shift in feeling. Instead there may be a slight change in how muscles respond to training, a softer landing into fatigue, a smoother resurgence of strength between sets or dives. Over weeks this quiet change accumulates. It influences the diver’s confidence, not in their capacity to push recklessly but in their ability to endure training safely and consistently. Confidence is an underestimated resource in the freediving world. It calms the nervous system, reduces unconscious tension and invites deeper relaxation. When an athlete trusts their body, they stop fighting it. That attitude reshapes the entire dive. The goal is not power. The goal is peace. If creatine supports that journey, then its place in freediving is meaningful.
In the water there must be testing. Supplements are not theoretical. They are practical. A diver who begins creatine must listen to the body with curiosity. How does the descent feel. Does buoyancy match memory. Do the legs tire less during ascent. Does recovery between dives feel different. Does hydration need adjustment. Only personal experience can answer these. Freediving demands adaptability. What works on land must be proven in depth. The ocean accepts nothing untested. It gives no benefit without cost. A careful diver responds to subtle shifts rather than denying them. In this way creatine becomes not a shortcut but a tool of self understanding.
The diver who treats creatine with respect discovers that supplementation is not the story. The story remains the training, the preparation, the technique work, the breath work, the long still glides through blue water and black silence. Those are the acts that shape the freediver. Creatine is simply one more influence beneath that growth. It is a whisper in the physiology of the athlete, not the voice. When used wisely it may enhance strength, endurance of effort, muscular recovery and training continuity. When used carelessly it becomes noise.
No supplement replaces the discipline of diving. No powder replaces the patience of equalizing. No compound replaces the rituals that freedivers build to steady their minds before the fall into depth. The ocean remains the final measure. There is beauty in that. What creatine represents is the possibility of supporting the body a little more, of reducing unnecessary struggle, of helping a diver return home from each session a little stronger, a little less exhausted, a little more aligned with their training plan. Over months that becomes meaningful. It is the slow way. And slow ways are the true ways in this sport.
The sea is not impressed by force. It remains indifferent to muscle. It rewards balance, clarity, consistency and grace. A freediver does not chase strength for its own sake. They cultivate it as a foundation for tranquility. Creatine can be one more way to strengthen that foundation. It lives inside the unseen parts of the dive. It works in the cell. It appears in the quiet regenerating spaces between one session and the next. Whether a freediver chooses to use it or not, the crucial truth remains that the body must be treated as an ally, cared for, replenished and understood. There is no substitute for that.
The next breath you take, before your next dive, is where the journey begins. Creatine will not change that. But it might change the moments far beneath it, when your body is working silently in the dark.