The following is an account of one of my pool training sessions. It was a maximum effort breath hold. Unlike most, I often do static training at the bottom as opposed to the surface. In this case, I was resting in 12 feet of water. I would also suggest that surface training is safer and i had three safety personnel assisting me. The purpose of this is for entertainment only and is not intended to be of an instructional nature (that sounds kinda like a disclaimer). Please, never dive or train alone.
Physical Preparation:
Thirty minutes prior to the max effort, I begin with breath holds of increasing duration. Ex. Start with 1 minute, progress to 2 and then to 2.5 and end with a 3 minute hold. This begins to warm up and stretch the lungs to capacity. They are feeling really good today!
Mental Preparation:
I have a very methodical mental routine that I follow. Minutes before the effort I begin to ventilate in an attempt to fill and fully exchange gases. Of course, you will note this is not hyperventilating. As I am breathing, I place my head back in the water with the ears covered by water and mouth and nose are above. This is a crude form of biofeedback in which I listen to my heart and breathing sounds. They are amplified underwater. This physical feedback causes a physiological response in which heart rate and breathing rate slow down. (Scuba divers: if you get jittery before a dive, this will help you relax) Next comes phase two of the deliberate slowing of BR and HR. I spend several minutes of Alternate Nostril Breathing. It is a pranayama (breathing) practice taken from Yoga and in my case shows to be extremely effective. It is scientifically proven to relax the body. I could spend a whole thread on it alone but let's get to the attempt.
OK, I am 1 minute from the attempt after doing a couple other things that will remain secret for now. I have my bottom timer on one wrist and submersible heart rate monitor on the other. The countdown begins 5...4....3....2....1
I inhale utilizing my diaphragm to its fullest, filling the lower lungs, the mid lung and finally expand my rib cage and fill the upper lung. I start the timer hold my weight and i am off to 12 feet!
1:00 At the beginning of the effort and easily to the 1 minute time, I am euphoric and am only thinking of things that induce relaxation. For example, I am in a canoe in the middle of a lake and the breeze is rocking it back and forth. For the first minute, this scene is very vivid! Lungs feel great! Observed heart rate is 72 bpm.
2:00 Losing track of time (which is the goal). Still, only thoughts that are relaxing. I felt a slight current of water brush my face from the pools natural water movement. Otherwise undisturbed. The overall silence at depth is incredible. Observed heart rate is 59.
3:00 I am having the occasional negative thought slip in on me. There is still no impending urge to breathe but distractions become a bit more apparent. The coolness of the water is beginning to become evident. My assistants give me the 3 minute signal and i respond with a deliberate Ok. These first 3 minutes went by quickly without any compromise to my effort. I am not convinced that I didn't fall asleep during that time! Observed heart rate is 42 and actually dropped to 38 during the dive.
4:00 The 4 minute mark is the threshold for me. If I can make it to 4 with relative ease, it will be a good hold. It is leading up to this mark that i have to fight off the urge to look at my timer. "Geez, it has to be at least 12 minutes", I think to myself. I want to look so bad but I know the moment I do, the breath hold is over. Psychologically, that is the hardest thing to recover from. Therefore, I stay focused.
Observed heart rate is 46.
5:00 Just after 4 minutes, I feel my first contraction. Nothing severe, just my body telling me in a subtle way, "hey, you're not made for this". The 5th minute begins the conflict between me and ...well....myself. I can't argue with the contractions since they are going to occur anyway. I simply let them happen as I focus my efforts on my canoe and the lake once again. It's working, at least for now. But soon the contractions are coming with more and more regularity. Focus, man, focus! Observed heart rate is 57.
6:00 After 5 minutes is reached my contractions are very distracting. My throat is starting to hurt a bit from trying to quell the contractions. I am fidgety now and trying to ignore my body's request for air is becoming futile. At 5:30 I am exhaling (I exhale before coming out of water so there is no conflict between expiration and inspiration at the surface). This signal the safety personnel to come to me and be prepared for my ascent. They get my attention and signal OK, I respond back. Strangely enough, as we ascend, for a brief few seconds, I feel the same euphoric feeling that started all this nonsense. Maybe it was my body telling me, "hey, I beat you today, but I'll leave you a little something so you'll come back again!". I respond, "you're on buddy!". As we break the surface of the water, my assistants yell my name as I take a wondrous breath of air. I methodically take another and slowly I take another. I never realized air tasted so good. One final Ok and the result shows I was submerged for 6"04. Last observed heart rate was 78.
Felt good! Now we can continue with the dynamic.
Physical Preparation:
Thirty minutes prior to the max effort, I begin with breath holds of increasing duration. Ex. Start with 1 minute, progress to 2 and then to 2.5 and end with a 3 minute hold. This begins to warm up and stretch the lungs to capacity. They are feeling really good today!
Mental Preparation:
I have a very methodical mental routine that I follow. Minutes before the effort I begin to ventilate in an attempt to fill and fully exchange gases. Of course, you will note this is not hyperventilating. As I am breathing, I place my head back in the water with the ears covered by water and mouth and nose are above. This is a crude form of biofeedback in which I listen to my heart and breathing sounds. They are amplified underwater. This physical feedback causes a physiological response in which heart rate and breathing rate slow down. (Scuba divers: if you get jittery before a dive, this will help you relax) Next comes phase two of the deliberate slowing of BR and HR. I spend several minutes of Alternate Nostril Breathing. It is a pranayama (breathing) practice taken from Yoga and in my case shows to be extremely effective. It is scientifically proven to relax the body. I could spend a whole thread on it alone but let's get to the attempt.
OK, I am 1 minute from the attempt after doing a couple other things that will remain secret for now. I have my bottom timer on one wrist and submersible heart rate monitor on the other. The countdown begins 5...4....3....2....1
I inhale utilizing my diaphragm to its fullest, filling the lower lungs, the mid lung and finally expand my rib cage and fill the upper lung. I start the timer hold my weight and i am off to 12 feet!
1:00 At the beginning of the effort and easily to the 1 minute time, I am euphoric and am only thinking of things that induce relaxation. For example, I am in a canoe in the middle of a lake and the breeze is rocking it back and forth. For the first minute, this scene is very vivid! Lungs feel great! Observed heart rate is 72 bpm.
2:00 Losing track of time (which is the goal). Still, only thoughts that are relaxing. I felt a slight current of water brush my face from the pools natural water movement. Otherwise undisturbed. The overall silence at depth is incredible. Observed heart rate is 59.
3:00 I am having the occasional negative thought slip in on me. There is still no impending urge to breathe but distractions become a bit more apparent. The coolness of the water is beginning to become evident. My assistants give me the 3 minute signal and i respond with a deliberate Ok. These first 3 minutes went by quickly without any compromise to my effort. I am not convinced that I didn't fall asleep during that time! Observed heart rate is 42 and actually dropped to 38 during the dive.
4:00 The 4 minute mark is the threshold for me. If I can make it to 4 with relative ease, it will be a good hold. It is leading up to this mark that i have to fight off the urge to look at my timer. "Geez, it has to be at least 12 minutes", I think to myself. I want to look so bad but I know the moment I do, the breath hold is over. Psychologically, that is the hardest thing to recover from. Therefore, I stay focused.
Observed heart rate is 46.
5:00 Just after 4 minutes, I feel my first contraction. Nothing severe, just my body telling me in a subtle way, "hey, you're not made for this". The 5th minute begins the conflict between me and ...well....myself. I can't argue with the contractions since they are going to occur anyway. I simply let them happen as I focus my efforts on my canoe and the lake once again. It's working, at least for now. But soon the contractions are coming with more and more regularity. Focus, man, focus! Observed heart rate is 57.
6:00 After 5 minutes is reached my contractions are very distracting. My throat is starting to hurt a bit from trying to quell the contractions. I am fidgety now and trying to ignore my body's request for air is becoming futile. At 5:30 I am exhaling (I exhale before coming out of water so there is no conflict between expiration and inspiration at the surface). This signal the safety personnel to come to me and be prepared for my ascent. They get my attention and signal OK, I respond back. Strangely enough, as we ascend, for a brief few seconds, I feel the same euphoric feeling that started all this nonsense. Maybe it was my body telling me, "hey, I beat you today, but I'll leave you a little something so you'll come back again!". I respond, "you're on buddy!". As we break the surface of the water, my assistants yell my name as I take a wondrous breath of air. I methodically take another and slowly I take another. I never realized air tasted so good. One final Ok and the result shows I was submerged for 6"04. Last observed heart rate was 78.
Felt good! Now we can continue with the dynamic.
