gzoubek
New
I would like to know how to hold my breath longer. Are there any exercises that I should do. Now I can hold for 150 seconds and I know it's not enough for underwater fishing... Thank you, Grega...
Breath holding
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First of all, 150 seconds (over two minutes) while
swimming *isn't* bad at all. Consider the energy
you expend getting to depth, equalizing, and returning
to the surface.
If you're still looking for improvement, one thing
you can try is holding your breath during
commercials while watching TV. Start out with
one commercial, then move on to two, etc.
It can make a rather boring activity partially interesting,
and that will help you keep at it.
There are obviously other drills you can do underwater...
Swimming for distance, and floating motionlessly. Practice
economy of movement...everything should be slow and
graceful. Let the arm not carrying the gun / spear draft
behind you, and use long, even strokes. Hone your
surface diving technique and buoyancy as well. The less energy you spend fighting to get down, the better.
Have fun,
Bill
[Edited by dsquid on 10-20-2000 at 07:33 AM]
swimming *isn't* bad at all. Consider the energy
you expend getting to depth, equalizing, and returning
to the surface.
If you're still looking for improvement, one thing
you can try is holding your breath during
commercials while watching TV. Start out with
one commercial, then move on to two, etc.
It can make a rather boring activity partially interesting,
and that will help you keep at it.
There are obviously other drills you can do underwater...
Swimming for distance, and floating motionlessly. Practice
economy of movement...everything should be slow and
graceful. Let the arm not carrying the gun / spear draft
behind you, and use long, even strokes. Hone your
surface diving technique and buoyancy as well. The less energy you spend fighting to get down, the better.
Have fun,
Bill
[Edited by dsquid on 10-20-2000 at 07:33 AM]
rcohn
Guest
Practice to increase breath holds in pools (static and dynamic apnea) is one of the leading causes of death in freedivers. If you don't believe me, take a look at the memorial page on the freedivelist web site, http://www.freediver.net/freedivelist/photogallery/memorial/index.html .
Always, always, have a spotter in the water actively observing you whenever you try to push your breath hold limits. Better yet don't push the limits in the water at all, do it on dry land where if you blackout you will begin breathing again. Even with a competent spotter there may be consequences, My buddy spent 4 days in intensive care after a 5 minute+ breath hold (a lifeguard was spotting, not me). Tom Konow died during a team practice with teammates presumably spotting him.
Unless you are in an area of the world which requires very deep diving, 100 ft (30 m) or more, a static apnea of 2.5 minutes (150 seconds) is more than enough for hunting. Diving past the 2 minute mark puts you at serious risk for blackout. Remember in the open water, you need a safety margin to deal with unexpected entanglements, etc. Also, depending on your physical state (tired, bad day, etc) your safe breath hold time may be significantly reduced. Most hunting I've encountered in New England involves swimming around looking for fish with 40 to 60 second breath holds and waiting on the bottom in ambush with 60 to 90 second breath holds. Few divers exceed 90 seconds and those that do don't do it very often.
Training is important but heredity counts too, some divers are capable of diving deep and long, most are not. Always dive safe and surface feeling comfortable. If you see stars or require a long period to catch your breath you were down too long.
For info on blackout please read:
http://www.freedive.net/chapters/SWB3.html
http://www.scuba-doc.com/Freedive.htm
http://www.mtsinai.org/pulmonary/books/scuba/gaspress.htm
Ralph
Always, always, have a spotter in the water actively observing you whenever you try to push your breath hold limits. Better yet don't push the limits in the water at all, do it on dry land where if you blackout you will begin breathing again. Even with a competent spotter there may be consequences, My buddy spent 4 days in intensive care after a 5 minute+ breath hold (a lifeguard was spotting, not me). Tom Konow died during a team practice with teammates presumably spotting him.
Unless you are in an area of the world which requires very deep diving, 100 ft (30 m) or more, a static apnea of 2.5 minutes (150 seconds) is more than enough for hunting. Diving past the 2 minute mark puts you at serious risk for blackout. Remember in the open water, you need a safety margin to deal with unexpected entanglements, etc. Also, depending on your physical state (tired, bad day, etc) your safe breath hold time may be significantly reduced. Most hunting I've encountered in New England involves swimming around looking for fish with 40 to 60 second breath holds and waiting on the bottom in ambush with 60 to 90 second breath holds. Few divers exceed 90 seconds and those that do don't do it very often.
Training is important but heredity counts too, some divers are capable of diving deep and long, most are not. Always dive safe and surface feeling comfortable. If you see stars or require a long period to catch your breath you were down too long.
For info on blackout please read:
http://www.freedive.net/chapters/SWB3.html
http://www.scuba-doc.com/Freedive.htm
http://www.mtsinai.org/pulmonary/books/scuba/gaspress.htm
Ralph
I concur with rcohn. In water practice is important,
but you should be sure to have a spotter/buddy.
I would advise against practicing with weights in a pool.
My instructor told me about a diver using weights who asked the lifeguard to ignore his lack of motion on the bottom as he was practicing - and one time he just didn't come up.
The lifeguard, following instructions, didn't do anything until it was far too late.
Do not hyperventilate prior to diving. You'll
risk purging your body of so much CO2 that you'll pass
out before getting a strong BREATH impulse.
Finally, I also agree that 150 seconds is more than enough
for hunting purposes.
Bill
but you should be sure to have a spotter/buddy.
I would advise against practicing with weights in a pool.
My instructor told me about a diver using weights who asked the lifeguard to ignore his lack of motion on the bottom as he was practicing - and one time he just didn't come up.
The lifeguard, following instructions, didn't do anything until it was far too late.
Do not hyperventilate prior to diving. You'll
risk purging your body of so much CO2 that you'll pass
out before getting a strong BREATH impulse.
Finally, I also agree that 150 seconds is more than enough
for hunting purposes.
Bill
I agree with Ralph and Bill, you should definitely have a spotter or two. I've seen too many freedivers get hit with the "shallow water black-out" hammer. Anytime you push the envelope, you and your buddy increase the risk of screwing up. But if you must keep pushing, make sure you are both in good shape. Excersising regularly and not smoking will help.
Mario
Mario
Maxwell's Hammer
Registered
Some people have discovered that if you can manage, just once, to hold your breath for five minutes or longer, you will be able to hold your breath for a lot longer (like, for years, even!).gzoubek:
Children, do not try this at home. First become a trained DIR diver.
5ata
Contributor
For those who need to practice statics, dry static apnea is by far the safest, and actually one of the most effective methods to improve one's apnea. The tolerence tables that my friend Aharon Solomons developed are an oustanding tool to improve one's static apnea. I have already gone from 2 minutes to 3:30 and want to accomplish a 4:30 by sometime next year.
If you want to improve dynamic apnea, The best solution is to do Apnea walking - typically do a series of 6-8 if possible. This will drastically improve your capabilities by simulating working under load while in a state of Apnea. Try doing this in a field so that if you do black out, you will land in soft grass.
If you have any further questions, I'll be happy to answer them.
If you want to improve dynamic apnea, The best solution is to do Apnea walking - typically do a series of 6-8 if possible. This will drastically improve your capabilities by simulating working under load while in a state of Apnea. Try doing this in a field so that if you do black out, you will land in soft grass.
If you have any further questions, I'll be happy to answer them.
One basic but seldom mentioned issue is the ability to fully expand the lungs. Abdominal body fat will restrict lung expansion. Other than that, it comes down to practice. Learning to slip through the water with minimum effort, motion, and energy expenditure is vital.
5ata
Contributor
agilis:
There might be some truth to the abdominal fat statement, but I think increased rib cage flexibility comes from specific stretching to stretch the intracostal muscles. Add to that purposeful abdominal breathing exercises, and about the only thing additional abdominal fat will do is increase drag to a certain extent.
I am needing to lose some body fat and those of us who get past the age of 40 have a more difficult time losing that tire around the mid section. But I can dive quite comfortably to 10-15 meters for up to 75 seconds at a time - I know that when I lose that extra weight this winter with freedive specific weight training, it will improve my bottom times dramatically.
Anything that allows even slightly increased lung expansion will, all other factors being unchanged, increase breath holding ability. Asthmatics and others with lung issues are frequently advised to lose the gut. This is mentioned not instead of enhancing rib cage flexibility, but rather in addition. Lung tissue is, as you know, capable of very limited stretching, so the benefits of rib cage expansion are restricted to that extent. Anything that blocks the natural expansion capability of the lungs should be, if possible, corrected.
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