What kinda water are you freediving into?
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Frank O
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Most of my freediving has been with a rubber belt (Rob Allen Marseillaise-style), but about six months ago I got a Sporasub harness. This has a total of 7 kg (~14.5 lbs), most of which is in a plate in the center of the upper back. Sort of a freediving version of a backplate! It seems to cut down on stress on the lower back when I spend a lot of time in the water.
I haven't pushed freediving personal bests much ... most of my freediving is just casual reef tourism in the ~20-30-foot depth range. When I did go for depth in Kirk Krack's clinic, I found the limiting factor was equalization ... eustachian tubes and sometimes sinus would seize up below about 50 ft. I've been doing more scuba diving recently, though, and have been wondering if spending time in the 70-90-foot depth zone will acclimate the tissues and help with equalization in freediving.
I haven't pushed freediving personal bests much ... most of my freediving is just casual reef tourism in the ~20-30-foot depth range. When I did go for depth in Kirk Krack's clinic, I found the limiting factor was equalization ... eustachian tubes and sometimes sinus would seize up below about 50 ft. I've been doing more scuba diving recently, though, and have been wondering if spending time in the 70-90-foot depth zone will acclimate the tissues and help with equalization in freediving.
FreeFloat
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I don't know for sure about that, Frank, but Erik F from BC wrote an outstanding article that a diver can use to self-teach the Frenzel maneuver. My limiting factor for the longest time was an inability to equalize fast enough (or at all, some days) while head-down on a freediving descent - but one day I sat down with a snorkel and the article and within 30 minutes I had mastered the technique.Frank O:
My limiting factor now, is purely psychological. I have the breathhold (as proven to myself by my PB in dynamic) and my ears are no longer limiting me.
Anyone who wants a copy of the article, PM or email me.....
Frank O
Contributor
I thought it was great. I took it a year and a half ago in Malibu, Calif. We did two days of classroom and pool (primarily rescue practice and static breath-holds), and then went over to Catalina Island for two days of open water work. Three weeks ago, I repeated one day of the clinic as a refresher in freediving rescue techniques.freediver:
Kirk introduced the concept of O2 and CO2 tables, but that was mostly something to take back and practice at home. I go through periods of practicing, but I have to confess I haven't been real consistent with it.
Frank O
Contributor
Yes, I downloaded a copy of it from Eric's website many moons ago. I think I was mostly trying to learn how to pack (a technique I can't say that I've gotten the hang of yet). I've been under the impression that equalization is difficult just because my eustachian and sinus tissues get swollen and gummy after a while in the water. But I'll have to take another look at the Frenzel tutorial to see if that would help -- thanks for the suggestion.FreeFloat:
FreeFloat
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Don't know what sort of water you're diving in - but I found that in really cold freshwater (ie. 32°F Lake water in winter) once my body starts to chill, I can no longer effectively close my epiglottis (usually when I start to notice is when I get airflow into and out of my mask via my nose, that I can't stop) along with "gunk" in the back of the throat. Pretty sure there's not much I can do about that other than get out and get warmFrank O:
I guess I'm pretty spoiled - a bad day means 78 degrees (brrrr) and maybe 30ft vis. usually it's 50-75ft. Of course in order to get anything more than 45ft deep it seems like I have to swim 1/4 mile offshore or so. And since that is the limit of my experience anyway it's ok for now.
Call me a simpleton, but what's the theory/practice behind the o2/co2 tables? I've not heard of this before (or should I just do a search and look around for info instead of being "lazy?")
Tim
Call me a simpleton, but what's the theory/practice behind the o2/co2 tables? I've not heard of this before (or should I just do a search and look around for info instead of being "lazy?")
Tim
Frank O
Contributor
In a nutshell, the O2 table acclimates your body to low levels of oxygen, and the CO2 table acclimates your body to high levels of carbon dioxide.kidspot:
When doing the O2 table, you keep your ventilation time the same, but gradually increase the time you're holding your breath. When doing the CO2 table, you keep the amount of breath-hold the same, but gradually decrease the ventilation time between breathholds.
Increasing your working breath-hold time is really just a matter of getting your body more comfortable with these states. I found when I took the clinic that I was getting an irresistable urge to breathe long before I experienced any body contractions. I was told that this meant I wasn't really getting close to pushing my body's capabilities; rather, the urge to breathe was a result of being tense and uncomfortable with the state. So besides doing the tables, working on breath-hold for me has been a matter of getting into a tension-free, zenned-out state.
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