Hi guys,
Thanks for the ideas so far. Sounds like the ability to concentrate is one of the most important factors that brings everything together. I've been thinking about this for a while and Eric F. suggested it to me a while back. An effective "cross-training for static" might simply be concentration exercises that help you to maintain focus, combined with an initial clearing of the mind with some passive (simple) meditation.
I remember Martin Stepanek telling us that holding his breath past 6:30 to 8:06 was extremely difficult, because with every contraction he wanted to bail. Sounds like he had a very high level of concentration to push through that mental distress--when you watch the video, his body is buckling with contractions even as he does his recovery breathing. Martin's record may be unbreakable by freedivers attempting it in competitions or world record events, because Martin did it in his friend's pool, away from the crowds and distractions.
However, watching Hebert Nitsch practice in Ibiza was a different story. At 8:11 he comes up and does one big hook breath, waits a couple of seconds and then is all smiles. Talking to him later, he said delaying the first contraction as late as possible was most difficult for him and most important--of course, that was 2 years ago and things may have changed since then. I saw him delay his contractions until 6 min and then pull up at 6:45. Did resisting contractions take too much out of him?
I have also experienced the "pulled plug" effect of having something negative on your mind when trying static apnea.
DSV, Alun, Luc (elevatorman) and anyone else, what about your first "long" static, and how was it different from the others? Better concentration, more relaxed? What were your expectations going into it? Did it just happen to "go well" on that day or were you gunning for a certain time?
Interesting discussion so far,
Laminar
Vancouver, BC
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