[laminar]

Hey Panos!

Great stuff at the Dutch Open. I hear you're freediving full time, now. How did you manage that?
The mental clarity is what I find most encouraging about max statics on the first try. I experienced this last year when I did 6'49". I had the thought at 6'45" -"I'm going to make 7 minutes!" And then my ears started to ring, so I pulled up

Sub neutral breathing is something that I believe Eric Fattah and I started doing on inspiration (ha, no pun intended) from Seb Murat, when we started experimenting with FRC diving. The maximum inhale during sub-neutral breathing is to the neutral point, hence the name "sub-neutral" breathing.

I do it for all three disciplines because it feels nice and has some advantages. When I prepare for static, I rest my arms and chin on the edge of the pool deck and go as limp as possible, and breathe through my nose. (Eric does his sub-neutral breathing through a snorkel) Each breath is made without pushing against gravity, meaning that it takes little effort to breathe. So all breathing is done at less that half the lung's total volume. It might actually be more. The advantages of sub-neutral breathing in my opinion are that 1) you expend very little energy breathing 2) it is very, very difficult to hyperventilate with these little sips of breath 3) it is very relaxing because you are never worried about getting "a good last breath" and 4) your pulse remains very low. At first it feels as though you are hardly breathing at all. But as any good oximeter will show, it makes no difference whether you breathe like a maniac or once every 30 seconds, your saturations will be near 100%. But of course there are many negative side effects to hyperventilating.

In the ocean, I use it for all forms of diving. It is particularly effective when diving without a suit in competition.

Lucia, I think your idea about rising CO2 levels causing problems in a body that hasn't gradually adapted are good. I believe this could explain why so many freedivers have been competing in static apnea for 4 or 5 years and they have not made any progress except for fine-tuning their technique. If you look at the results from Ibiza in 2001 or Nice in 2000, you'll see many freedivers who have had similar results in 2003-2004. I think that hyperventilation limits progress in adapting to hypoxia. I'm not sure about the "why." It is also a vicious circle: A freediver who thinks she needs to do several warm-up statics and a hyperventilation breathe-up might try this new approach, but because the first static will of course not be a miracle and likely be very difficult (because she has little or no adaptation for doing things in this new way), she will perhaps find it too daunting and give up. "See," she says, "I do need a warm-up and a breathe-up." And so over the years there is little improvement.

I had this problem, too:
When I started freediving in 2000, I made 5'00" within three weeks of learning how to "breathe-up" and do successive statics. At my first competition in 2001, I made 5'23" and was amazed. Made 5'32" in Ibiza. In those days, 5'32" was a decent static for a competition. Now it is a little more than half of what Mr. Sietas can do! In that year I made 6 minutes a few times by hyperventilating (dry statics) and in the pool I managed 5'58" with a good samba.
My routine was usually two warm-ups, 3'30", 4'30" and then max. Contractions were delayed as long as 4'45" on the max effort (too alkaline!), but then things fell apart quickly in the next 45 seconds.
In 2002, no improvement.
In 2003, no improvement.
So, from 2000 to 2003, I made no improvement in apnea ability. The only improvements I made were in skill and technique and in knowing when to come up when I was too alkaline. This, I suspect is still the case for many freedivers out there.

In January 2004, after a few sambas and blackouts in the old style (5'58", 5'45"), improvement came from pushing through contractions and not hyperventilating at all (one breath every 15-20 seconds). Then I could suddenly do 6'00" easily on the first attempt with a clear mind. Another factor was that I did very difficult intervals on the rowing machine (ergometer) which increased my CO2 tolerance and buffers.

So finally, it seems I am training in a way that will have a long term gain in performance, this time the intervals don't appear to be necessary.

I may only be able to do a comfortable 7'00" next year, but it will be an improvement! I think it may be more in the end.

Pete Scott
Vancouver, BC