less air, longer hold???? can this be right

[sanso]

Originally Posted by tbgsub

these are statics right?

have you tried the static apnea tables? I recommend Table B, start ...

I'll refer to "Table B" as O2-Table to be more explicit (who introduced this A/B BS anyway?)
An O2 table in this case doesn't train what seems to be the problem: low CO2 tolerance. Early contractions come from a low tolerance to CO2, as this is what mainly triggers the breathing reflex. So You want to train the CO2 tolerance with CO2 tables (where resting times are reduced, but breathholds stay the same throughout the table).

... to condition yourself under an increased heart rate....

Why would You want to do that? Rather learn how to relax and keep Your heart rate down than condition Yourself to high hear rates, which is what You would be doing.

...for statics try to eat a large dinner the day before, say Pasta and high carbs,...

That will only restock the glycogen stores in the muscles that You'd need in performances that require anaerobic use of muscles, for static these won't help, as You'll try to relax as much as possible. But they probably won't hurt either, so dig in.

... lung expander you will see almost immediately, that you are most likely breathing with your chest, and not your diaphram, a lung expander will work the diaphram and with repeditive use you will be breathing correctly and deeply enough to surpass your PB....

I recommend spending the money for a course on breathing techniques. You don't need any device apart from Your body (and Your brain) to learn how to breathe properly and make good use of Your diaphragm. But be aware that this may well be a long process - and well worth every hour spent working on it. - When learning how to breathe, You will also learn the effects of Your breathing on the body and be able to relax better, thus increase Your performance and, what's more, improve the experience as such.

[Atlantis Fire]

Yeah, no kidding. I think learning how to control your breathing and heart rate is the single most effective thing you can do, at least early on. Breathing correctly has a huge effect. It's the difference between say a painful 1 minute hold, and a 2 minute easy hold.

[Jonta]

Why does it have such effect?
Im just curios
And what is breathing properly? how do you breath then slow deep breaths?

[welshmikey]

bump, im curious as to what the last poster asked aswell, well is correct breathing?

[Spaniard]

Use search function to access information DB, loads has been written on the subject so it is difficult to put into a few sentences. Try and get on a course if you can, I did one 2 years ago through DB at the SETT facility and believe me I learnt plenty in 2 days, worth every penny!

[welshmikey]

ok let me rephrase it, is this correct breathing?

Inhale to a comfortable amount
hold 3-5 seconds
breath out for 15 seconds

repeat 3-4 times breathing in deeper on each inhale then dive

that is the only breath up routine i use, though i have done it for prolongled periods of 5 minutes on occasion

trust me i want to do a course and might be but with all my other sports and 29,000 pounds for university it might not be affordable

[Spaniard]

I am no expert which is why the search function is good. Hopefully someone more knowledgable can post here.

[tbgsub]

Well a course can get you most of the way towards breathing for your biologic capacity,
your personal experimentation, (depending on how careful you are not to exceed your limits too soon) may eventually yield the perfect breathup technique for you.
correct breathing essentially is deep inhale, hold few seconds, exhale two to three times longer than the inhale, and repeat 3-4 times which is technically considered mild hyperventillation. Anything over this repetition is generally considered going into a higher state of Hyperventillation, and is considered risky with regard to SWB; especially if you hold over 2 mins below 20M depth because it tricks you into thinking you have more time.

keep in mind that a deeper exhalation reduces your unused residual volume, and actually brings in more useable air, thus improving your capacity to utilize more oxygen, and potentially hold for longer with the right technique and heart rate.

I would say that proper breathing allows maximum nonhyperventillating ventillation, while maintaining the closest to resting heart rate as possible.

anything else is extra training for fine tuning deeper and longer dives.

so ultimately the definition of proper breathing will come down to what you intend to do with your own body.

If you are competitive, proper breathing is much more important.

as for spearo apneists, there are thousands of breathup techniques undocumented, and none of them are verified by any secondary training regimen, and they are all traded like recipes for better diving loosely, so I would trust any formal freedive clinic, or course that is endorsed by any national organization, or you could just read lots of freediving literature, which should get you closer to correct breathing without a course. I recommend Freedive at the following link: Freedive.net & Terry Maas: book or video on apnea freediving, snorkeling, spearfishing
or better yet, buy the book!

WELSHMIKEY: yor breathup looks pretty good! you might try it with deeper exhalations, to as close to vacancy as you feel possible. (dont let any of your mates slug you in the chest while completely exhaled, it could collapse a lung.)

be careful and dive safe.

best of luck.

TBGSUB.

[Atlantis Fire]

Also yoga and tai chi courses usually teach breathing techniques.

[peterfinley]

whats the best stretching ex please any pics

[Atlantis Fire]

Now that is something I actually am very familiar with. As a general rule, any stretching will improve overall cardio performance and help warm up your muscles. As with any sport, focus especially on the muscles that will be worked. If you are just doing static, focus on the muscles around your core (torso, back), to loosen up the area around your lungs. Other than that, just practice the breathing tables to give your actual lung muscles a woorkout. Oh, and careful not to overextend your back.