Contractions at depth

[Gwaihir]

Not wanting to start a new thread only for this.. I ask here....

I just made a CWF dive down to 21 meters,it was a new PB for me (as a beginner) but it left me with a question, On the way up I realy felt the contractions bigtime. before on statics and shorter dives I have never really felt them this hard before/if any.
So I was wondering if it was the pressure that contributed to this ?
The dive was for 47 sec.

p.s. Im not packing anymore

[sanso]

Originally Posted by Gwaihir

Not wanting to start a new thread only for this.. I ask here....

It makes sense to start a new thread for this, so the topic will tell people what to expect in the thread. I'm creating one for You.

[demasoni]

Congrats on your PB!

I don't believe the physical pressure of a new depth caused contractions on the ascent.

What was your previous PB and depth progression up to 21m?

Were you "panicked" at the turn knowing you just hit a new PB?

What was your breath-up like?

Did you have a samba or any other complications?

Contractions on the ascent aren't necessarily a "bad" thing. Most divers experience them, especially on a PB dive.

[TheDude]

Contractions on the way up are your friend... They boost the dive reflex - so your body spends less oxygen. Think of them in a positive way - when you get them, you can be sure your body is in an oxygen saving mode, allowing you to dive longer and safer.

Problem is only if you feel contractions already on the way down and at the bottom, as it is thought to increase the risk of lung squeeze.

If you spend some time in water, after cca a week of diving you will start to feel more comfortable with diving, more relaxed, and this should postpone the onset of contractions. Also important is to be completely relaxed - especially the chest area and diaphragm.

[Gwaihir]

Thanx
If i remember it right I think I had contractions around 17 m going down
My prevoius records are 10,12,14,16.9,18,20.7. progression over 2-3 months
I wasnt paniced at the turn,but woried abit going up when contractions came in harder

2-3 minutes calm and deep breathing 4 sec in and 7-8 sek out.
3 fast whole breaths and dive... around 80 in pulse
No samba or anything... maby a easy stingin sensation around the chest

Thanx for all the answers guys

[demasoni]

It's tough/dangerous to give advice over these forums, but perhaps try to focus on relaxation and dare I say it, don't try to control your breathing pattern during breath up at first, just normal, calm, regular breaths as needed - regulated by your body's needs, and not your mind's chatter. This way you can get a sense of how your body and mind react during the dive in an "unaltered" state. For example, if you hyperventilated, then that's "altered." You can even increase your breath-up time to 6-8 min for good measure for a dive approaching a max.

If you don't already do this, pulling up and down a line could be useful to get used to depth as a line gives you more control over your speed and a sense of security with a direct link to the surface.

Also, recreational diving without thinking about accomplishing a "number" has helped me improve in the beginning where the focus is on relaxation and enjoyment. It's easy to burn/stress out on depth-oriented line diving I think. Of course all this with a trained buddy and just my two cents.

[Gwaihir]

20 was my goal, from now on I will work on style and performance,comfort..
But the contractions was the main thing I was wondering about.. Shuld they feel the same if I am doing a 100m dyn or a 20 m cwf ?

[demasoni]

Contractions are highly personal and can vary widely from person to person in terms of how early you get them, how long between contractions, how strong they are, if you get them at all etc.

In terms of comparing dyn distances with cwf distances, I think you become better at what you train. Some divers have a longer cwf distance than dyn and vice versa. It's hard to approximate for example, if I get contractions at x distance in dyn, then that's what I should expect going up and down. Depth presents other factors that you won't have in a pool obviously, like equalization, squeeze, changing partial pressures, narcosis, and others. Take a look at the results of comps in the pool disciplines and then the cwt disciplines and see how much they can vary even between the same athletes.

I guess to answer your question directly, there is no right answer or "should be." One could say that a 100m dyn should be the equivalent of a 50m cwf, and that they should feel the same, but that's just a very general statement.

[Gwaihir]

got home from diving today..
There must be a link between depth and contractions.. I never feel them in a static. but if I dive down 10m and hang a little before I go up.. I get clear contractions !

[Gwaihir]

Culd I be confusing contractions with the feeling of my lungs beeing contracted becouse of the depth ?

[B-J]

If you do a max static without any contractions it sounds like you ventilate a lot. I did my first competition a couple of weeks ago and in static I got my first contractions at 1:50. My time was 5:13. It sounds comfortable to do like you When I did my dynamic no fins I got contractions at 35-40m and ended up at 125m. Yesterday I did CWT to 39m and got contractions maybe 5m after the turn. I think the breathingreflexes helps me alot. It causes discomfort but helps me. I`ve been doing some apnea while on a spinningbike with a heartratemonitor. I go slow in the beginning and my HR drops from 85 to 65 pretty fast and after a while I get my first contractions. Then the HR drops gradually down to below 50. In the end when I have strong contractions I can really go at it without raising the HR. This is guessing but it feels like I can double or even triple the watts without raising the HR.