What is the best excersize to increase breath hold?

[T2K]

What is the best excersize to increase breath hold?

[joe123321]

Well im pretty new but I think I can give some advice...


at first I was just doing the co2 and o2 breath hold tables and I was slowly improving but then I started to do Apnea walks between classes at school and it has helped me much more. Now I go to a park by my house and do apnea walks quite often and It has helped me improve my time alot faster then the tables.

[penguinator]

The best training for diving is...... diving.

Simple as that

Go as often as you can

[*Poseidon*]

Well, I've heard of this product called the Powerlung. It basically adds difficulty with resistance in breathing in and out therefore strengthening your lungs making it possible to increase the amount of air volume you can hold in your lungs through time and training. This will help amazingly, but it's pretty pricy ($119). I found another option to increase lung capacity. Inhale deeply until you can inhale no longer. Using your chest and opening your esophagus, attempt to remain breathing until the air escapes your lungs. This excersize only deals with the lung capacity aspect. Holding your breath involves more mental dicipline.

[jome]

I've never heard of anyone gaining any breathhold time (at least in any significant measure) using powerlung and similar devices...

But please do correct me if I'm wrong.

And a less pricy option is for example breathing through a straw, or putting a cap on your snorkel and making a tiny hole in it. Same thing basically

[fleedermouse]

The funny thing about the straw or snorkel idea that jome mentions above is that it will do more to train your mental abilities than anything physically. Have any of you actually tried breathing through a straw lately? Very frustrating. In fact, this is precisely the exercise that health educators use to help create empathy in non-asthmatics. Supposedly, it is a pretty good emulation of what it feels like to have an asthma attack. If you can keep HR and nerves settled (focus) while doing this exercise, there's a good chance that you will improve your ability to keep calm during your dives too.

[T2K]

That makes sense.

[penguinator]

I remember I got told "One of the best breathing exercises you can do is by breathing through a straw". I got given the straw.... I got some scissors and made a kazoo-like instrument out of the straw... I began to play my kazoo.... I got 'the look' and ignored.

[Methodus]

I think the most easiest way is to put pressure on ur lips to cut the airflow to your own comfort level and then do the straf effect. If lungpower works, this will work even better. And its cheap

[trux]

Swallowing pretzels the wrong way is another cheap method, and practiced even by the President. Not sure though if his breath-hold time improved. I am also not sure about the impact on the brain in that case, but that's rather for the thread "Apnea promotes genius (extreme intellectual ability)"

[matesz H2O]

i bought one of those air restrictors called expand-a-lung. thats esentally what it does it restricts air and helps slow down heart rate. i noticed after useing it i was calmer and i could controlmy breathing alot easier. i thinkit would be an esential tool to use when you are out in the water and having trouble control your breathing. personally i think that diving is the only way to productivly increase breath time. i can see how apnea walks help because you are esentially doin the same thing as dives except for on land. you are exerting movement which requires oxygen and there for you are training your body to use the oxygen wisly.

just my 2 cents.

let me know what you think

[alix.leclerc]

I found it hard to go out walking sometimes because it was freezing here. I started doing apnea situps and they have the same effect for me, plus if you ever pass out it's not too far to the floor...

[samdive]

I have done apnea training on the exercise bike and found that helped a bit - probably more psychological but you do get used to working your legs in apnea (and the lactic build up!) - you need a crash mat sometimes though!

also tried the powerlung but found it completely useless

S