Umberto is not in to packing(yet, that is...). He know how to equalize anyway. AND the AA manual is neither into this. Umberto can pack... but it makes him feel out of harmony and he choose not to use it. Simple... and 100% in-line with his and many others freedives philosophy.
I work professionally with Glossopharyngeal Breathing(GPB) or to use the freedive term; LUNG PACKING, and I do this everyday in a big hospital here in Milano where I live. Just like with my patient's, we see many different, personally developed, ways of using GPB in the sport of freediving. Some athletes are packing to the maximum in just 10 seconds; some do the same in 30 seconds. Then we have a big group of athletes that only pack up to 50-60% of max GPB, this is just to make sure they stay comfortable during the breath hold. (mainly STA).
AND to be more EXACT, so everybody understand, I would like to repeat why freedivers are interested to try increase their TLC?
First of all, with more air you will hold your breath longer – very basic, but very individual - an athlete with big lungs and high consumption of oxygen can easily lose against an athlete with small lungs and low consumption of oxygen. The best combination is of course big lungs and low consumption of oxygen.
Secondly, we know that in all depth disciplines the achieved depth is normally directly related to the athletes’ ability to equalize there ears and sinuses during the dive. The athletes are using the air to do this and because the air volume decreases with every achieved meter in depth there is a point when there is no more air to equalize with. With more air you can equalize to a greater depth. Even this is very basic, but very individual as each athlete has different abilities when it comes to their equalizing techniques, and we see many athletes with small lungs and without GPB go very deep.
...and YES, packing is not a complete risk free thing to train and use. GPB will decrease arterial blod pressure if used excessively; causing loss of consciousness due to orthostatic hypotension, and fainting is NOT uncommon among inexperienced freedivers practising GPB. We also know some rare case of lung trauma (pneumothorax) during GPB trainings.
Now some training tips: We know that if you practice packing(GPB) in the right way and do this everyday, your normal TLC without packing increases as well. My TLC without packing is 2 liter bigger than before I start train with packing. AND to start train with packing is mostly like all other training, start very moderate and build up slowly from month to month. The fact is that your freediving capacity is only partly determined by the amount of air you can bring with you down under the surface. Other things that play a big role in freediving such as your overall physical condition and adaptation to depth both of which you can achieve through serious training. Mental strength is also a very important and should not be under any circumstances underestimated. These elements together with the capacity to relax and find total harmony are the keys to being a good freediver. AND Before doing any of this GPB training, make sure you're in perfect health. The best is to make one of those medical exams that professional scuba diver have to do.
have a nice day
/B
ps. It is important to take note that we have now developed techniques where the lung volume is less important: the freediver simply breathes out before he dives and leaves the surface with less than 50% of full lung volume. This technique is similar to how all the whales doing their dives and with more research, development and specific training this way of freediving will probably take the human being deeper than ever. We also use better equalizing techniques that not directly involve big lungs or packing.
