ANY info

[SASpearo]

Aahhh ... sweet memories ...

Our backyard flooded after a quite spectacular thunderstorm - this was when I was still living inland, and about to go on a weeklong diving trip ....

I got myself facedownd in the hailstone-infested knee-deep water and 'practiced' breath hold ... he he he he

 

[DSV]

Times

Welcome Nicky,

These guys know what they are talking about specially that French guy. Hydrate is the word of the day. Lots of water or the sort.

Thin Air, Congrats on your time, good on ya!


DSV

 

[Nicky]

Thanks once again everyone
I have one question about decompression sickness and shallow water blackout. Are they related and can you get bent from freediving? Or is it just if you are down for ages?
Sorry if that is dumb question and it has been asked heaps before....:duh

Ta
Nicky

 

[thin_air]

i think that the general concensus is that you would only get bent if you were really really really good (2+ minute dives to insane depths) and no, i dont think there is any realtion between SWB and being bent.

i dont think there are dumb questions (well when i asked questions, i sure hoped that no one would think them dumb)

 

[crazyfrenchmen]

Re: Times

Originally posted by DSV
specially that French guy. Hydrate is the word of the day.

DSV

Thoose french guy, i told you to stay away from them And i though that chocolat was the word of the day, damn, wrong again!

Originally posted by Nicky
can you get bent from freediving

People get bent because they accumulate nitrogene "bubbles" in their body. Thoose bubbles can get into their tissue thanks to the higher pressure underwater that makes the bubbles smaller. Since we, freediver, do not stay long enough under water for our tissue to saturate, plus the long surface interval that permit us to decompress ( i.e. let the bubbles out), we cannot have the bent under normal circumstance. A diver (scuba or free) that do not go under 33' (10m or 1 atmosphere) can't get bend anyway.

 

[Stephan Whelan]

Re: Re: Times

Originally posted by crazyfrenchmen
People get bent because they accumulate nitrogene "bubbles" in their body. Thoose bubbles can get into their tissue thanks to the higher pressure underwater that makes the bubbles smaller. Since we, freediver, do not stay long enough under water for our tissue to saturate, plus the long surface interval that permit us to decompress ( i.e. let the bubbles out), we cannot have the bent under normal circumstance. A diver (scuba or free) that do not go under 33' (10m or 1 atmosphere) can't get bend anyway.

However if you have been tank diving and then go freediving there is reason to be careful as your body is already saturated with Nitrogen Bubbles. (Just in case you are a scubie and a freediver)

In this case I would suggest waiting before your clear for No-Deco diving on standard Scuba Deco Tables. (BSAC B or A Table for example)

 

[Nicky]

I have sprained my ankles a few times (on land) and find it hard to use the long fins that my brother uses, so I sometimes use the thin soft plastic fins I use for swimming and find it much easier. Should I keep this up because it is comfortable or use the long fins and keep at it?

Nicky:wave

 

[Erik]

Hi Nicky, I think the only way you're ankles will adapt to finning is by finning, but you could alternate between the big blades and the smaller ones.
If you use a runner's training method, it might help: a long-distance runner will run a few times during the week at a shorter distance, then do the bigger run on the weekend, say. Eventually the bigger runs get longer, but the 3 runs during the week stay the same. This helps the athlete adapt to the higher stresses of the long run.
You could do something similar, using the small fins most of the time, and switching to a longer blade once in a while to build your ligament and muscle strength.
I would suggest lots of careful stretching of your ankles too.
Take care, and don't hurt them....if they hurt, then you're pushing too hard.
Cheers,
Erik Y.
ps, how is your breath-holding coming along?

 

[efattah]

Depends

Nicky,

If you are diving for fun (not spearfishing), then I recommend using a monofin, it will take the stress off that single foot, and it can be more fun, faster and more efficient, but with a monofin your maneuverability is terrible, which is why it isn't that useful for spearfishing.

Also, concerning your 'impatience' to reach longer times, I can already predict that you probably have very good breathing habits from other sports you do:

Good Breathing Habits = Poor Apnea Time

People who sit at computers all day typically don't breathe well or deeply; they accumulate carbon dioxide all day, and are essentially practicing breath-holding all day long without even doing anything. Those people can often reach 3:30 or 4:00 in static apnea in a few weeks; people with good breathing habits (although healthier) often take longer to reach the same times. Reaching more than 6 minutes typically requires special routines & preparations, and learning your body's responses over months.

Remember that there is a big difference between 'static' (motionless) apnea and moving apnea. When you read about the 8-minute breath-holds, that is STATIC apnea; concerning actually diving and kicking, the longest fully active dive I am aware of lasted for 3:35.

 

[Erik]

Originally posted by Nicky
can you get bent from freediving? Or is it just if you are down for ages?

Ta
Nicky

Actually, it is possible to get bent from freediving, and people have been bent in the past. However, it takes a lot of extreme diving over a few hours of up-and-down to get a "hit".
Navy divers have been bent, indigenous diving hunters too, and I heard that the famous spearfisherman Alberto March (Spain) got bent not long ago. He dives to 30-40 metres repeatedly, in search of the right fish, so your (and my) chances of getting a bubble in the brain are so low as to be basically ignored.
Cheers,
Erik Y

 

[Nicky]

Well, my breath hold is coming along Erik - though I'm only up to two mins now. I haven't had that time in a while though.
Efattah - thanks for your long reply, but what is "Apnea"?

Before I breathe up (when practising aand before a dive) what should I be saying to myself? Also someone suggested that rather than breathing up, then holding, then slowly letting little bits of air out that I should just hold the one breath. Whats the go with that one?

Nicky

 

[icarus pacific]

that Erik...whatta guy!

Erik is correct, repeated pressurization as in diving to attainable depths and especially when winded and really working, CAN and will introduce gases into the bloodstream, similarly to that experienced by a SCUBA diver. But you have to work at it, so I'd be more concerned with learning to feel out your body to the onset of SWB...