Breath holding ! Please some advice on how to succesfully do it

[ocean_hunter]

Hey, i've been diving for a couple months now and i was curious about how i should be reacting to my body when it starts buggin out for air.

Sitting still i can get a 4 minute hold with no contractions above water but in it i can pull just a mere 25 seconds, atleast before contractions.

Should i just ignore the urge to go up ?

Ahh need some advice >_<

Thanks, James.

 

[salibandy]

Wow, four minutes down to 25 seconds? That's a very bbig difference.

My only thought goes to a lack of relaxation on your part. Are you afraid of the water in any way? Do you think you are relaxed in the water? If not, have you identified your stressor?

 

[cody909]

Under water, mine are always less, But yes, just practice the contractions in a pool.

Check out my post thread on holding your breath, This is how i do it. Its not the safest method (Its is often frowned upon, yet some pros do use the Hyperventilation technique) but it has managed to get me a Personal best of 5:01 minutes "How i hold my breath"

 

[ocean_hunter]

No way man, thats the odd thing.

I feel right at home in the water, i've been in it all my life.

I think its just more of the mental will of staying under over not being able to physically.

thankyou for the tips though guys and i'll deffinately check out your blog

- James

 

[Silentspear]

I'm kind of the same.... I have a 3:30 dry, but I usually can only stay down 30 seconds....

 

[ocean_hunter]

much better bottom time now.

2:10 !

XD

 

[salibandy]

Bottom time? Are you talking static or actual time spent swimming around at the bottom? If it's the latter, that's pushing it a bit mate.

 

[ILDiver]

(Its is often frowned upon, yet some pros do use the Hyperventilation technique) but it has managed to get me a Personal best of 5:01 minutes

As for the "some pros do it".... All "pros" do it. But they train in what to look for and how to read THEIR body for the proper signs and signals and tolerance to the situation they put their body in. Venting doing dry holds is not as big of a deal. In water, be very careful and have a buddy that knows how to safety.

If your doing dry tables, then Hyperventilation is not doing you any good, since time is not what your going for, it's tolerance. I usually run 2 - 2:30 for the max on tolerance tables, no venting, and it gets tough towards the end of the session. I don't know what I could do right now for a PB wet or dry.

I'm anything but a pro, just tossing in my 2 cents.

 

[ocean_hunter]

Succesfully diving at 40 feet.

I had found out the problem though, i used to wear a pretty thick body suit which made it a struggle getting down plus i had been using a pair of u.s. divers "rocket" fins which are probably the worst fin possibly for freediving.

I normally just stay down for around a minute or a minute and a half.

My body begins to contract at around 45-55 seconds.

Is a minute and a half under too much ?

Thanks, James.

 

[jordan 123]

its hard to factor how long is to much time under. i have mates that static with me at the pool that do 4/5 minutes under suppervision of course but the when it comes to depth i shit all over them its all about learning about your own body and its limits you cant go of what someone else says theres to many factors.i strongley agree with illdiver chris on the venting dont push that in the water untill you understand your body and how it works.take the time in a pool with a good buddy you will learn your bodys limits and only then can you work on bettering them. stay safe because a dead freediver only dives to six foot under and there aint any coming back to that surface....

 

[trux]

As for the "some pros do it".... All "pros" do it.

Actually, I do not think "pros" do really hyperventilate. Well, sometimes they do, but in a very limited way - only a very few breaths to charge venous blood with O2 without lowering the CO2 level too much. Most newbies wouldn't even call it hyperventilation in comparison with their breath-up. It was well proven that hyperventilation lowers the hypoxic blackout threashold, and has many other negative impacts on the performance, so I do not think you will find many "pros" who would hyperventilate profoundly and during several minutes.

 

[jordan 123]

hyperventilating is practiced by nearly all freedivers. im not sure how many pros out there wouldnt increase the flow or depth of there breath before a dive not many that do it on no breath up. any unormal breathing is considered hyperventilating if your breath is increased. but the pratice of doing it to the extreme is dangerous because of the unknown. hyperventing replaces massive amounts of carbon dioxide,thus outsmarting the brains breathing centre.and generly metabilizes tissues, producing carbon dioxide at a regular rate,and do not replace enough carbon dioxide to stimulate the breathing centre untill the body is too low on oxygen which is to late.and so on there r so many other side effects to that cause changes (iregular)that r dangerous ie dizziness from decreased blood flow to your brain/and cramping and the worst of all a state of euphoria which can give overconfidence.so i would suggest to learn a proper breath up routine witch will included some sort of hyperventilating but done to a minimum. jordan ps thers a great breath up routine on ozfreediving.com forum. hope this helps stay safe.

 

[jordan 123]

didnt read my post untill i posted it so be carefull of the witches they have allready stollen my spellcheck.ha ha

 

[ILDiver]

so I do not think you will find many "pros" who would hyperventilate profoundly and during several minutes.

Not a profound hyperventilation. And they may not even call it hyperventilation. Purges or what have you. The forced exhale rather than slow relaxed exhale. It's a controlled technique and the number of purges or what ever you wish to call it varies. But they are trained to know how and when to use them and the number of them THEY should use for the activity they are doing.

When I practice open water dives, I do not hyperventilate. I actually do not use it in general, because I'm working on tolerances. Maybe some day I'll use it to help gain a personal best, but for now I just need to learn everything else that goes with freediving and get comfortable.

 

[trux]

Yes, that sounds better. The problem is, that we teach beginners in clubs and here on DB too, to never hyperventilate because it seriously increases the probability of a blackout (besides having negative influence on the performance in end-effect if not done in a strictly controlled limited way). And then they come here, and they read that they can simply hyperventilate for couple of minutes (because the pro's do it anyway) and reach 5 minute time without big effort. That's the best ticket to the mortuary, especially considering that only few of the beginners reading this advices have a buddy who would be able to handle any accident, or even more likely do not have any buddy at all, or one that is 50m away.

Lone diver, spearo, recreational diver, or anyone else except of the very limited number of high level competitors in strictly secured conditions, should simply avoid hyperventilation like a pest. Its impact on the performance can be from greatly negative to slightly positive, but its impact on the safety will be always dramatically negative.

 

[ILDiver]

... (Its is often frowned upon, yet some pros do use the Hyperventilation technique) but it has managed to get me a Personal best of 5:01 minutes[/URL]

As you said trux, it was this statement that concerned me in a post above. My original response was not clear enough and may have clouded the issue some.

On the safety:
I think it's important to acknowledge that it is used. you can't hide it like a dirty little secret. It's better to say yes it is, but... Knowing that 3 "purges" got me to my PB of 4:45 is one thing. But hyperventilating without knowing how and why it's working, does not really benefit you. Hyperventilating during open water dives is a huge risk. Research the the physiology on what happens to the O2, CO2 and everything else that goes on inside your body.

Best advice I can off, find a way to take a Freediving course.

 

[azapa]

Is a minute and a half under too much ?

Thanks, James.

\

yes James it is. Rather than fighting contractions learn about your body and what makes it work better in the water. A freediving course is the way to go. Check out FIT or PFI.

My ideal spearing dives are contraction free or maybe one on the way up. and no leg burn. If you are getting them at 45 seconds and struggling to 2:10 under the water you are waiting for an accident to happen.

Best of luck and report on your progress.

 

[ILDiver]

I agree with Azapa, keep the dives comfortable. The longer the dive, the more fatigue you get. If they are less of a struggle the more of them you can do. Both mentally and physically.

 

[ocean_hunter]

Yea that was what i was starting to think after a couple dives.

Thanks to everyone on the tips though.

Aslong as i'm having a good time out on the water, bottom time is the last thing im thinking.

 

[jordan 123]

totally agree with you last thread illdiver on hyperventing didnt mean to have a shot at your oppinion. i was trying to support it and hopefully incourage safety any how it seem he has got the msg on not hyperventilating.