Breath holding tips and techniques

[antenc]

I am new to Freediving, I have done a lot of snorkelling and I want to get into Freediving.

Can anyone give me any tips/techniques on how to train to hold my breath for longer?

I can consistently get to 1 minute, with no problems. 1 minute 20 at a push. How can I improve upon this?

Thanks

 

[Polorutz]

do a search on the forums with the terms "static times" or "improving static".

Read up a lot on the terminology of freediving and then you'll have more specific questions most of us will answer quite happily, for quick improving of the results try doing some CO2 tables and O2 tables.

 

[jome]

Very short answer:
By doing it again and again and increasing times slowly.

If you can do 1:20, then try 1:21 the next day and so on. Gradually you will start to learn and realize what is making a difference. Of course there is more to it than that, but that's a start. And you can read up all you want, but your times will not get better unless you train and learn by trial and error what works for you.

And please, do not train breath holds alone in the water, do it on dry land if you have no buddy. The risk of blackout is very real and in case of training in water, it can be fatal.

 

[antenc]

Thanks for the replies, I have searched through some of the threads on here and I've found some really useful tips.
I can now manage a dry static time of 2 minutes consistently with a best time of 2:15 after a bit of practice and lots of relaxing first.

 

[Narsil]

Great effort, that's a rapid and significant improvement.

 

[Reynard]

Hi there,
I'm hoping one of you guys out there can help me. I am not a diver, but I am doing some research for a book. What I want to know is this. Can people hold their breath to the point of falling unconscious? If so, how do they know when unconsciousness is about to come about? And how long till the average person loses consciousness? Holding ones breath for that long, what does it feel like? I have read about people having chest contractions, what do these feel like?
If anyone can answer these questions or point me in the right direction, I would be very grateful.
Thanks,
Reynard

 

[FeAr_ThE_SpEaR]

Jome is very right. I'm fifteen and i did that exzact thing holding my breathe a second or 2 or 3 longer and it worked. I started at 1 min and im up to 1:45. I am still trying to acheive 2 mins. I just need to dive deeper i want to get to 60 by the end of this year. I can do 40 (at a push and on a good day!) But by the end of this school year I'm gunna be doing 60 I know it!!

 

[jpelorat]

Hi,

Can people hold their breath to the point of falling unconscious?

Yes, it is called BLACKOUT or B.O. It happens when you push further your limits or when you're not in good shape.

If so, how do they know when unconsciousness is about to come about?

It is hard to say, but if you lose control of your legs and arms you are near of having a B.O. It is called SAMBA.

And how long till the average person loses consciousness?

Depends on fisical condition and training, from 30 seconds to 1 year rofl .... Could be more or less.

Holding ones breath for that long, what does it feel like?

Great, after the breath holding sort of dizziness and during depends on your relaxation, sometimes it feels very unconfortable especially when you got hard contractions, if you're up to get a B.O. you wouldn't feel anything in most cases you wouldn't remember what happened.

I have read about people having chest contractions, what do these feel like?

They are diaphragm contractions, they get harder as you hold your breath. If you are not used to them they feel very awkward.

If you need more detailed information perform a search within DeeperBlue.net with BLACKOUT and SAMBA as key words.

Please correct me if I'm wrong...

Sigi...

 

[Polorutz]

Ok Reynard I know you probably will not do this but I would like to recommend to you to actually hold your breath until you get a contraction, by the time the first contraction comes you're ages away from blacking out and that way you'll be able to write a book much better.

In my own experience I know I'll black out when my vision starts fading, the hearing becomes distant and my field of vision decreases, my peripheral vision goes away gradually and I get a little hum on my ears. I've never blacked out due to lack of oxygen yet, the only blackouts I've got come from packing, packing is the forceful insertion of air into the lungs after you've inhaled as much as you can, the technique is done by "swallowing" air with your mouth and then pushing it into your lungs, the volume incrase of the lungs puts a lot of pressure on blood vessels and the heart and sometimes it's enough to make blood flow fainter, when blood pressure decreases enough then you can black out or be close to a blackout.

Sambas are the loss of motor control on limbs, the brain "shuts off" the limbs in order to keep them from spending oxygen, that way it gives itself a little time before blacking out, it's a natural reaction, if you want to know how a samba looks like go here

http://www.fridykning.se/rules

and see all the videos.

If you have any other question feel free to ask.

 

[jpelorat]

Good videos. By the way anyone has BO videos?

 

[naiad]

Yes, there are some in the Slovakia Freedive Team website, in the video section.

They may or may not work - many don't work as my media player has a blackout when I try to play them. (No video output!)

Lucia

Edit: I couldn't even post the link as it didn't work, even though the site is up and running. My computer hates that site!

 

[Reynard]

Thanks for all your help Polorutz. And I did do as you suggested. So I know this much. Freediving is not for me! Contractions are far from comfortable.
I have one last question. Given that you can handle contractions, then how on earth can you tell when to restart breathing? Surely the only way you could know how long you can hold your breath for would be to do it till lost consciousness? How do professional freedivers going for records know their limits. Because as Clint Eastwood once said: "A man's gotta know his limits."!

 

[Polorutz]

Thanks for all your help Polorutz. And I did do as you suggested. So I know this much. Freediving is not for me! Contractions are far from comfortable.
I have one last question. Given that you can handle contractions, then how on earth can you tell when to restart breathing? Surely the only way you could know how long you can hold your breath for would be to do it till lost consciousness? How do professional freedivers going for records know their limits. Because as Clint Eastwood once said: "A man's gotta know his limits."!

How do pros know their limits? they've been past them and back many times.

I know that most pro freedivers have blacked out and actually when a man has enough drive he can go past the limits and black out, I for a fact use a more cautious approach to the training and as I said in my other thread, I count my contractions and reach a certain number, then next hold I'll hold for five more, and etc...

With time contractions get more bearable and I know you didn't like that first one, but its a feeling that you get used to.