Building up to a long static

[samdive]

How does everyone warm up for a long static attempt?

I always used to start with a really short one, get comfortable and work up. For ages I used this schedule

2 mins breath
1 min hold
2 mins breath
2 min hold
2 mins breath
3 mins hold
3 mins breath
4+ mins hold

I got a bit bored of how long that took and now find I can easily start on a 2 minute or even 2 1/2 minute hold but still don't get any longer on the last one

Any ideas? want to keep it as short as possible as my buddy gets fed up and the pool is quite cold!

Sam

 

[Donna]

Funny that, my buddy gets cold and bored to!! I think we should tell them to stop being such wimps - they're hard enough when they sling all those cylinders

Donna

 

[Kars]

Maybe try my current breathup:

Lay on your back, floating, relaxing. Slow not too deep belly breathings. Relax for 2 minutes, let your last breath be a breath out (not too deep) rol over by bringing your hand over the opposit's shoulder. And dream away. Wait for the first sense of uncomfort/ zwallowing/contraction and com up nice and easy. You should be up in about 40 sec or so since you've breathed out doing a 1/3 lung breathhold.

The Second breathhold is going to be a full lungs, with much packing if your used to packing.
Do the same preperation as above, and wait for the same signs. The point is to get the diving reflex going, find your relaxation but keeping al your energy for the maxium 3rd breathhold.

Ok, after this 2nd, take now a 3 minute break, or 4 and try not to focus to much on correct breathing, which is an effort in itself
relax all muscles, during your float on your back, let your dreams carry you away. at about 30 sec to OT, you may want to do some deep belly breaths, to lose some extra Co2, do a deep breath out on the last one, deep in, some packing, but only 1/2 or a 1/3 of the previous breathhold. Put you hand over you shoulder, and roll over.

See you at the STATIC PB tread

Kars.

Oh and leave your watch on the shore, though you may not look at it, the very awarenes of the thing may make you think about time. During my PB's I never know what time I'm doing, The most I hear of my buddy at the end may be that 'm doing very well, and other small encouragements.
The other important thing is to strech beforehand.
I think it's very good to try different approaches. Ciao!

 

[samdive]

Thanks Kars. Will try that - but I really don't like lying on my back and rolling over - prefer to stand up out of the water so will try it like that

in the pool tomorrow night, will let you know how it goes

Sam

 

[samdive]

didn't work for me Kars! I hate packing for static, I can feel it speed up my heartrate

going to go back to my old ways.... not enough time to experiment before Cyprus!

 

[dallasdiver]

Hey samdive
I have always done my breath holds to max from the first hold. I had slow progress using this method. I had not done any breath holding in two weeks, due to the soul crushing job I have. I tried you breath up scedule yesterday just to see if works, and I added 45 seconds to my PB!!! :thankyou

 

[samdive]

Thanks - maybe I should stick to it too then!

I have decided to try an adapted version

2 mins breath
exhale
1 min hold
2 mins breath (normal breath up, no packing)
2 mins hold
2 mins breath (")
3 mins hold
4 mins breath including hyperventilation in last minute
4+ min hold.. I hope...

I usually start my forced (hyperventilation breaths) at the last one minute before the hold and go back to normal deep calm breaths for the last 20 or 30 secs.

I don't pack more than once or twice to swallow down the air.

I can't stand static if every hold is a struggle so quite like the table above.. but am still open to better ideas

Sam

 

[Kars]

Samantha,

Packing speeds up your heartbeat so much? I know 'm pretty flexible, 2 liters packing But for static I don't pack much, maybe about 1 liter, for the 2'nd hold, as a sort of streching like hold. I find even that If I pack much that the hartrate goes down like a rock when I turn over and my face gets submersed, and I let every worry go. Maybe it's because I've a bigger mouth, and only need about 9 swollows for a nice strechy pack? Maybe packing laying on my back is easier?
Maybe you need more time for the diving reflex to set in?

Your preperation looks pretty long, maybe you can skip the 3' hold. and take a 4-5 minute breath right after the 2' hold, followed by your max.
Maybe it's better to leave time on the shore, and hold until a certain feeling? Like the first contraction? The advantage would be that your preperation would be flexible, like the shape in which your in that day. Ask you buddy not to tell the times until the last hold is done.

If you face much struggle, maybe it's better to practice the Co2 table instead

Good luck!
Nice job Dalles diver!

Kars

 

[samdive]

Hi kars
thanks but the problem now is that the warm up can't be that flexible - two comps coming up and need to know exactly when to get in the water for the warm up and what to do - I used to have this down to the second but am doubting it all!

back in pool tomorrow night... will keep you posted

Sam

 

[Walrus]

Sam & Kars,
When I pack for a static my heartrate is a lot higher. Tried it with a heartrate monitor once and got at least 10bpm higher with packing. I think this happens with most people, when you pack a lot. With the lungs overinflated it actually pushes on the heart. So the heart actually get's a bit squished and the stroke volume, ie blood pumped per beat is reduced. So the actual blood pumped over time may be similar to when you don't pack.

In the pacifc cup a couple of doctors wanted to try a few tests on the freedivers. A teamate got a catscan thingy done while she was packing and the doctor freaked out. He said the heart became totally deformed, less round and more lengthered.



Cheers,
Wal

 

[Kars]

That's an intresting information Walrus! In this way one can say you'll bring extra air, but this advantage will be lost due to the extra effort your heart needs to pump th blood arround.

The advantage of packing may lay in improving flexibility of the chest and belly etc. This helps in dealing with contractions.
The technique may help to counter the pressure the suit has on the chest, packing may even be easier then lifting up your chastcase to the maxium en pushing out your belly. It's just a lichter-easier way of filling your lungs?

Ok, I think I've learnt here something, thanks folks!

Kars,
Love and peace.

 

[Roland]

Warmup routine can be different when you have just begun (or have not done it for some time) than when you are more trained in static.

I experienced that a beginner needs more warmup breatholds before being able to reach a maximum static than a more trained/ experienced freediver. Also relative to your personal best a beginner seems to need longer breathholds to warm up. This would mean that the needed warmup routine changes when the body is more adapted to static, but this takes time.

:wave

 

[samdive]

I agree totally Roland
In the old days I needed to do 4 or 5 holds before I got my best and I could never do more than one minute on my first. These days I can sometimes do 2 30 straight off and usually my best hold is my second or third - shame they haven't got much longer!

Sam

 

[Bill]

Sam
On Friday, Matt finally got it through my thick skull that it is a bad idea to plan your warmup precisely. I was following Annabel and after my final warm up hold she was still doing relaxed deep stuff. Instead of my ideal 4-5 minutes, there was an extra 5 minutes to wait. I started a 3 minute static as she started a 6+ and had 4 to relax before Matt came over to start a 2 minute countdown. Even with my timing error, it was a new PB.
It helps to mix up the training (try a max attempt 2-3 minutes after an O2 or CO2 workout sometimes) and it's easier to stretch things out than compress them, but if you gamble with a little hyperventillation, you can do a 70% warm up hold, 2 minutes breathing and a max hold. Since I started doing the warm up on my back, the time pressure thing has gone away, plus I don't need any help until I roll over.
More and more the only things that count are getting relaxed and some practice contractions. Just make sure that you don't fall asleep and miss the two minute call. Good luck in Cyprus.
Aloha
Bill

 

[Walrus]

Hi All,
just to comment on what I said before about packing increasing your heartrate. I tried out a few statics on my friends Pulse oximeter. I also tried some max packing as a stretch, this usually makes me a bit dizzy if I really pack to the limit. Whilst packing my heartrate jumped up, all the way up to 180bpm, then when I exhaled it went down to 40bpm ?!

No wonder I get dizzy ! :duh

Cheers,
Wal

 

[ADR]

Yeah, Wal also managed to push my oximeter in to low SAO2 readings that it hasn't even been close to hooked up to me!

The heartrate readings included 180BPM down to 40bpm in about a 3-4 sec timeframe and then a further drop to 35bpm once contractions started and was pretty amazing to see. There was no doubt that a max pack and then exhale static had a big impact on HR. We didn't have a computer with us at the time so I can't post the full results this time but will take my laptop next time and if it's OK with Wal will post the results.

Bill - congrats on the new PB...what was it?

Andy

 

[dallasdiver]

Hey Samdive
That breathup routine has worked wonders for me. I was doing just over three minutes. My new PB is 4:15 I have added a full minute to my stactic in a little over a week and a half. I have broken the 4:00 barrier and feel that 5:00 is well within my grasp.