CO2 tolerance and O2 tables

[Flashman]

Hey guys,

Dont know if this has already been asked, but I have just started doing tables to increase my tolerances and increase my lung capacity. I did my first CO2 tolerance table today which felt fine, wasnt too much of a hardship, and based it on a max breath hold of 2min (weak I know, but you have to start somewhere):t. So for 50 % of max hold:
60 sec hold, 90 sec rest, for 8 loops rest period decreasing by 10 sec per loop.

My question is:

Should I do a full weeks worth of CO2 tolerance (one table per day) and then do a week of O2 tolerance?I was going to alternate between the two on a daily basis to build up both equally. I already do a lot of exercise anyway so my fitness is good.

What you guys think, right, wrong or getting on the relatively right track???
Cheers

Flasman:martial

 

[daz_bradley]

Really interesting question... One as a beginner I would like to know too.. I've read that you should just do 4 tables a week... And never do co2 and o2 tables on the same day... Is this true?! How often can you do these tables?!
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[dom12]

At 1st i wasent quite so sure about how to train with the tables, from what i have been told and from my experiences doing the tables, it is best to realy only do 3 or 4 a week and not everyday, do one day, miss a day and so on.
Also at 1st only do CO2 tables as they benefit you more and make you progress quicker when you start your O2.
Reason is the CO2 tables will get your body use to the build of CO2 and allow you to feel and begin to get comfertable with contractions.
So when you start you O2, you kind of have a good base to start with.
Reason for only doing it a few times a week, is that the body needs breaks, just like going to the gym, a day off to let to body change and adapt.

Dom.

 

[Kars]

Welcome at Deeper Blue!

Using the search function, here some relevant and current threads:

http://forums.deeperblue.com/static-dynamic/91114-overtraining-rest-days-static.html

On training:

http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-training-techniques/89300-different-training-programs.html

Love, courage and water,

Kars

 

[monkeyhatfork]

I dont do statics or tables very much lately,but I was taught to alternate days, never do more than one table a day and that if you can do a table its no longer working for you-that you should always be working on a table that is just out of reach then move on again once you can do it--it's at that point you need to be more concerned with rest as it can be taxing always pushing forward, if you are doing tables that are easily achieved doubt you will overtrain and burn out

 

[azapa]

Hey guys,

Dont know if this has already been asked, but I have just started doing tables to increase my tolerances and increase my lung capacity.

Flasman:martial

Sorry Flash, your lung capacity will not increase with tables. There is very little that will increase it significantly, you sort of have what your born with in that sense. Chest flexibility and knowing HOW to inhale a full lungful is much more important.

Good luck!

 

[Flashman]

Thanks guys,

Some interesting and informative replies. As suggested by Kars Ive already been looking at various peoples training programs etc and Ive come to find its much, much more than just taking a mouthful of air and holding it...I always knew it involved more but I was way down the mark on this one!!
Does yoga actually help?It seems a bit tree-huggery to a club apeman like myself, but I can see the value of the stretching and the inner focus to control the breathing/relaxation of the body.....

"Sorry Flash, your lung capacity will not increase with tables. There is very little that will increase it significantly, you sort of have what your born with in that sense. Chest flexibility and knowing HOW to inhale a full lungful is much more important."

exactly right Azapa-sorry my fault for not wording it right.....As you point out its how to inhale a lungful.
I think Ill work on CO2 tolerance for now (Cheers Dom12), and do some more research to come up with a routine that suits me....

One last question:Is it worth doing a freediver course to give myself a good base?

Thanks for the help guys

Flashman:martial

 

[Kars]

Yes Flashman a course is definitely worth the investment. Not only it will give proper safety techniques, but it will give you a head start, a flying start at your new passion, usually more than a years worth of trial and error.

Are you not a treehugger yet? - man you have no idea what you're missing, just imagine all the billions of new friends you would have around the world? Way more than you could have using NSA facebook anyway!

No seriously, most are using the techniques just to improve their dive experience. I'm not into the religious stuff, though I did test a number of breathing techniques and bandha's and kept the ones or parts that work for me.

I made a little video on how to find the mental state of 'flow':

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqZbF546JNo]YouTube - ‪Frog Flow‬‏[/ame]

You can find the relevant thread here: http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-science/86127-how-flow-freediving.html

 

[Flashman]

Nice one Kars,

Really enjoyed the frog hopping in the vid.....Was that mouthfill you were doing just before the dive? or did you 'swallow' the air?

As for the course, Im still offshore till beginning of August but I think Ill be off to the Gili Islands to do the beginners course at "Freedivegili". I want to improve my underwater ability mainly for spearfishing but it will also help my surfing. As for now ill keep on exercising as normal and keep on with the CO2 tables 4 times a week to build up my tolerance to CO2.

As for the tree hugging? I believe monty python once sang...."I want to be a lumberjack, leaping from tree to tree!!!!!....". ill give almost anything a go at least once......

Flashman:martial

 

[daz_bradley]

Thankyou everyone for all your help.. ive only just started!!! Ive been out twice and am getting a minute of time when diving down and coming back up.. static i can get about 2 and a half minutes.. got a great app for my iphone and am enjoying the co2 and o2 tables

speak soon!!

 

[Kars]

Nice one Kars,

Really enjoyed the frog hopping in the vid.....Was that mouthfill you were doing just before the dive? or did you 'swallow' the air?

Flashman:martial

I inhale slowly, but not entirely full to avoid using my chest muscles too much, and I add a few packs to compensate for the not full inhale. But that's more out habit than necessary.

If you current schedules are easy, you can either choose more challenging times or shift your goal posts, like aiming to do the entire schedule without tension and contractions.
Playing a bit with your schedules keep things interesting and challenging. When you start to feel apprehension of doing a training then consider all the influencing factors helping you to decide to rest or continue.

 

[ImmersionFD]

Kars,

Cool video, that made me want to go the pool immediately!

 

[nseruame]

Are there any good books that include sections on doing CO2/O2 tables?

I'm curious - I have read often not to do more than one table a day and four a week. What about if you are going freediving during this time as well? Does that have an effect on how often you should be diving/doing the tables?

Also, what about if you exercise as well? I do weights training for about an hour three days of the week (Mon,Wed,Fri)

 

[buddha]

You can't train every freediving aspect at the same time; muscle, cardio, technique, yoga, tables, flexibility... there's not enough time for the layman (maybe for the pros).
So you should consider to distribute your time weekly and if you already have set some goals, probably even yearly.

 

[nseruame]

Yes, I agree completely which is why I'm trying to understand how much work I can do.

The exercise I do is not related to freediving.. That is just my lifestyle to go the gym three times a week.

The only freediving stuff I do is.. at the moment, freediving..

Often articles on these tables say to not do two tables in any one day, or four tables in any one week. They don't mention how doing 4 tables would effect how much you can dive in a week. Diving and doing the tables - both are long periods of controlled breathing and breath holds..

Anybody here doing tables and diving a lot at the same time?

 

[buddha]

First of all, why are you freediving? I mean, just for fun, recreational freediving, competitive freediving...
The max training you can do is the one your body can afford including resting periods and diving times, it's a very personal measure.
Of course you can do tables and dives but you have to bear in mind other options, freediving is not all about doing tables... There's a lot of aspects, some mentioned earlier that could improve your times and feelings.

 

[nseruame]

Just for fun/recreational. I'm not into going deep or anything like that for the sake of it, but I am diving many times each week and would like to do longer breath holds so I can spend more time enjoying the stuff I can see at 8-15m deep and take better/longer shots when I have my video camera..

 

[buddha]

You will find lot of benefits training tables, especially wet but also improving your duck, fin, hydrodinamics and relaxation techniques... Sometimes is not a matter of doing tables like crazy but to focus on "not spending too much O2".

 

[nseruame]

I am nervous because doing some practice the other day I felt a tiiiny bit dizzy breathing before the breath hold (5 secs in, 5 secs out for two minutes). I want to get comfortable breathing during the tables before I think about changing the way I breathe in the water for now. I only ever hold my breath for about a minute under water at the moment and I never feel any contractions, and always come up at the first urge to breathe.

What is best book on this type of thing?

 

[buddha]

Seems to me like you were hyperventilating and you have to avoid this at all.
Best book IMHO is "Manual of Freediving" by Umberto Pelizzari.
Also a freediving course is a good investment, no doubt.