Completely filling your lungs

[kevtron]

This weekend I did my judge course, and at our mini comp I noticed a lot of people doing a surprising amount of packing. I asked them about it later, and one common response was that they aren't actually packing extra, but are instead using it to just ensure that they were at 100%.

When I do a full inhale I feel that I'm pretty damn close to full. I'm basically doing it in 3 parts (I know you can split it more, but 3 is easy): stomach, lungs, top.

So for the questions:
How do you fill your lungs to get to 100%?
How do you know if you're at 100% (I just go by the fact that I'm unable to add anymore by simply inhaling, and would need to pack)?
And what tips would you have that I could share with my friends about how to fully fill their lungs so they don't need to pack?

 

[Mullins]

If you're partially imersed, the water pressure means you can't fill your lungs to quite the same extent as you can on land. Some people pack to make up that difference.

 

[Bill]

I think that you can use less energy, end up with more air and stay calmer by packing 5 times than doing the final stage.

 

[Apneaddict]

A 5 suit and water pressure makes my full inhale quite a bit less than "commando" on land.

5 packs gives a good full feeling, but I'm sure part of that is still the suit.

It would be interesting to do a spirometer test wet and dry to compare the difference.

I've heard that others don't even do the 3-part breath... Just belly and pack the rest in the name of energy conservation / keeping HR low.

 

[Mullins]

I suspect the three part breath thing is a bit of a crock, to be honest. Might be useful for beginners to make sure they're not doing anything strange, but once you're used to inhaling fully a breath is a breath.

 

[baiyoke]

How do you fill your lungs to get to 100%?
- I just inhale...

How do you know if you're at 100% (I just go by the fact that I'm unable to add anymore by simply inhaling, and would need to pack)?
- The same here...

And what tips would you have that I could share with my friends about how to fully fill their lungs so they don't need to pack?
- Do a few packs... (well I cheated on that one I know ;-) )

 

[kevtron]

I suspect the three part breath thing is a bit of a crock, to be honest. Might be useful for beginners to make sure they're not doing anything strange, but once you're used to inhaling fully a breath is a breath.

Once you know what a full breath feels like it's easier to get there. But as a start, you're right, it definitely helps beginners know how to fully open up.

 

[rakel]

maybe you can look this
Injuries that can occur as a result of extreme Lung Packing | Experience Freediving

 

[kevtron]

Well I try to never pack. And I generally advise against it as well.

That's why I'm wondering more about fully filling lungs without packing. There were some good points above just about the fact that suits and water pressure would make it tougher to get the full lungs so packing to get full could be ok in those cases. Though I still think it should be possible to learn how to simply fill lungs without packing; and I want to be able to help my packing friends get away from packing.