don't hold your breath?

[ben]

Ok, so this is my first season spearfishing in the UK and so far all my hunting has been done from the surface in shallow water. Its accounted for lots of fish but im beginning to realise that i need depth. The water nearshore is so disturbed by waves and wind that i need to get out a little further and that means holding my breath.

Basically im fit and healthy good resting heatrate and recovery rates but i simply cant hold my breath. A good dry static time for me is 1:15-1:20 which is reduced to 30-45secs in the water hence my not attempting to try any diving.

I could do with being able to achieve 6-8m depth with a bottom time of 60-90secs. How long does my dry static need to be in order to achieve this and what are the best ways to start building up my co2 tollerance and inhibiting the breath reflex?

This is my off season winter mission, so any suggestions/tips are welcome.

ben

 

[takeshi]

try breathholding exercise, that is what freedivers do and it's supposed to help. You do this on land. Lay down and relax, then hold take three deep breaths and hold you breath for as long as you can. When you start breathing take three deep breaths and remeber the time you managed. hen relax for three minutes and repeat. if you do that four or five times you will see how you can hold longer every time with the same effort.

For me the same goes for diving deeper. When you get in the water a shallow dive might seem like a strain and then you go deepr little by little and you will end up diving three times as deep as the first dive with ease.

Just remember never to push your limits in the water, especially if you dive alone, or you might pass out and if you have no buddy to pick you up that kills you.

 

[samdive]

hey Ben if you want to do some freedive training to increase that breath hold and depth, you are very near us

www.saltfreedivers.com

we have helped a few spearos in the past

Sam

 

[grahamfoster]

Take up octopush! - there's a club in Newport

 

[greendiver]

hey Ben,

I have asked a similar question, on this site, about 3 or 4 months ago, this helped me a lot, and am able to hold my breath for almost 4 minutes now, it has helped me a lot....

This is what JPPLAY, a fellow hunter, has sent me;
P.s I do some apnea running/walking aswell.....

Well I suggest you find a partner to train with when in the water. Myself I just did dry statics about every two days which increased my breathholds greatly.

How I do them is this:
Lay down
2-5 minutes of slow breathing getting your heart rate down.
Breath Hold
About 2:30 of breathing
2nd hold
About 2:30 of breathing
3rd hold
About 2:30 of breathing
4th hold

Each hold should be getting longer. I think you should be able to do a 3-4 minute breathhold after a month of doing that which should mean you should be able to do 2 minutes at a relaxed pace underwater.
__________________
When I let go of who I am, I become what I might be

 

[Almostafish]

Ben do a course or two with Sam at saltfree and dont worry to much about depth and time.