Dry static apnea table: already too much?

[spin]

Hello everyone,

I'm Max, 24 years old and just getting interested in freediving. How I came here? I did my open water diving certificate back in 2006, but I rarely use it: maybe 10 dives in 7 years. When I had learned to stay calm under water, I already noticed that snorkling became easier and longer dives were possible without breathing.

In general, I'm more of an endurance-person. I'm tall and don't have big muscles. I don't handle intense physical training well, sometimes I even get hypoglycemia. But I can run/bike/swim for quite some time compared to the people I know. And - although I'm definitely not an athlete - my resting heart rate is around 45bpm.

This made me think that freediving could be a sports that I'm well equipped for. So, yesterday I started researching on the internet a bit. What I found was an App to train breath holding. It already had two entries: O2 and CO2. I didn't know what they were for (I know now), so I deleted them and created my own table. In less than an hour and about 12 cycles, I went from holding my breath for 1m30s (personal record until then) to 3m30s. The breathe-ups in between were 1 minute each.

I felt really good about such a great result. However, after reading some more, I now unterstand that what I did is not the way the tables are intended to be used. Most websites say you should go no further than 80% of your max. time (O2 table) and do no more than 8 cycles. I did 233% in 12 cycles.

So, was it really dangerous what I did? Because... I did feel perfectly ok.

 

[Apneaddict]

You did great... And welcome to the freediving lifestyle / journey!!

If you did 3:30 with a 1 min break beforehand... I think it's safe to say that your true max may well be well over 4 minutes. Relaxation is the key.

You can do a few warmup holds and then go for a max attempt with a 3-4min breatheup / rest beforehand.

Those 8 sets are guidelines and some of the easier ones were really warmups and not overly stressing. Don't worry about it.

Were you getting diaphragm contractions?? Most ppl freak out hem they get them the first time. You learn to relax and / or ignore them eventually.

Keep up the training (a few times a week) and try to get into the water with a local freedive group / buddy for technique work.

There is much to explore in apnea, be it static, the dynamic disciplines (fins and no fins), depth, recreational diving, competitions, travel to exotic dive destinations, spearfishing, etc!

There's enough to do that should keep you from getting bored!

Welcome!

 

[spin]

Hi Apneaddict,

thank you for the warm welcome

I don't really know if I had any contractions. After feeling more uneasy towards the end, my stomach started twitching somewhat. However, from how you describe it and from what I've read and seen elsewhere, that probably wasn't it. I still have to learn how to push myself further away from the comfort zone.

And concerning the freediving group: way ahead of you. I already found a swimming club that offers freedive training. It's quite close and if I read the website correctly, I will have finished my first lesson in 48 hours from now.

From what you listed, exotic diving spots is what interests me most. However, getting into a little competition doesn't hurt. Also, I always wanted to try a monofin sometime. So - indeed - it won't get anything near boring soon.

I'll probably go on reading some more in the forums, but don't consider this thread closed. I embrace further opinions.