Dry static tables - should I change them?

[Baltazar]

Hi, everyone.
Guess I should start with some info concerning my PB and CO2/O2 tables first.

My present PB is 4:05 or 4:15 - not sure, as I hit the reset button instead of stop once I had seen the "4" in front.

I set my C02 table for 50%: 120 sec. breath holds, 120 minus 15 seconds rests. 8 loops.
Thing is, I feel it's a bit too easy. I do not hyperventilate (no fast or deep breaths. Just regular ones), do not pack as I don't know how.
I mostly get like 2-3 contractions, which begin around 90 seconds.
btw, isn't that too early? Is there a way of delaying it?

The O2 table seems fine. I don't struggle, yet it's not a walk in the park either. If the math is right, holds are around 80% of my PB.
120 sec. + 10 sec. 8 loops. Final hold - 190 sec. Each rest is 120 sec.

I train four times a week (2+2 obviously ;P)

Would be grand if you shed some light on the topic.
Thanks!
Jacob

 

[Ms Mer]

Building up your tolerance will help with the contractions. If your CO2 table seems easy, try increasing your hold by 5-10 sec. May not seem much but after your 5th hold at a longer duration, you'll know if you've increased it enough to push yourself a bit more. You might want to start with just 5 sec longer and do a table like that, rather than jump straight to 10 sec increase.

Similar with your O2 table. If you feel it is easy then increase the holds by a few seconds - start at 125 sec and increase by 10 sec. See how that goes.

My contractions start at around 90 sec but come sooner as I progress through the table.

Do you do any wet training? Best thing really is to join a club, get in the pool and practice with others. Dry statics are good additional tools, but really apnea is about getting wet and is the only way to see real improvement.

Also, allow yourself time to improve. It's not all about the numbers. As someone said in another thread on the same subject. The longer breath holds come in time and relaxation.

 

[ShallowGuy]

I had similar problem at one point (my CO2 table was too easy). Someone here advised me to change from the system I used previously (2:00 down pyramid until 1:00. This 1:00 breath up I was repeating). So I've changed it to pyramid going down from 1:30 (breath up) to just 15s. The last one became really hard and I experienced improvement since doing that.

I also train 4 times a week now, but instead of 2 CO2 tables and 2 O2 tables I do 3 CO2 tables and only 1 O2.

I improved the time before my contractions appear (at least in dry attempts) from like 1:30 to (at the good day) to 2:30, sometimes 3 minutes. But it my be due to my new, more relaxed approach.

Please be aware that I'm very new to freediving so take what I wrote with a bit of reserve.