Dynamic Apnea questions

[fergs103]

Hi guys, so starting about three weeks ago I decided to get into dynamic apnea(w/o fins) on a spur of the moment decision. I was swimmer through high school and didn't have a problem with 50m and 75m came without too much concern. The other day though I decided to push for 100+ and got to about 110m I figure, however, I cannot recall the last 25m or so and only remember looking up to see my buddy standing in front of me. Quite frankly that scares me quite a bit and I'm wondering if that type of thing is normal or if I should be concerned with pushing near or beyond that distance again. Any insight would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys.

 

[JennyWren]

On my 'PB' in DNF I totally don't remember the last 20m or so. I didn't come up clean so it doesn't count - a sure indicator that I pushed too hard on this one.

 

[mystiach]

I'm from a swim background too - I think because our swimming skills are so far beyond our apnea skills, it's easy to get big numbers purely from our technique and experience in pushing our limits. And by swimming fast! I haven't come close to repeating my first attempt (even though I am certain I could go much further now) purely because I don't think I'm able to accurately judge my limits.

You'll find that most people on here advise against training with max attempts, rather, you spend time learning how to deal with high CO2/lactic, and more importantly, recognise the hypoxic signs. If your focus is in the right place sometimes you don't really notice distance - I mean if I count kicks, I am not aware of anything other than the number, and even then, I'm barely conscious of numbers until I know I'm close to the wall. I totally disassociate - I am still aware of my body, but it's a state where I am not really aware of my surroundings.

There are lots of threads on training dynamic - and lots of threads about how to recognise hypoxia. I think it just comes with practise and experience - everyone's different, so you just have to learn to identify when your body says 'enough'. And the only way to do that is by practise. Maybe just set your limit to 75 for a few weeks and then gradually build it up, and see how your body's responses change. Oh - and always train with your buddy It's easy for us swimmers to be a bit complacent but as you have already seen, unexpected things happen...