Exhaling question

[Bindlestitch]

Hey guys, I'm new here and new to free diving. I've learned huge amount of info the past week just from running through old threads. But there is something I haven't come across yet.
I find when I do dry statics ,that once the uncomfortable feeling of having full lungs becomes to much, I exhale and can hold for another 30 secs or so.
My question is: Is this a dangerous practice when diving? Does it increase the chance of swb if I let my air out for the last 30 secs of a dive? When do you guys normally exhale?
I appreciate any insight anybody can give me.
And I want to say thanks to all of you for being here to further the sport of free diving. Without this forum I'd be lost.

 

[O'Boy]

exhaling

It could be pretty dangerous, especially when you are deep in the water. In some old thread, somebody'd written that he exhales when coming from CW attempt. It was something like exhaling last 5 secs of the dive to prevent the lungs (coming from compresion) sucking O2 from blood.
Try to find that thread to make it clearer.

 

[donmoore]

Good question,
I am only up to 4:30 dry static so I’m definitely no Eric F., who I hopes gives us his answer too. When I first started I felt like letting some air out toward the end of the hold, but after about a month, I know longer felt the pressure. I think my lungs got used to being full. I have noticed this same thing happening in my wife and children when they learned to do statics.

I have done a lot of experimenting and in time it doesn’t seem to matter much, maybe a little less when letting it out.

After learning what packing was and how to do it, I have experimented with it and found for statics it did not increase my time for the hold in which I packed, but did cause pressure discomfort toward the end of the hold. A lot of people use packing to increase their lung volume by stretching, sometimes before the final hold, but not on their final hold. This seems to work for me.
Don

 

[Alun]

exhaling during a dive is not a good idea - it's pretty dangerous. generally, there is no good reason for exhaling during a normal freedive.

if you pack before diving, then (i think) it is a good idea to exhale just a little (~25%VC) in the last metre of your ascent to stop your lungs from expanding beyond 100%VC very quickly. packing used to be considered an advanced technique, but not so much these days. (packing is a way of inflating your lungs beyond their normal capacity using your mouth as a pump.) i wouldn't even consider trying to pack until you feel comfortable holding a normal breath.

you'll need to spend some time getting used to taking and holding full normal breaths- as donmoore said. it will probably feel uncomfortable if you're not used to it. with time you could try packing, but be careful not to overdo it- build up gradually. it is possible to injury yourself by packing!

another 'advanced technique' are what are known as 'empty lung dives' or 'negatives'. the idea being, that you dive down along a line after exhaling your air. you may have read about these in the forums. the purpose of such a dive is to simulate pressure on your lungs. they typically last only 30secs or so. i wouldn't try these things if you're new to freediving- just spend time clocking up normal breath holds.

being new to freediving, it's particularly important to have a buddy with you who understands the risks and knows what to do in the event of an accident.

alun

 

[Bindlestitch]

Thanks guys! You've confirmed what I had suspected , but I wanted to make sure. I'm glad I did. It sounds like it could have been dangerous.
I'm also glad to hear that some of you guys had the same problem when you started. It's encouraging to know that I can overcome it.

 

[ivan]

hi

I always exhale for the last part of my statics when contractions get to bad I blow out a comfortable amount of air then hold for an extra 15 - 40sec it sure feels better.

cheers