Improving STA

[nenrandir]

Hi!

just started free diving again, after 20 years of absence. Experimenting with STA lying in the couch, I found I can relatively easily do 5 minutes. Two warm-up breath-holds and then a full go. Breathing reflex kicks in after about 3 minutes or so. After 4:20 I started to feel quite uneasy, some anxiety creeping up, but watching the clock kept me motivated.

Now: How can I improve this? Good exercises anyone? Also, I want to improve in DYN/DNF, what can I do to improve this (in the water as well as out of water)?

 

[aris ioannidis]

try a no-warm-up dry STA every mornig when u wake up following a 3-4 minute breath up (slow full inhales and long exhales). I think you may get to 6 mins soon!

 

[nenrandir]

Thanks, & easy to fit into the daily schedule as well! I'll try to "do tables" (using the iHoldBreath-app) twice a week as well...

I have no clue as to what a "good" beginners time is, comparing with world records is rather far off to me.

 

[Bleeth]

5 min static after a 20 year break, now this just makes me wanna quit training completely. I've been doing static, dynamic, hypercapnic, hypoxic, apnea walking and running, stretching (from Martin Stepanek DVD) and packing exercises for about 4 months now and i've got nothing (or very little) from it. Still fighting very hard to get to 3:00 (on a good day i might hit 3:30) with contractions starting at 1:15 to 1:30.
I mean training is no problem when you know you're going somewhere, but right now it looks to me i'd have more success braking a brick wall with my head :head than breaking a 5 min wall. It looks to me that either Nenrandir is a god given talent or i'm a biggest failure in the history of diving.

 

[aris ioannidis]

haha, i hear u Bleeth! seems u are trying to hard and u want too much to progress quickly. I think u should take it easier and try to focus more on relaxation. Longer holding times will come when u do not expect it!

nenrandir, 5 min for a begginer, as bleeth eloquently indicated, is a very good performance! Many STA competitions are won with 6min holds.

 

[deepRelax]

5 min static after a 20 year break, now this just makes me wanna quit training completely. I've been doing static, dynamic, hypercapnic, hypoxic, apnea walking and running, stretching (from Martin Stepanek DVD) and packing exercises for about 4 months now and i've got nothing (or very little) from it. Still fighting very hard to get to 3:00 (on a good day i might hit 3:30) with contractions starting at 1:15 to 1:30.
I mean training is no problem when you know you're going somewhere, but right now it looks to me i'd have more success braking a brick wall with my head :head than breaking a 5 min wall. It looks to me that either Nenrandir is a god given talent or i'm a biggest failure in the history of diving.

Rest days are very important, be careful not to over-train. My quick 'advice' is: at least one day of rest before each apnea training. And also, be patient and let your body adapt.
Good luck

 

[deepRelax]

@Bleeth, in addition to my previous post:
Make sure your diet and overall daily-activity (i.e. if you're drinking too much coffee and working hard physically) are not influencing negatively your apnea.
Then, take 2 days rest (don't do any hardcore activity and no apnea). Go to your static training and ask someone for coaching assistance (stop watching your clock for a while). And just let it flow while repeating in your head 'My body is heavy and warm, I feel comfortable in the water', and when it gets more challenging: 'I am OK, CO2 is not important, I can do this' and deal with the contractions for 1'00, 1'30, ...
Freedivers with good static can deal with 3 min contractions or more.

Hope it helps.

 

[nenrandir]

5 min static after a 20 year break, now this just makes me wanna quit training completely. I've been doing static, dynamic, hypercapnic, hypoxic, apnea walking and running, stretching (from Martin Stepanek DVD) and packing exercises for about 4 months now and i've got nothing (or very little) from it. Still fighting very hard to get to 3:00 (on a good day i might hit 3:30) with contractions starting at 1:15 to 1:30.
I mean training is no problem when you know you're going somewhere, but right now it looks to me i'd have more success braking a brick wall with my head :head than breaking a 5 min wall. It looks to me that either Nenrandir is a god given talent or i'm a biggest failure in the history of diving.

@Bleeth: I dunno; having your perseverance an commitment to me seems more important and impressive than me being lucky. Hang on mate!

 

[Bleeth]

@Bleeth: I dunno; having your perseverance an commitment to me seems more important and impressive than me being lucky. Hang on mate!

Thanks m8, i'm hanging on till next summer for sure, wanna see once and for all if i can improve by being persistent (till now i could never maintain the discipline) .

@Bleeth, in addition to my previous post:
Make sure your diet and overall daily-activity (i.e. if you're drinking too much coffee and working hard physically) are not influencing negatively your apnea.
Then, take 2 days rest (don't do any hardcore activity and no apnea). Go to your static training and ask someone for coaching assistance (stop watching your clock for a while). And just let it flow while repeating in your head 'My body is heavy and warm, I feel comfortable in the water', and when it gets more challenging: 'I am OK, CO2 is not important, I can do this' and deal with the contractions for 1'00, 1'30, ...
Freedivers with good static can deal with 3 min contractions or more.

Hope it helps.

I from experience know that i can double the time after the contractions starts, so if my contractions start at 1:15 i stop holding my breath cause i know i can't do nothing with that. My goal in static is to delay contractions to around 2:30. Problem is that when i get contractions at depth (and we're talking only 20-25 m) spitting blood will often fallow on the surface, so enduring contractions is not my primary goal. You might have something there when you mentioned diet, i almost don't pay any attention to that (coffee i don't drink, but beer has been seen entering my belly from time to time)

 

[Simos]

Bleeth not sure if you have had a freediving course but it might help you if you get one.

It sounds to me that you are complicating things too much and possibly like others said, over-training.

You don't need to pack or do any of that. At most, just do some CO2 tables to begin with.

Like Aris said, just focus on relaxation - try taking in a comfortable breath (around 80% of full lung) and scan your body for tension, relaxing it part by part.

Also, I don't know if you pack or not when you do depth but you are probably getting squeezed if you are spitting blood - I would dive to shallower depths if I were you until I get that sorted out, squeeze is nothing to mess about with and with time it will leave you with permanent damage.

Most importantly, don't start judging yourself and get disappointed - everybody is different. Above all, make sure you enjoy freediving and apnea!

Good luck!

 

[Narsil]

Yeah, another thing, don't get too worried about the length of time spent having contractions.

Your experience of what's possible/ normal will probably change over time. I spend between two thirds and three quarters of a long static having contractions.

The main issue isn't when you get them, but how well you can relax into them in my opinion.

Guy

 

[aris ioannidis]

I spend between two thirds and three quarters of a long static having contractions.

The main issue isn't when you get them, but how well you can relax into them in my opinion.

Guy

two thirds of a long static in contractions; amazing!

relax into them - good advise, thanks Guy!