Increasing Lung Volume

[freeflypony]

Hey there everyone.

I was just wondering if anyone knows any good techniques to increase their lung volume. I'm assuming that with good training, having a larger lung volume will always increase your bottom time? or am I wrong?

Is packing to maxium and stretching a good way to increase or is there any other way people know of?

 

[azapa]

it depends what your ultimate goal is. You won't see a competitive spearo packing or stretching (we'll I have not, there may be some) but you will see competitive freedivers.

I measured my VC last year and it was 6.8lts, non-packed. Since then I met Eric, Pete (Laminar) and Connor, and they convinced me packing was not the way to go and I have given it up, although I was never very good at it. The lack of frequent packing has made my volume shrink, to about 6.5lts.

My dive times and comfort is however 50% better than last year.

Bottom line: do you really need to go down that road? there are so many other ways to improve. The best one I have found is to dive every week.

 

[alexrom1207]

There are lots of possible exercises you can do to increase lung volume. Packing is one of them and it seems to work for competitive freedivers but personally I have found that it makes me uncomfortable which shortens my bottom time rather than increasing it. I bought the "Manual of Freediving" by Umberto Pelizzari and read through it. It has all the answers to this question and a lot of others; so, I would definitely recommend reading it. It also has pages of exercises and stretches with diagrams and instructions on how to do them. These will increase your lung volume while at the same time making your chest cavity flexible enough so that discomfort will be minimized and therefore bottom time will be greater. Or maybe they just increase your chest flexibility and lung volume increases as a result (chicken and egg dilema). But the end result is a greater lung volume. You can buy the book here [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Freediving-Underwater-Single-Breath/dp/1928649270]Amazon.com: Manual of Freediving: Underwater on a Single Breath (Freediving): Umberto Pelizzari, Stefano Tovaglieri: Books[/ame] I hope it is helpful.

P.S. everyone on deeper blue has recommended this book so you don't have to take my word alone for it. Just do a search for the book and you'll see lots of other opinions as well (all positive).

Happy Hunting,
Alex

 

[azapa]

top book, 100% agree, I use it almost every week to look something up.

 

[Pav]

I found this book pretty hard to get into. I am not a great reader! , but think i am wrong trying to read this book front cover to back page.

can you suggest the good chapters!! to focus on.

 

[freeflypony]

Thanks everyone for your answers. I think I might order that book

 

[alexrom1207]

The entire first section of the book is all the medical aspects of how our bodies do what they do and why. While it's good to know this, it's not really necessary to becoming a better diver. Try skipping to chapter 4: Breath and Relaxation and moving on from there. All the exercises I was talking about before are in chapter 4 as well.

 

[jay cluskey]

I found this book pretty hard to get into. I am not a great reader! , but think i am wrong trying to read this book front cover to back page.

can you suggest the good chapters!! to focus on.

hey pav
umbertos book is great for reference at stages of your progress you can read parts and go back because it is so full of advice you could not humanly possibly absorb it all in one go
good luck
dive safe
james

 

[apneaboy]

The answer is in the Big Blue

 

[Stephanos]

You can buy the book here Amazon.com: Manual of Freediving: Underwater on a Single Breath (Freediving): Umberto Pelizzari, Stefano Tovaglieri: Books I hope it is helpful.

P.S. everyone on deeper blue has recommended this book so you don't have to take my word alone for it. Just do a search for the book and you'll see lots of other opinions as well (all positive).

Happy Hunting,
Alex

isn't this book kinda old? i mean when was it written? is it still usefull or outdated?

 

[jay cluskey]

isn't this book kinda old? i mean when was it written? is it still usefull or outdated?

the book is timeless as training and physiology remain the same and its co written by one of the greatest freedivers of all time

 

[Stephanos]

i'll buy it then !!!

 

[omega3]

I`ve got the best one of them all...dive a lot!!! (breathing under pressure that is) No seriously, thats what my diving medical doctor claims and proves to me each year. He tells me (apart from many other things and has now started singing old Scottish ballads to me on the treadmill...and telling jokes when hooked up to the ecg to tell if the subject really finds his jokes funny or not....not!:blackeye) that the lungs when subjected to prolonged periods breathing gas at pressure.....their volume increases! Proves it each year too by comparing my lung volume readings over the years. All is not rosy though and I forget what the drawback is, will ask him when I see him next. The difference is considerable though!

 

[Mullins]

I suppose if you were sucking from a dodgy regulator all the time your breathing muscles would get stronger, but I don't see how that would increase lung volume as that's more related to flexibility. Did your doctor explain why that might be the case?

Re the Manual of Freediving: I'm not a fan and was pretty disappointed when I read it. Good if you're just starting out and don't know how to put a wetsuit on, not so good if you're looking for more advanced information. There are a couple of very dodgy statements in it as well. Just to give another opinion

 

[Tony Babowicz]

So Mullins, seeing that your lung capacity is almost larger than life, do you have any advice for us mere mortals on increasing lung volume? Other than genetics, is it possible to grow your lungs?
My 200th post... I must dive more, post less.

 

[chrismar]

So Mullins, seeing that your lung capacity is almost larger than life, do you have any advice for us mere mortals on increasing lung volume? Other than genetics, is it possible to grow your lungs?
My 200th post... I must dive more, post less.

I believe it helps to be over two metres tall with a long torso...

Dry pack stretching and rib stretching helps me, but we're talking about one more litre when packed. There are plenty of easier ways to get longer dives than that

 

[Jon]

I thought breathing on scuba all the time actually made your freedives worse- or is that another old wives tale???

I've heard others (military divers) comment that continual use of high P02 gases causes your fitness level to go to pot.

Any data to back on of this up- or knock it down???

Jon

 

[Mullins]

Other than genetics, is it possible to grow your lungs?

Packing!

That's all really...

 

[cebaztian]

It has been proven scientificly that lung volume can grow (with certain exercises, mainly packing). Over three months some 2-3 dl. We are talking TLC now, not TLC + pack.
I believe this increased lung volume will return to normal if not trained.

It is also known that swimmers increase their TLC over years of swimming. The use of the diafragma with a lung under pressure makes diafragma stronger.

And yes packing will grow you TLC but my experience is that this has to be kept up or it will be reduced again.
I would add that certain stretches would be beneficial too, stretches that packing can not do.

Something intresting maybe:
Lung volume and apnea

Sebastian

 

[Andreas Peper]

Hi cebaztian,

Have you or others heard of similar effekts of running or cycling on lung volume?... or is it swimming specific and not an effect of high VO2 while training? if the second is true, do you think it is connected either to:
1. Breathing pattern/volume
2. Movement specifity (In this case handbiking could have similiar effects- anyone knows?)
3. (feels kind of unlikliy to me) pressure of environment wich is bigger also for swimmers
4. Combination of points above

cheers Andy