Interval HyperCO2 Training ????????

[cdavis]

The article on IHT, interval hypoxic training, was fascinating and. .. imagine, me, a champion, and all due to the newest gee whiz gismo, or so the imagination went until I started checking on prices. Oh well. Still, the imagination was over-stimulated, and I quickly realized that I already have all the necessary gases and equipment to mix up a batch of low 02 in my handy scuba tank. All I need is an oximeter and I'm set. Almost as quickly I realized that my dives are mostly limited by my lousy CO2 tolerance, not O2, so this is really all academic. Then, THE BRAINSTORM, why not mix up a batch of hi CO2 gas and use that for interval training for high CO2 tolerance? Lots quicker than statics, which are way too uncomfortable and time consuming for me to do very much. It would be easy to mix a batch that would run my CO2 blood concentration off the charts. Boy, talk about urge to breath! With a little experimentation it should be possible to find a mix that isn't too uncomfortable. So, why not? Well there are probably a dozen reasons why this idea is either impractical, dangerous, or just won't work, but I'm not smart enough to think of any of them. So, how about it, all you physiologically educated divers. Does this make any sense?? Anybody tried anything like this?

Connor

 

[jome]

I did something similar once, breathing into a plastic bag for 10 minute intervals (it was leaking enough to allow some air exhange, but was still very high in co2). The result was red eyes, itching and red skin, diahrrea and loosing sleep for 2 days.

I think with "Intermitted Hypercapnia Training", acidosis would become a serious issue. Maybe someone knows better but this is just based on my personal experience, in short, not very good for you.