Introduce me to... packing, please.

[ShallowGuy]

I'm new to packing or rather I should say I've never really tried. My intention now is to introduce packing as a lung-expanding exercise. I don't want to really pack fro diving.

Anyway, here are my questions:

1. How do I know I packed? I'm mean I tried packing but I'm sure if I done it correctly.

2. In Eric Fattah's manual there is a section about packing. It says - feel the difference between breathing in and sucking in the air... I don't get it...

3. Increasing lung volume with packing - how to do it safely? Should I just pack and hold breath with this extra air in my lungs or should I do some stretches?

4. Any easy way to learn it?

 

[Apneaddict]

I've stopped packing completely.

It's a potentially dangerous crutch.

Beware.
Might be best NOT to learn it at all.

 

[MarcinB]

Packing can be dangerous if done without caution. However, even if you do it slowly you are still at risk of lung damage because some people get barotrauma easily. During my last competition one guy got it after static with packing (the air got out of the lung and accumulated under skin on his neck). Fortunately, the injury was not severe. If you're not going to use packing for your max attempts I would stay away from it. There are many other stretches than can expand lung volume considerably. However, if you still want to try it remember to do it slowly. Start with no more than 5 packs and give your lungs sufficient time to adapt (like several weeks) before increasing the number of packs (again by not more than 5 or even less). Don't stretch after packing, it increases the risk of injury.

 

[bucksgill]

How do the risks involved with reverse-packing compare to packing? I can (personally) see much more benefit for reverse packing than regular packing but is the danger still the same? It's not something I'm in a rush to learn but I'd definitely like to in the future.

 

[MarcinB]

The danger is completely different. Reverse packing can cause lung/trachea squeeze.