My way of diving - How to hold your breath

[cody909]

Holding your breath for me is 90% mental and 10% physical. It’s all about relaxing. My first time holding my breath actually trying was 1:40, about 3 min later I got 2:40 I was stoked, but I tried about 2-4 times every day and by the 5th day or so of pushing my self it I hit my Personal best: 5:01 minutes. I was extremely happy. I just found my limit. At about 4:50 I started seeing clouds, white bricks (Lol) and feeling really good, Dizzy, I felt
Extremely high (not that I would know what that feels like right!? ).

Its all about your pain tolerance. If you can tolerate the pain for 3 minutes then that’s great, practicing your ‘static times’ (not moving) It just builds confidence and tolerance sure its good but the best way to get better is to actually get in the water and dive, When I dive ‘Dynamic’ (using your muscles while diving) if I am relaxing (barley using energy) is about 2 min to 2:30, Using energy changes it dramatically. If I use energy non stop at the bottom then my time is about 50-60 seconds. Savor your energy. Less motions = longer bottom time. REALLY IMPORTANT!

When you start pushing your self to farther limits and longer times then you will start to feel contractions (unwanted body movements, muscle spasms) they are fine, it actually builds my tolerance when I do Static and Dynamic breath holds. I start getting contractions at around 2:40 or so. but this is how I do my breath up.... It has worked for me, I am no pro. Just a beginner learning about my own body and what works best:

1) Relax 5 min - normal breaths
2) Exhale fully
3) Inhale fully
4) Exhale fully
5) Inhale fully - Pack your lungs (Take the biggest breath you can take until you cant fit any more air in)
6) Take your self into a different world, (think about anything but the pain)
7) You will have the urge to let out air, don’t do it.
8) Let the contractions hit, Once they start, they don’t stop (I get them around 2:40 or so)
9) The more you can control them, the less energy you use, therefore holding your breath longer
10) if you start feeling dizzy, seeing clouds, feeling good, then stop, that’s the verge of a blackout, at least what happen to me (I got “This” feeling at the 5 minute mark

I have never used a CO2 table or an O2 table I don’t know how they work and I don’t understand them. If someone can help me out, point me in the right direction that would be fantastic.
I Hope this helps, Let me know of anything I am doing wrong. Or I can change. I have found 95% of this info out on my own by just exploring how my body works.

-Cody

 

[Søren]

Great account!
I'm currently training for an event in august here in Scandinavia so I'll take your experiences and use them in my training.

 

[Jonta]

Cody are youre static times wet or dry. Im a begginer and i find it much harder to hold my breath in water than out of.

 

[Søren]

It should be the other way around.
The diver's reflex should set in when submerging your head in the water thus enabling you to "forget" that you're holding your breath to some extent.

 

[salibandy]

Cody, anyone who feels pain while breath holding should seriously consider stopping. I know what you mean, but for want of better word, I think pain is not the right word.

Soren, of course it should be the other way around. But not everyone is completely relaxed when their head is immersed in water.

 

[naiad]

Cody are youre static times wet or dry. Im a begginer and i find it much harder to hold my breath in water than out of.

Same with me. I have never managed to get my wet static times anywhere near my dry static times. I think it is caused by cool water on my face, because doing dry statics in cool air has the same effect.

 

[cody909]

Cody are youre static times wet or dry. Im a begginer and i find it much harder to hold my breath in water than out of.

My static in water is about 4 min max, my dry static is 5:01 I also find it harder to do static in water, but i have bad ADD there for i get extremely bored, its hard to sit there and do nothing, i think the ADD has somthing to do with it. When i am Diving i totally forget about breath until the last second i got. Underwater has amazing effects, get lost in the scenary :inlove:inlove

Cody, anyone who feels pain while breath holding should seriously consider stopping. I know what you mean, but for want of better word, I think pain is not the right word.

Soren, of course it should be the other way around. But not everyone is completely relaxed when their head is immersed in water.

Yes you are correct, Its not Pain, I believe it is an "Urdge" to breath, just simple signs telling you to take a breath and your running low on oxygen, as long as you can hold those back your fine.

 

[waxlips]

i like to sit and read this with my full face diving mask like i am right now. i can hardly breathe and it feels awesome because i love all these breatholding feelings in my body.

 

[Tony004]

Hey.

I have never used a CO2 table or an O2 table I don’t know how they work and I don’t understand them. If someone can help me out, point me in the right direction that would be fantastic.

If what you're doing works great for you, that's great, but personally, I find I can get a much higher max static by breathing-up a bit before the hold. This would be, instead of waiting five minutes and then taking two complete, deep breaths, breathing deeply with full exhales/inhales for 30-60 seconds being sure not to hyperventilate.

I also find that not swallowing while breathe holding really helps, as tempting as it may be sometimes. I also find that holding on a nearly full, not completely full lung, is alot more comfortable.

Static tables are training sheets to help you tolerate both low levels of O2 and high levels of CO2 over a period of time, as far as i understand it. I just make my own tables, but there are several links on this site to programs that will help create it for you. Essentially, a table has two parts: an O2 section and a CO2 section. The sections usually keep a total running time, so you won't have to keep resetting your stop watch. The tables record the times of rest and holding to be done consecutively during the workout, each workout consisting of about 8 holds. O2 tables increase hold time each time up to 80% of your maximum time, with a constant rest/breathe-up time. An example would be 45 second breathe-up, 90 second hold, followed by a 45 second breathe-up, 120 second hold and so on. This table increases your bodies tolerance to low levels of oxygen during a hold (low oxygen makes your vision blurry, among other things) CO2 tables keep a constant hold time, being 50% of your maximum hold time possible, with a decreasing breathe-up/rest time for each hold. An example would be a 30 second breathe up, 120 second hold, followed by a 25 second rest, 120 second hold. This table, when completed over time, should increase your bodies tolerance to high carbon dioxide levels (carbon dioxide induces contractions and makes you "hurt", among other things). My O2 table looks something like:
Rest Hold
00:45 02:15
03:00 05:00
05:45 08:15
09:00 11:45
12:30 15:30
16:15 19:15
20:00 23:15
24:00 27:30
Notice the continuous running time. This based on the last hold of 3:30 which is roughly 80% of my max of 4:15.

Anyway, I usually do 2 O2's and 2 CO2's a week. I have brought my max from a 3:00 to a 4:15 in just a couple of months. In my experience, it's effective, straightforward, and fun.

But I'm just a beginner too. I learned most of this from mucking around the site. Use the search bar. Someone out there can explain it alot clearer and better than I can. Good luck, be safe, have fun, and enjoy the trance of the hold!