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[dadinabarrel]

Hi Guys

I've been in the ocean all my life with quite a bit of time spent spearfishing and snorkling about for fun. I now want to learn how to freedive properly.

I'm sure I've come to the right place, where would I look to get the basic information so I can start training at my local pool and in the ocean?

I'd like to be able to extend my underwater time to make me a better hunter and increase my depth capability for the pure pleasure of being down there for as long as possible. I'm not competitive by nature except against myself so I'll be happy with staying with fins.

I've heard about CO2 tables but as a surfer I always thought the training was about getting more oxygen, what I'm reading in the freediving world seems to point more towards CO2 as being the key so I'd really like to learn about the science.

I may do a course at some point but I'm sure plenty of people have great success off their own effort.

Thanks for any and all the assistance, you have a great community here, thanks for letting me on the boat

 

[Acidjack]

Hi and welcome to the world of freediving It's possible to do some workouts like running or swimming which helps for greater O2 intake, bigger blood volume, better lung function etc. Hyperventilation does not give you more oxygen but increases the risk of blacking out. So never hyperventilate. There are different ways to train your CO2 tolerance and its recommend to do this regulary. After the breathing reflex kicks in you got much more time left until O2 saturation gets low, and you have to deal with the sensations of high CO2. For me the best way to experience this is by holding my breath at empty lungs, it won't take long, probably 30 seconds at the beginning and you will feel these sensations. Just holt it as long as the first contraction occurs. There are some books you can read and also a couple of information you can find at the Internet, at YouTube and here at deeperblue. I'll post some links later this day. I highly recommend to read as much as you can find.

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[Acidjack]

Relaxing and breathing is an important part of freediving itself and for preparation too.
In the attached heart rate diagram there are three different ways I did breath, the first third I did not breath consciously, the second third I did breath 6 second in, hold for 4 seconds with full lungs, 10 seconds out, and again 4 second holding on empty lungs.
You can see the change in the diagram pretty good. It's all about a good rhythm.
The heart rate is strong related to the breath. In the last third I breath out, and hold it as long as the first contraction kicks in, took one breath and than did the same again.
As you can see the heart rate dropped pretty much there. So CO2 is your friend, high CO2 saturation is the reason for this. Hyperventilation decreases CO2. Make the strange feelings of high CO2 saturation to your friend.

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[dadinabarrel]

Thanks for your replies guys, as an aside, I speared some nice Coral Trout and Bald Chin Groper this morning in 8m of water off Dampier. I'm looking forward to being able to do it in 15m, then 20+ with a bit of breath training

 

[dadinabarrel]

Forgot the photo

 

[J Campbell]

Relaxing and breathing is an important part of freediving itself and for preparation too.
In the attached heart rate diagram there are three different ways I did breath, the first third I did not breath consciously, the second third I did breath 6 second in, hold for 4 seconds with full lungs, 10 seconds out, and again 4 second holding on empty lungs.
You can see the change in the diagram pretty good. It's all about a good rhythm.
The heart rate is strong related to the breath. In the last third I breath out, and hold it as long as the first contraction kicks in, took one breath and than did the same again.
As you can see the heart rate dropped pretty much there. So CO2 is your friend, high CO2 saturation is the reason for this. Hyperventilation decreases CO2. Make the strange feelings of high CO2 saturation to your friend.

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This is an interesting chart -looks like it covers about 23 minutes - how many breath holds are covered on this chart?

 

[Acidjack]

I don't remember the exact amount. Probably four. All at the end, with empty lungs so just 45 seconds in duration. Until the first contraction kicked in.

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[dadinabarrel]

Started doing CO2 tables today beginning at 1:00 holds, looks like I'm starting with a maximum of about 1:45, I'll add 0:05 to the hold each day. Let's see where this goes.

Is it ok to do CO2 tables every day?