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Newbie questions regarding Co2 Tables and Contractions

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Reen

New Member
Apr 1, 2017
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0
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Hi all :)


I started with freediving last year and now i have some questions. I did the SSI Level 1 course and liked it a lot,but had problems with the "deeper" dives. I couldn’t equalize my right ear and always had to stop at around 7m, so i will repeat this class this summer. I cant tell where the problems with the equalization came from, never had it before while scuba-diving or snorkeling. It just didn’t work on that day.

During my holidays I did a couple of dives, 8-12m without any problems, the sea wasn’t deeper there so i couldn’t try deeper dives.

To prepare for the coming summer I started with dry static training and now i have some questions.
What I understand is:

For a longer breath hold I need to concentrate on co2 tables, since the co2 level in the body "triggers" the need to breathe again.

So i started with co2 tables, but i found different informations and im not sure whats right or wrong.

My maximum dry breath hold is between 1:40 and 2:10, depends a little bit on the day and how relaxed I am etc. I always read that the breath hold time in co2 tables should not exceed 50% of your PB. So I started with a standard table.

2:00 prep --> 50 sec hold
1:45 prep --> 50 sec hold
1:30 prep --> 50 sec hold and so on
8 “rounds”

Did this 3 days in a row, but it was easy and it didn’t feel special. Thanks to the internet I found an App called STAmina, where you can customize tables and there is a table called Wonka. Reading about this type of tables was interesting and it seems to makes much sense, so I tried it yesterday.

2min prep à 50 sec hold
1 exhale, 1 inhale --> 50 sec hold
1 exhale, 1 inhale --> 50 sec hold
1 exhale, 1 inhale --> 50 sec hold
And so on
8 “rounds”


Didn’t feel special, so now I don’t know what to do and I have a couple questions :)

I always read about contractions, I know what it is and why it happens, but I don’t have them or don’t feel them. I know they can be different form person to person but im not sure now if I am doing something wrong and my training doesn’t makes sense and I am just wasting time?

What I can tell is, that im 100% sure that don’t hyperventilate.

So what can I do now? What should I change?
Longer holds or more rounds? What would be more effective?

Why shouldn’t the breath holds exceed 50% of your personal best?

Is there a limit of how often you should do co2 tables? I have seen plans with one table a week to plans with 2 tables every day.
A lot of questions :)

I will try to do some pool training before summer, but I would like to know what I can do until then.


Greetings from Switzerland
 
Hi from America,

I don't do tables often anymore but have a good amount of experience with them.

I used the classic rest for a min or so and hold increasingly higher each round.

You're right that contractions are different for everyone so it just takes yourself to know what's happening with your body.

I will be trying the sort of hold where you empty your lungs and do a hold. This will almost immediately cause contractions so that you can train to work with them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hi Frenzyfinder

Thanks for your answer!

If i do the same rest and increase the hold, isnt it an O2 table then? Now im confused :)
I will give the empty lung thing a try, thanks

René
 
My favorite CO2 table is as follows:

8 x 1 minute breath holds with only one breath in between.

This 1 minute hold is well within your reach, and by only having one breath in between each hold, you will not purge much CO2 at all between holds, and your contractions will start coming on after the second round. It's intense but it streamlines the whole process a lot and gets you right to the point of CO2 tables: experiencing those contractions!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
thanks :)

i will try that as soons as im at home.
just curious, if dont have contractions with 8x50sec and just one breath, why should they appear with a raise of 10seconds at the 2nd round?

That would mean that i dont build enough co2 within 50sec to keep some after one exhale or do i get something wrong?

br
 
Hi,

there a lot of tables for static excercise, Pellizari's Manual of freediving is one of them. There are variois options, for me 1 min breathing - 1 min apnea, 2 min breathing, 2...and more min apnea work fine. In the pool, empy lung sessions are an also an option..better with a buddy watching...Enjoy :)
 
thanks :)

i will try that as soons as im at home.
just curious, if dont have contractions with 8x50sec and just one breath, why should they appear with a raise of 10seconds at the 2nd round?

That would mean that i dont build enough co2 within 50sec to keep some after one exhale or do i get something wrong?

br

My mistake, I didn't realize you were already doing 50 sec holds with 1 breath between. If that's the case, and you don't find them particularly challenging, I would guess that you might want to focus on O2 tables to increase your max breath hold time. Your tolerance to CO2 doesn't seem to be a limiting factor, your overall breath hold length does. Just my thoughts though and I'm no professional :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hi Frenzyfinder

Thanks for your answer!

If i do the same rest and increase the hold, isnt it an O2 table then? Now im confused :)
I will give the empty lung thing a try, thanks

René

Hi Rene,

Keeping a constant rest would be an O2. Decreasing the rest would be CO2.. but as I said I find the empty lung really good


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I don't mean to hijack a thread- but does anyone have a phone app they would recommend? STAmina is one i will look for
in a new-comer's attempt to contribute:
One of the tools i used to prepare for big surf, which may or may not help with freediving, was to hold my breath while jumping rope. I would progressively increase the number of jumps i did without inhaling and either decrease the number of jumps for recovery breaths or keep recovery period the same.
If i am "out of my element" please excuse the interruption and carry on!

Frenzy, i keep seeing you pop up helping us beginners. thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Frenzyfinder
oh good lord. that is the last time i will search for "stamina" in an app store! lol! :wtf:

LOL

I use an app called FreeDive( the icon is a black mask) .. it's free and I feel it's the most simplistic and customizable


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