On my own have some beginner questions

[UnlikelyType]

Hi first I have read through the beginner thread...and still have some things I wouldn't mind help with

1. Does it matter I dont fit a discipline, I dont really want to say static (Apnea) or try to break a record by diving deep, I am just someone who wants to swim 5-10 meters down and enjoy the freedom, the sensual feel I guess. I would like to hold my breath for as long as possible and swim slowly underwater and just explore, I know this doesn't really fit a definition though.

2. How do I belly breathe without hyperventilating? I normally belly breathe for 1 minute, I am not even sure I am doing it right I just breathe in and my stomach goes up, then I take one last big breathe of air and try to hold my breathe.

3. Since finding belly breathing I can hold my breathe for 1 minute and 35 seconds lol, what other beginner techniques should I try?

4. I panic when I feel I cant hold anymore, I feel like sometimes my eyes are about to bulge out and like a rush of blood to the head when I come up from the water, I have been reading this is a false flag and I have enough oxygen and I am really ok but it really doesn't feel like that? As I panic I start moving funny and or trying to get to the surface.(only diving 1m down public pool practicing)

5. Is it still beneficial to practice free diving after a workout? Today I will complete weights, 30 minutes of hydrotherapy and then practice holding my breath, my heart-rate will be up though from the weights is it still beneficial to try though?

6. Does my BMI hurt me? I am 90 kilos and 185cm, I am big genetically never been under 85 kilos since 14 and wide shoulders, back, heavy bones etc does this hurt my ability to hold my breath? My fitness is not good, I can swim freestyle forever but can only jog 3km or so about 1-2 miles...

That's about it, I actually discovered the sport while being to sore from the gym to swim...I hate running so thought I'd simply do some swimming without breathing to try and increase my cardio fitness and then I became fascinated with trying to maximise my time under water.

 

[UnlikelyType]

7. When I dive to 3m I have intense pain in my head...? I have heard you equalise by pushing air out your ears but I feel like letting that oxygen go reduce my time under water?


8. I have menieres disease, which means there is a problem with fluid in my left ear I can sometimes suffer vertigo attacks on lands, although not quite for sometime, what does the pressure from the water do to your ears does anyone know?

9. I hold in as much air as possible then when feeling a little underweather release half my breath through my nose...and then I have to come up not long after that, is releasing through my nose a bad idea? For some stupid reason 'swallowing' also gives me temporary relief? I have never had stomach movement or anything so part of me thinks I am just not pushing enough.

 

[charlie.]

do a course most are starting up now springs here and a level 2 would take you to where you want to be. but to answer a few: hyperventilation as very dangerous and is easy to do with the wrong breath up (try and stay neutral till your lasts breaths (never full and never empty)). dont try to much at once its very confusing underwater and easy to forget things. when your at the end of you dive and you feel your getting to your limit take it easy dont go up too fast and try not to look up (it puts pressure on the corotted artery.......could be that rushy feeling). breath holds are best done with your heart rate as low as possible so it would be better before than after a workout (get some cardio in as well much better than weight training). equalizing is so very very important if you are having problems or cant..........you cant dive. never ever get rid of o2 underwater......never.
if you want to freedive dude do a course or at least fine someone who has some experience and buddy with them. hope this helps sorry for no technique but im no instructor and some are there easy to read wrong and could put you in danger.

 

[HydroApprentice]

Hi UT, nice for checking in and sharing your thoughts!

I think the main thing to achive your goal of comfortable bottom time is relaxation. This the main key to have a good time in the water Equalization and general technique are the next thing you should work on, but I think the best idea would be if you would look for a freediving course. It's great to meet people with the same passion, and you will learn a lot. Furthermore, it's also a good occasion to meet new diving buddies. Safety is the main concern and the urge to breathe is not always a reliable indicator for when to come up. You should search the forum for "shallow water blackout", that's some scary stuff. In principle, freediving should be never done alone. The moment you black out without assistance, you'll drown. Thus, the buddy system. I am not sure about your medical condition, but maybe you should check that with a doctor, to be sure that it doesn't interfere with your diving. I can image that a bout of vertigo could be very dangerous underwater, especially if there is no buddy present to get you safely back to the surface.

Learn to relax, learn some basics and be comfortable in the water. The rest will fall into place.

Cheers, and dive safe!

 

[HLanger1955]

Besides to what the other guys said....nice hints can be found in textbooks like Umberto Pelizzari's "Manual of Freediving". It forms the base of the Apnea Academy Freediving courses and is't that expensive. Have fun down there and take care !

 

[charlie.]

Besides to what the other guys said....nice hints can be found in textbooks like Umberto Pelizzari's "Manual of Freediving". It forms the base of the Apnea Academy Freediving courses and is't that expensive. Have fun down there and take care !

second that. although the manual of freediving is pretty full on in terms of info, ian donalds underwater foraging is a good beginners level book and if you find its flicked a switch with you defo get the manual

 

[JennyWren]

1) No, it doesn’t matter if you don’t want to work on competitive disciplines. There are all sorts of freediving, including recreational diving where you work on increasing your comfort underwater so you can spend more time at depth, and as you say ‘enjoy the freedom’. You may find that working on some of the competitive disciplines can help you with your recreational freediving, and vice versa, but it is entirely up to you what kind of freediving you like best!

2) As other people mentioned, make sure you are not breathing too deeply. A good way to breathe up is to inhale for 1 or 2 seconds, then gently exhale for 10 seconds. Repeat this and you will start to feel your heart rate drop. You want to ensure that you aren’t breathing too deeply or quickly and that you aren’t doing anything that raises your heart rate too much.

3) You should take a course to see what good techniques are out there. If you start out with good habits it will be easier than trying to fix things later on.

4) If you are diving to the point of panic then you aren’t relaxed. It might be that you are just not used to the high levels of CO2 near the end of the dive, or you just aren’t sure what your limits are. Back off a bit, make sure you have a really good buddy that you can trust, and slowly slowly work on increasing your comfort in the water.

5) Not sure….

6) There are freedivers of all body types. Obviously being in better shape is helpful but there doesn’t necessarily seem to be a ‘perfect’ body type for freediving. If you look at people who dive competitively, there are all shapes and sizes.

7) You shouldn’t feel pain when you dive. You need to equalise earlier. Equalising isn’t an option. Unless you are starting to dive quite deep the amount of air you use up equalising should be pretty small. I would work on equalising right below the surface. Don’t go deeper until you can comfortably equalise.

8) I would talk to your doctor about this.

9) I would suggest only releasing the air at the end of your dive (coming up, maybe the last 6 feet or so). Doing some diaphragm stretches before your dive might help with feeling comfortable when you are full of air.

 

[Apneaddict]

My grandfather has menieres and I am familiar with the symptoms.

I'm hoping that it doesn't surface with me.

As the severe vertigo is an issue, I would not be comfortable going to depth with it personally... The disorientation and vertigo could be absolutely disastrous at depth. It would be like magnifying the effects of nitrogen narcosis many times over.

I've never heard of someone with menieres freediving. Most doctors know little about it and nothing about freediving... So getting an educated, objective opinion will likely be difficult.