Packing

[jwp266]

Hiya,

I'm fairly new to freediving. I used to do breath holds a bit and reached 2 mins, but since david blaine's stunt i have been re interested in it. I can do 4:00 witrhout packing (static apnea)

Now, i can;t work out how to do packing, can some please give me some help? thanks very much.

 

[matrixed82]

Check out this post
[ame="http://forums.deeperblue.net/showpost.php?p=497783&postcount=12"]http://forums.deeperblue.net/showpost.php?p=497783&postcount=12[/ame]
Its a very good trick using a bottle to learn how to pack. You should really take it slowly with packing, you can easily hurt yourself by packing too much.

 

[jwp266]

how much air should i expect to be able to pack? i can pack very little at the moment, i pack a lot but only fill a small amount. how can i increase the air per pack ratio?

many thanks

 

[sickbugs]

i dont think packing will help you much, what you should work on more is your ability to hold your breath longer, without worrying about getting extra air into your lungs, that will help you much more in the long run if you are interested in freediving, if you want to learn how to do packing properly, i would suggest doing a freediving clinic like PFD or apnea academy, where they will teach you the technique properly. from most posts i read, it can be a dangerous thing, and probably not worth the damage it could cause, especially if you are a beginner.

 

[tylerz]

Packing is the most irrelevant thing to work on, especially when you are beginning to train in apnea. It is the equivalent of wearing an extra large volume mask so you have a larger supply of oxygen. Not much of an accomplishment or progressive factor in your training. So, if you are attempting to advance at apnea in general, work on everything else first. Packing is really something that should not be considered for anybody except those training to compete, and then it is even debatable whether to involve it.

To emphasize the point, when I was doing dry-static training, reaching around the 8min mark on a regular basis, I decided one day to see how far I could go without packing; 7:30. So, it was everything but the packing that was really assisting in advancing my apnea. My lung volumes have not appeared to have changed to any significant degree since I began either.

Recommendation: don't pack.

 

[naiad]

I agree that packing is not the best thing to work on. Almost all of my longest statics have been done without any packing, and I can pack quite a lot, so it doesn't make a significant difference.

There is also a risk of getting hurt by overpacking, and of having a packing blackout.

When I do pack, it is usually because I can't take a full breath the normal way, because of a past injury.

Lucia

 

[jome]

Packing is definately not something you'll need or want to learn very early in your "career". Like stated, the performance benefit is not as dramatic as one might think (but it is there, no question). But there are so many other aspects you can improve before going there. Besides, it makes the whole experience much more uncomfortable - learning to relax while packed full is an art all by itself. Therefore I would not recommend it at all for recreational diving - it literally takes the fun and enjoyment out of it and why do you dive if it is not fun? But, competitive divers will usually learn it at some point, as it can give that extra edge that may be needed when competing about the final meters and seconds.

However, I'm not going to totally bash packing. Like Naiad said, it's sometimes very useful in getting a full inhale in the first place. Like if your chest is submerged or you're wearing a thick wet suit. Getting a full inhale may be just labouring. But inhaling until comfortable and then packing moderately is much more relaxing.

As to how it is done, simply:
-Suck in air to your mouth
-Close mouth
-Push air into lungs
-Repeat

If you squeeze your nose or use a noseclip, there are only two ways the air can go - to your lungs or your stomach. Play around with it and when you can get it to go "somewhere" without opening your mouth and NOT doing a swallowing movement, you're on the right track.

If you're doing it right, you should start to feel a unmistakeable feeling of pressure building on your chest. Remember to go slow, ie. don't pack to the limit of uncomfort, just until you definately feel it and stop. Then increase it gradually over time.

Also remember, if you increase your packing amount to x and then take a long break, you have to start carefully building up to it again. Many divers have injured them selves by starting to pack huge amounts out of habit, while not being properly stretched to do that...

The kind of "extreme packing" that some WR level divers do, I would recommend against totally. The risks are far greater than the benefits IMO...

 

[naiad]

Also remember, if you increase your packing amount to x and then take a long break, you have to start carefully building up to it again. Many divers have injured them selves by starting to pack huge amounts out of habit, while not being properly stretched to do that...

That's true. I can only pack a lot if I have been doing a lot of packing recently. I lose the ability in only a few days or weeks if I don't do it often, and it would be easy to hurt myself by overdoing it.

 

[XyseR]

i've used to packed, i stoped just recently to do some breath holds... my major question is: when i pack, my heart pumps way quicker, which then uses more 02, but i don't know if i should pack at all. i mean, if i acuatlly go freediving.. i'd pack, but since i haven't, should i just not pack for awhile? if so, when should i repack? after i've gotten x minutes w/o packing?

side question... how can i prolong not having contractions. i get them around 1:00-2:00, i'd like to have it like 1:45-2:00 all the time

does that have to do /w c02 talorance?

 

[SEDATE]

my idea about packing is needed to expand lung ,
as we know there is no way to increase our lung capacity but there is a way to fill more than usual our lung, the packing helps in this way but holding breath is different , my idea is to fill %70-%80 without packing, to much air is too much stress, the best way is to adaptation body under minumum 02 , i have tested on me wih full breath inhale worked vice-versa ,
3/4 inhale works perfect, no packing , all the best

 

[lizardland]

The way I learned packing was to pack through a straw. Do a full inhalation (learning to do that properly is far more important than packing -- if you can pack loads then you probably didn't inhale fully to begin with). When you've reached the end, stick the straw in your mouth, fill your mouth with air, block the end with your finger and then put the air into your lungs (with a bit of tongue work). After a few tries, move on to doing it without the straw, breathing through pursed lips (as you would holding the straw) and blocking with the finger. Then move on to not using your finger. During it all you'll probably want to pinch your nostrils with your other hand or wear a noseclip.

I was always told that on general dives the extra air you get from packing was just replacing what you used up in the time you spent packing in the first place rather than diving. For example if you spend 10s packing then that's 10s you could have been diving, are you gaining more than 10s worth of air by doing it?

 

[larsemil]

i can pack alot. i gain almost 2litres when packing. as i have been diving cwt i´ve noticed that after a dive with packed lungs i caugh and may spit blod, but after a dive with lungs only full because of normal breathing i dont. even going frcdiving - wich gives biugger pressure on the lungs then my normal diving does not get me to spit blood.

 

[naiad]

I have read that packing can increase the risk of lung squeeze. It is a useful technique for some people, but it's important to be careful.

 

[livefree]

hi there everyone...does anyone have any suggestions regarding the best breathing exercises to do as a warmup to beginning dry static breathholds.

Thanks

 

[TNdiver]

packing probably isnt going to accomplish much for static because of the added stress. The advantage is extra volume at depth when diving( for easier equalization). From what i understand most injuries from packing are from not exhaling partially in the last few meters of ascent. When you dive deep, you usually get a blood shift, which reduces the space in the chest, and reduces the available area for the lungs to re-expand into, so you have problems (spitting blood, etc.) it is VERY important to remember to exhale on the way up when packing.

 

[MKDVR]

Hmmm. I thought what I was doing was a form of packing. Light at that. I'll do 3-6 slow exhale/inhales. The last inhale I'll start sucking a mouth full (mouthfill?). I've found that I have to be careful to be slow or end up hyperventilating. What would you call my technique other than wrong?:ko