Question for the advanced freedivers

[Renejr83]

This question is regarding contractions. Those with 5+ minute statics, do u get contractions early(like between 2-3 min range) and learn to deal with them or are they delayed? My PB is 3:15 static and i didnt get contrctions til about the 2:15 range.
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[efattah]

You can get contractions early or late, it depends on many things. Later contractions doesn't always mean a longer static. The latest contractions I ever got was at 6'43", but by 7'00" I was near a blackout... that was with LOTS of breathing (too much). I have done 8'00" with first contraction at 5'00". But 3'30" of contractions is the longest I can manage. If you breathe less beforehand, the contractions come earlier but are less intense. If you breathe more, the contractions come later but feel worse.

Tom Sietas would get his first contraction at 2'00" and go over 10'00".

Some small number of people don't get contractions at all, or if so extremely rarely or late. Mifsud says he gets his first contraction at 9'30".

With practice you can learn to resist contractions which prolongs the apnea and reduces your heart rate. However, near the end of the apnea it is important to allow the contractions to happen since they delay the blackout due to increase blood pressure in your head.

 

[Kars]

My contractions usually start right after 2'. When I'm rested 2'30" and when 'm lucky at 2'50" - I've a pb of 7', though I admit I did not do statics for a long time.

As of now I've got nothing more to add to Eric's most excellent post

 

[Renejr83]

Eric, Thanks a lot that was very helpfull and insightfull. Kars, Thats crazy that u get contractions at 2:30mins and still have a 7min static.

 

[ericvrp]

@efattah, I was told my Tom Seitas that his contractions start at 4min.

For me contractions start at about 2:30-3:15 regardless of breathup/warmup. Only with excessive hyperventilation they start at 5-5:30. Warmup and a little breathup do make the contractions smaller for me. So for me is is different than with efattah. If I breathup less contractions come at about the same time but are more intense. Vasoconstriction is much more intense for me with less breathup though. I'm still searching for the right balance which is hard because it's a moving target. On a good max attempt I have about 5 minutes of contractions but they are hard to see for someone passing by. The first couple of minutes with contractions are the most difficult for me. When I've commited myself to the 'dive' I can relax a little more and things get easier also because of CO2 narcosis probably.

 

[rxcnc2]

That contractions are a wild zoo is a well-known fact.
However there is something that I never really understood and perhaps some of you can shed light: how come that contractions come later at each warm up? At least for me.

 

[efattah]

Why contractions come later:
- Spleen contracts, release blood cells; more blood cells = more CO2 buffering
- Kidney releases bicarbonate; more bicarbonate = more CO2 buffering
- CO2/breathing stimulus lowers metabolic rate, causes vasoconstriction, blood pools in the core; this means the limbs don't consume as much O2; less O2 consumption = less CO2 buildup = later urge to breathe

Maybe other reasons as well...

 

[cdavis]

Thank you, Eric. That helps my thinking a lot.

It would seem that the same process is involved in frc diving. With practice(as well as warmup), time to the first contraction gets longer and longer, contractions get weaker, vasoconstriction, etc, seems to cut 02 consumption, and dives get longer and longer.

Connor

 

[Narsil]

Yeah, seems to be huge variability in terms of when divers get contractions in statics and during depth/ dynamics.

If I'm in 'shape' and well relaxed, I get contractions very close to 3 minutes into a breath hold. If I'm very fully packed they come a bit sooner. The major factor for me is water temp. In Japan recently for example, with the pool being around 33 degrees, my contractions came at 2 minutes and change.

I concur that when you get contractions doesn't make a major difference to your physiological limit. Early contractions aren't everyone's idea of fun though. But I guess freedivers are essentially sick puppies who just love intentional suffering!

Guy

 

[efattah]

So Guy, you are pulling out 7 minutes worth of contractions... ?

 

[Narsil]

No, I think close to 6 and a half was my wors... I mean best effort.

Five + more commonly in a longish hold, probably explains why I don't train STA often.

Guy

 

[trux]

Five + more commonly in a longish hold, probably explains why I don't train STA often.

Guy, perhaps you could train just the comfort phase - working on making it longer - faster and more efficient relaxation and DR. Well the DR is in linked with contractions, but I believe with training you can get strong bradycardia and vasoconstriction without immediate strong contractions. In this way you could train often, with joy, and not having to suffer 6+ minutes of contractions on each hold

 

[cdavis]

Seems to be working for me


Connor

 

[Narsil]

Sounds tempting, like the voice of the devil Trux . I might just give that a go when I get back into training again.

Guy

 

[cdavis]

Not sure it would work for competitive divers, but for serial recreational type divers (me) the comfortable approach to training seems to work pretty well, if slowly. I got forced into it by losing my training partner and a general aversion to pain. Training the first 1/2 of the dive (comfort phase and light contraction phase), all at about 60 percent inhale, has led to longer and longer time to first urge to breath, lighter and lighter contractions when they start and a longer period before contractions get uncomfortable. Seems like it is related to better DR. Pursuing this, I've recently gone to a much lower level of inhale, which shortens the dive quite a lot. Don't know yet if this will have an improved training effect.

Sometimes the devil speaks truth, you just have to be very careful listening to him.

Connor