Too early contractions underwater

[Bitnerik]

Hello. I have a problem.My dry static hold about 4min and contractions strarting at some 3min.
So the problem is that my contractions underwater starting too early.After some 30sec of static i feel low contractions but realy often.It brings me out of comfortable dive and every contration eats my oxygen.
Maybe someone has had that problem and can explain how to fix it?

I think would help to train more underwater static.But maybe there is another way?

 

[oldfather]

hi there. (I am not a pro and there are more experienced persons here, so check my advise with that in earlier posts on similar questions)
Contraction is great if you like all the benefits which is supposed to come with it.

Remember that there is a bit of extra oxygen poor air in the snorkel that you breat in with every inhale, so you have a better buildup of carbon dioxide than you would on a couch.
You also burn oxygen much faster when diving than you would on a dry static. The combination of higher carbon dioxide levels at the start of the dive and an increased production of carbon dioxide while diving is likely what trigers an early onset of contractions.

Basic safe freediving principals suggest that it is best to encourage a higher CO2 at the start of your dive to make sure you get contractions well in advance of you getting any where near your critical O2 levels.
The contractions are your alarm clock telling you that you need to start on your way back up. In recreational freediving this is not a problem as we are not interested in setting records or challenge the depths. Your aim is to have the maximum number of enjoyable dives for the maximum number of years to come.
As your experience increase, your comfort with contractions is likely to improve together with your ability to stay relaxed. Your dive times will increase automatically. It is your abillity to recognise your safety limits and diving well within those limits which will get you to increase your dive times.
Asuming you have a competent buddy, with which you can dive 1up1down budy diving, you can start to explore your limits over time. Keep in mind also that your bottom times can improve as your dive session goes on, so dont expect to dive that long every time you get in. You work your way up to your longer bottom times.

There are tricks the pros use to make this happen quickly, but there is no need for us mere mortal eh.

enjoy the contractions.

 

[Dmitriydive]

Hi! How many years you are in the pool? How often are you swimming and diving? Did you swim when you was a kid?

I think that the thing is not in air consumption but in you mental status... If you can do dry static for 4 minutes that means everything is ok with the air consumption on the whole...

What are you thinking about when you put your face in water? I think that if you discribe the whole picture everything will be clear...

You must understand that if your are not moving and you are relaxed and your face in water your heart rate will decrease so you HAVE to do more then dry 4min, because of the mdr. If you can't get mdr working try to make it this way easy breath hold +rest 1:30+Breath hold 5contractions+rest... Go to 20 contractions, then rest for 4 minutes and make your best

 

[Porky Pig]

Agree with Dimitriy here - you should work on your relaxation in the water. Your contractions are coming way before they should and are not helpful - they are not relevant as an O2 level indicator, as your O2 will be fine a long time after your contractions begin at 30sec.

One aspect of this (assuming you are fairly new to diving) might be anxiety at being underwater (at depth) while holding your breath. If so, you may find that as you continue to dive deeper and get more comfortable with freediving generally, this anxiety will dissipate and the contractions won't come so early.

If you are already experienced in diving, you need to find a way to translate your dry static to wet static and diving (an obvious thing to say of course!). Perhaps you could first try to relax and delay your contractions during wet static on the surface (I assume your 30sec static is a hang at depth?). You could then try some shallow hangs (weighted for fairly shallow neutral buoyancy) and work from there. As your aim is to get comfortable in the water, going for long hangs/wet static while tolerating contractions may not be terribly helpful - this may have the effect of making you generally less relaxed in the water. Perhaps try exploring and gradually extending your initial comfort phase.

 

[HandsomeDiver]

Personally to me it sounds like your technique is off and you're burning through oxygen too quickly. If you can do a dry static of 4 minutes it means you know how to relax and can tolerate CO2. Improve your duck dive and try finning more slowly, it should help. Move as little as possible to get where you want to go.

 

[Kray]

Same. My static is more than 6 but i only last 4 min hanging at shallow depth, while some people can hang close or longer than their static. I still cannot figure why