Where do you do statics (apart from the pool)?

[naiad]

So, where do you do it? Who spends a quiet night in lying on the sofa and trying not to breathe? Who makes use of long train journeys, getting a few funny looks from other passengers? Who entertains their colleagues by turning blue and falling off their desk? And have any of you got into trouble for this or had some serious explaining to do?

There must be some good stories out there!

 

[flyboy748]

I used to do them while driving... :duh thinking "I'll be careful":naughty Anyway, I don't do that anymore!

I also used to do some breathing patterns to help me relax and fall asleep, but my wife dosn't let me do that anymore either!

I heard a hilarous story from a freediver (who shall remain nameless :mute) who decided to do some statics on a long drive. He had a hypocapnic blackout while doing 60mph on the freeway! He woke up driving in the median hearing whap whap whap from those little plastic markers... Apparently freediving can be dangerous even dry! :head

Aaron

 

[tylerz]

Static done while sleeping (witnessed by girlfriend on more than one occasion now), once until I hit contractions, did not wake up.

Statics done while driving, before I heard of freediving or any of the issues with apnea.

Statics done in my homemade dunk tank as shown in the following link:
http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?postid=331917#post331917

Statics while in polution filled areas, such as busy streets or while being subjected to the after-effects of certain close relations eating a bean dish.

Statics in an elevator with strangers who did not seem to wish to wait until their floor.

And the majority have been done on my bed and many various floors.

Well there is a few of my seemingly choice locations.

Cheers,

Tyler

 

[pat fish]

not sure it counts as statics or dynamics... i use the walks from office to the train station in the evening to practice apnea walks (counting steps). apart from that i personally find dry statics very 'unpleasant' to practice although i know it would have benefits. Ah ya and sometimes i do repetitive pack-exercises not over 1min though in different situations (like while cooking, in front of the pc...)

yours pat

 

[naiad]

I sometimes do dry statics in the changing room before a pool training session. I was doing this in a cubicle, lying on the floor, when I suddenly realised that it might be disturbing/amusing to see my face appearing under the door! I still do this, remembering to keep a reasonable distance between face and door.

I also do statics on the side of the pool, getting comments like "You look like a mermaid!" and, when I was lying on the floor and not breathing, "See, that's what freediving does to you!".

Apart from this, my favourite places are the bed and floor.....if you are already on the floor, there's no need to worry about a soft landing.....

Lucia

 

[Michael]

I once did a static in the courtroom (I am an attorney) and the judge came in just before I was about to hit my target time, so I sat staring at my watch, while the judge repeated: "Mr. Antinori . . . MR. ANTINORI."

 

[kingohyes]

Hehe

Originally posted by Michael
I once did a static in the courtroom (I am an attorney) and the judge came in just before I was about to hit my target time, so I sat staring at my watch, while the judge repeated: "Mr. Antinori . . . MR. ANTINORI."

Hehe something similar happened to me. I was having the exam on my school, and decided to hold my breath. The silence was total in the class. I started to fight contractions, and my face started to get a redish colour. Suddenly the silence in the class exploded into hard breathing( I tried to silence it ) The whole class turns at me including the teachers. They stare at me for about 5-10 seconds, and all I could come up with was that something got stuck in my throat

 

[AltSaint]

Warren Street tube ( London Underground ) station each weekday at about 08:00, at the bottom end of the northbound Victoria line platform. I apnea walk as far as the escalators.

The trick is doing it in such a way that isn't obvious to the other passengers.

No arrests so far....

 

[Donna]

'No arrests so far....'

He he he, thats probably because you look like half the other commuters on the underground

Donna

 

[naiad]

The other day I was waiting for ages in the bank, and I made use of the time by holding my breath. When it was my turn, I almost forgot why I had gone to the bank, and stood there holding a stack of papers while looking completely lost. :blackeye

AltSaint, I will try the underground apnea thing soon!

Lucia

 

[samdive]

When I lived in London I used to do a static every time I got on an escalator. It worked quite well - you could either run up holding your breath in which case it was a good dynamic or you could hold your breath for a long time and chill out. Either way you do not have to breath tube air.

Angel Islington was always the hardest

And on the odd occasion when I really didn't feel like doing a static, I avoided the escalator and ran up the stairs so I didn't feel like i had copped out..

obsessive moi?

Now - I do statics on the exercise bike (so not statics really) in the gym. I have to make sure that both people either side of me are wearing head phones so they don't notice my weird breathing noises and wonder why on earth I am getting so puffed...

and of course, whenever I see water. But the bubbles get in my eyes in the bath

Sam (and Deepest Bear)

 

[naiad]

Now I know of four London Underground apneists, including myself. Maybe we should make some new disciplines: static (on trains/platforms/escalators) and dynamic (walking up escalators or stairs, or around stations). Being noticed by passengers or staff results in DQ.

Sam, my local station is Angel Islington and I think it has the longest escalator in Britain, or maybe Europe, or something like that, so it is a real challenge for the commuting freediver!

Lucia

 

[seagull]

sleep apnea

my main 'practice arena' appears to be the bed i.e. I have the 'problem' of sleep apnea, it seems zzz. That is, for me it isn't a problem (at least not yet!), but it scares the crap out of my wife!

Maybe it's not so funny - a friend of hers died of a heartache (but he was 75 or so) after being diagnosed a couple of years before as a sleep apneaist Apparently the strain on his heart over years and years of not sleeping properly (he was going into apnea between 15 and 20 times an hour, as observed in a sleep clinic, which meant he never got into the deep sleep that you are supposed to REALLY need!!!) did him in.

On the other hand, maybe that explains why I was always good at diving, even without practise?

I even went to the doctor about this, but he wasn't terribly helpful, suggesting a throat operation, that 'probably wouldn't help anyway' - I turned it down.

I don't suppose anyone else experiences this, do they?

 

[efattah]

I also have a bit of sleep apnea. I generally don't sleep very well, so I connected my oximeter to my finger with an adhesive sensor and set the alarm on my oximeter to 80% (so it would wake me up). Each time the alarm would wake me up I found myself out of breath! It woke me up about 20 times a night. Stopped doing it because the alarms made my sleep even worse!


Eric Fattah
BC, Canada

 

[Kars]

Some post are really funny reading, but not all.
I also know a girl who does apnea in her sleep, and likes to freedive. Any insights or tips are always welcome!

I think I going to do some public static apnea too, just for the reactions
Let's see what I can up with!

Love and peace,
Kars

 

[flyboy748]

I've had the sleep apnea too, but only a couple of times. Both times I was dreaming that I was trying to rescue someone underwater, and woke up still holding my breath with the contractions comming almost continuiously (usually longer than 4 min. for me) My wife didn't noticed either time thankfully, otherwise she probably wouldn't be as supportive of my freediving!

Aaron

 

[Michael]

For those with sleep apnea, there are exercises you can learn to do to keep your soft palate pulled up and your tongue pushed forward. The more you practice these while awake, the more it becomes subconscious and will carry over into sleep. Your throat will not close, and you will not suffer from sleep apnea (unless you are one of the rare ones who sleep apnea is not structural).

 

[tylerz]

Ya I think the only reason I am having sleep apnea is for exactly the reason you state, training of the brain during conscious hours. Practicing apnea regularly can influence the brain to have a new activity to attempt while sleeping. But just like I overcame peeing in my bed (some years ago) by being extremely afraid when I had a dream of pissing on a tree or such, you could probably reverse the tendency as well if one put the effort into it.

You probably have a higher likelihood of sleep apnea (non-structural) if you are the type to have extremely lucid dreams or have a tendency to perform sleep actions (sleep walk, talk, gesture, etc...). I have a long history of all of these.

 

[alein]

Skytrain apnea

I've developed a habit which I believe is shared by a few other Vancouver-area freedivers: Skytrain apnea (we have a subway system which is above ground on raised tracks; hence, Skytrain).

There are a couple of different forms of this; I believe Tom Lightfoot confines himself to breathing only while the train's doors are open. This leaves about 15-30 seconds recovery breathing in between holds. Since my CO2 tolerance isn't quite up to his standards, my usual method is to breath up for one leg (from station A to B) then hold for two legs (from station B, through station C, to station D). This typically means a 1-2 minute breath-up for around a 4 minute hold, repeated three or four times in a trip.

I find this to be pretty good practice, not just for apnea, but also concentration: it's easy to get distracted when the train lurches to a halt, people move around, and a voice from nowhere says, "The next station is... Commercial Drive." Also, it's fun to watch people's facial expressions when I start to pack.

I highly recommend this practice to anyone who rides public transit. Plus, the train is electric, so it's better for the environment


-Adam

 

[maytag]

Don't know if it's okay to resurrect an old thread (please forgive me if it's not)...

One of the things that swayed me to freediving over scuba is the potential to practice towards improvement anywhere, anytime. I hate struggling to stay awake during conferences/meetings when the room is dark, the air-conditioning is on full-blast, and the speakers drone on through the microphone forever. So, I thought happily, I now have an activity to occupy myself and keep myself awake during such occasions - I can just practice static apnea!

I learned that it is more discreet to practice empty lung (or partially empty lung) apnea in such situations than to do a full lung hold... :mute !!!!!!!

Cheers to all,