Will I know when I get Samba/other Qs?

[XyseR]

i have a few other question so if you're willing to please try to help me out

hey i've been activly praticing(..well i've been sick for a few weeks) static apena(land) for around two months now i belive. i've also read a lot about samba, equlization, ect. my main question is that will i *know* when i get samba? people say it's when your face/body shakes uncontrollably. this mostly is a question to people who've had samba/BOed i guess. do you mentaliy know you're too close to BOing or in the danger zone for samba? since i belive that i haven't got any where close to samba i would like to have a little better idea of what is it. i'm guessing if you look at your hand it will be shaking even though you're not doing anything?

my other concern is that after holding my breath for so long my mind starts to get weaker and i really want to breath (it's tough holding your brath for so long!). this happens around 4:00 (and my PB is 5:00). the wave i've solved that is by pinching my nose so mentaly i don't have to hold my breath as long. not too sure how to phrase it but when i pinch my nose it's like extra help. is this bad? i know it's a lot safer to BO if it happens on land beacuse your body can inhale oxygen.

someone said that pros can take 80+ contractions. i'm not worrying about the amount but what's "normal" for people's max contractions? the max i've counted is 90 at 4:35 when i started getting contrations at 1:30ish. i guess i have good will power :t or whatever. i think the reason why i get contractions so earily is since my body isn't used to the higher levels of c02?

sorry for all the questions.

this has to do with the other qestions i belive. after 3 minutes of holding my breath my face starts to get a little warmer my face feels like i'm trembeling a bit and it gets harder to hold. this always happens at the 3 minute mark. at frist i thought it was samba but after a lot of talk with friends who are into freediving and such we've decided it's just a raction from my body. i don't quite know how to explain it but if you've ever tried to hold your breath and trun your face red. it's like that :t. if this is samba which i hope it isn't should i stop my breath holds there? will i ever be able to pass 3 minutes w/o getting samba or whatever this is. **out of all my little concers i'd say this is most inportant to me so if you're reading this and you don't want to answer all of them i'd like you if you could answer this one.

k thanks a lot
xyser

 

[traverse diver]

well, there is not much of that i can answer and be sure of, so i will mostly keep quiet, but i just want to say congradulations on 90 contractions. You have the will of...something with strong will.

I just wanted to comment on that because i cant get anywhere near that

-Cam

 

[jome]

Contractions are completely individual. It's pointless to compare numbers...

Some get 10, some get a 100. And there are those who get none...At first you might think that they are the lucky ones, but in fact, for those people it is sometimes very VERY hard to know when to stop.

It's hard to describe the feelings of samba, but usually there will be some kinds of spasms or convulsions. A very good indication is loss of short term memory. For example, if you look at your watch right when you stop it, then breathe and recover, but don't look at the watch...Try to remember what was the last reading on it? Then check if you were correct. If you can't remember it right, you were probably very close. If you're counting contractions, that's another good way to judge your self. Did I loose count in the very end?

Signs of approaching samba. Well that's a tough one, since it again is highly individual. But I will say this. If you let your self go into the zone where you actually start spasming, you're already too late to make an acceptable recovery. The oxygen levels in your blood keep DROPPING still after you start breathing for several seconds. if you start your recovery already spasming, you will most likely have a very bad samba or even BO.

I like to refer to "samba" as partial loss of conciousness. I think "samba" as a term is too playful. It's a serious thing. And it is a partial blackout, you're already loosing parts of your mental control and activity. Loss of motor control is just a symptom of that. It's not just a sign of "having tried really hard" or "doing your maximum".

 

[naiad]

I know when I have had a bad samba or BO because there is a feeling of 'skipped time' like a change of scene in a movie. And also I might remember spasming.

About contractions, I haven't counted...

Lucia

 

[XabreTooth]

Contractions are involuntary, right? Which part of the body contracts actually?

I'm not sure i have ever experienced a contraction (dry PB is 5:02..); during the last 1-2 minutes in a breath-hold, I 'swallow' several times to fight off the unease - but that's not contractions, is it?

 

[DeepThought]

As Jome said, contractions are pretty personal... Some get them every 10 seconds while others can get 2 per second. Some don't get them at all. Counting contractions is good for comparison with oneself. Some prefer to count the time since start of contractions to end of apnea, again, to compare with themselves.

XabreTooth, usually it is the diaphragm that contracts, I think sometimes the intercostals and larynx can also though it is not as common. Many beginners don't have contractions at the beginning, even with 5 minute performances (same thing happen to me). It seems like the body can learn how to do them after enough apnea exposure.

 

[pioe19]

One time I was training in the pool alone. Before static on the bottom i had short hiper-resting. And I dive. I remember that I flowed to well on the bottom and I grab her. Before I close eyes I looked at the clock, it's been maybe 15 seconds. And I closed eyes. I thinking about water, I had listed somthing imagine voices. I thought thats taken maybe 1 minutes. I look at the clock and I shock! It's been about 3:30
This is no one explain that I had BO on the bottom pool and if I wouldn't recover my consicous I think that I doesn't write this post.


Now I know that was stupid and I try training with asecurations.

(Sorry for my english )

 

[lungfish]

It is never a good idea to practice in-water statics alone..... Some might argue the merits of diving alone but any time you are pushing yourself you should have someone watching you.

The best way to deal with contractions is to practice C02 and 02 Tolerence tables weekly. I don't count contractions and I don't worry about my personal best in statics.... I worry about getting to the next phase of my tolerance tables.

I have been doing them long enough now that I don't often get any kind of discomfort really, and when I have breathed-up correctly, packed and purged my dive durations continue to go longer. It isn't that I don't notice or that it won't get desparate eventually, it (02debt/C02buildup) just doesn't feel the same.

Regarding Samba, I agree that it is serious business. Self-rescue awareness and techniques are critical. You have to be careful because you can Samba after you get on the surface and are breathing. Usually, and especially when diving alone, my first manuever when I get topside is to shove my snorkel in my mouth and float on my face until I am well ventilated. Also, make certain that you take plenty of time between dives. Twice as long on the surface plus breath-up time between every dive.