Breath hold

[One-Breath]

hey there, i have a 2:30 breath hold out of water and when diving i seem to only be able to hit about a minute and dive 40 feet. i know for a fact that my problem is me thinking about holding my breath and it gets to me. what is the best thing i can do to increase breath hold and depth? thanks

[FreeRestriction]

Originally Posted by One-Breath

hey there, i have a 2:30 breath hold out of water and when diving i seem to only be able to hit about a minute and dive 40 feet. i know for a fact that my problem is me thinking about holding my breath and it gets to me. what is the best thing i can do to increase breath hold and depth? thanks

When your diving your Building up CO2 at a much higher rate. Best way to increase your dive time/ Breath hold ability as a beginner is probably doing CO2 tables to increase your tolerance to CO2 to reduce the urge to breath so soon.

Try this on the couch of your choice:

Hold 60sec, Rest 3sec (exhale, inhale and hold again) X10 rounds. Reduce or increase the hold time as needed to keep it difficult but possible to complete.

What your doing is building CO2 faster then you can clear it out so your body gets use to a higher CO2 level which reduces the urge to breath so soon. You have PLENTY of O2 in you... right now your bodies just not liking the elevated CO2 levels.

[One-Breath]

i assume theres some Co2 tables online? and thankyou

[FreeRestriction]

Originally Posted by One-Breath

i assume theres some Co2 tables online? and thankyou

Yes i just gave you one. lol if you use an app on your phone it will recommend something like 60sec hold 60 sec Rest and decrease down to a very short Rest... i think you get more bang for your time if you just start out with bassically no rest and build CO2 right off the bat. And your very welcome.

[FreeRestriction]

As a beginner youll notice how almost daily you can increase the hold times 5 seconds or so as your body rapidly improves.

[surfandscience]

empty lung exercises, and getting in better shape help too.

[speargunhunter]

Originally Posted by surfandscience

empty lung exercises, and getting in better shape help too.

and dont forget to RELAX when your diving. it conserves o2.

[kwtony]

I like to go through the abc's. Gives you a letter count of how long you held your breath.

[FreeRestriction]

Originally Posted by kwtony

I like to go through the abc's. Gives you a letter count of how long you held your breath.

me too but i always lose track at "ellomenopee".

[speargunhunter]

Originally Posted by FreeRestriction

me too but i always lose track at "ellomenopee".

[SpearMax]

Originally Posted by One-Breath

hey there, i have a 2:30 breath hold out of water and when diving i seem to only be able to hit about a minute and dive 40 feet. i know for a fact that my problem is me thinking about holding my breath and it gets to me. what is the best thing i can do to increase breath hold and depth? thanks

Cool screen name One-Breath - welcome to Spearboard.

I see from your profile that you are 16 years old and your pic below is in your profile. Nice fish!

You are asking some really good questions. You might want to look into a freedive course such as FII or PFI or others. There are instructors near you.

Also, check out the DiveWise website here: http://www.divewise.org/

There was another young man that joined here a few months ago with the screen name GoProTheron. He lived in the Bahamas and was asking all sorts of questions. He recently died in the Bahamas Blue Hole while freediving. RIP

GoProTheron lives on in his Internet soul through this post:

How Much Deeper Can i Dive With freediving fins and proper gear?

I believe we can all learn a lesson from his brief time with us.

Be safe One-Breath and have fun! Tony

One-Breath

[anthropisces]

Amen

[flamencoguru]

Originally Posted by One-Breath

hey there, i have a 2:30 breath hold out of water and when diving i seem to only be able to hit about a minute and dive 40 feet. i know for a fact that my problem is me thinking about holding my breath and it gets to me. what is the best thing i can do to increase breath hold and depth? thanks

Definitely take a professional freediving class with an agency like FII or PFI. You're achievements with be great an surprising. You will become a much safer diver.

Originally Posted by surfandscience

empty lung exercises, and getting in better shape help too.

In my opinion, the empty lung exercises are too advanced for this young fellow assuming the fact that he is not familiar with proper breathing techniques (I think we can safely assume this). Getting in shape is always a great thing (although at this point in his freediving journey, it's going to be the technique that will make the biggest difference).

Peace, Errol

[anthropisces]

Your breath-hold is function of efficiency which includes relaxation. Many factors influence your state of relaxation.

You may notice that at the beginning of the day that your dives last 30 seconds. Later they may go out to 1:30 and beyond. That phenomenon is probably due to the familiarity you gain over the course of the day with your surroundings. It is also due to the mammalian dive reflex, which becomes more pronounced over the course of a day of diving.

Please come to the Big Bang Open tournament weigh-ins and stop at the Palm Beach Freedivers table. Our president, Andrew Green and I would like to meet you and hope you will join our club. There are many experienced divers in the club who can help make you a safer diver with increased capabilities including bottom time.

You'll also want to come to our next club meeting in which Dr. John Shedd will present on diving first aid. If you really want to progress, begin making such contacts in the community. Notice that I didn't say "just dive alot with friends". Evidence suggests that age may have an effect on the likelihood of a blackout event. You may be more prone to such a thing simply because of your age, which is why it is critical that you take your participation in this sport seriously (you are not just "snorkeling").

Feel free to PM me and/or looking forward to seeing you at the BBO, or on August 16th at the Palm Beach Freedivers meeting at the Florida Freedivers shop in West Palm Beach at 7:00pm

[ahoullis]

i have the same problem out of the water i can hold my breath 3 min anyday, but in the water i can do like 1:30 i hope some of the things on this thread help me out, cuts my time in half grrr, best time 4:40