Breath holding techniques and lung expansion

don't short sell the leash.

 

from that perch i posted on this thread which was ignored.

 

Yeah don't leave home without it

 

Don't forget to do opposite breath deprivation. Dive in stated pool with empty lungs see how far you can get. Non surfers do not know the beat down a big wave will give you.

 

Here's my swim set focusing on breath holding. Does it help in surfing. Yes and no. Yes it improves your ability to hold your breath while your HR is up. No, when held down surfing there's the panic factor, causing you to lose air faster.

200Yard warm up

set of 50s freestytle. Interval 1:15
1 x 50 2 breaths down, 3 breaths back
1x 50 2 breaths down, 2 back
1 X 50 1 breath down, 2 back
1 x 50 best you got. aim for no breathing or only 1 back.

REST 1:00. repeat set.

200 yard cool down.

 

For when I go spearfishing and freedive, I'd always warm my lungs up with really deep, slow breathing for a couple minutes. It's definitely noticeable at expanding your lung capacity and lowering your resting heart rate, so you burn less oxygen. I could hold my breath sitting still for a little over 4 minutes underwater after some practice. I know sitting still is a lot different, but if you can stay calm during a beat down and not waste all your air flailing around, you would be fine.

 

You can get an app for your phone with co2 tables. Apnea trainer, static apnea. Practice those before bed a few times a week. I took the performance freediveing level 1 class this summer and it helped a lot. I did the 20M dive a few times and 3 min static breath hold. Before the class I could dive to 30' and have to come up immediately. At the end of class I was doing 35' dives that lasted 1:45.
Like a lot of people said its mostly about relaxing and not panicking but knowing the proper breathing techniques helps too.

I also do a few sets in the pool of swimming one length head up( that's hard) then swim underwater on the way back as far as I can.

 

shart boarder has admitted to developing a unique breathing system when he's eating meat.....TMI, sparky, TMI.

On a serious note, the pool workouts on the bottom of the pool are well worth it for developing lung capacity.

 

this is key right hear the more stressed you get the more oxygen you burn. when you start to panic you can do stupid things like drink the water.

 

Before you do ANY underwater breath holding training, please find out about shallow water blackout. Taking advice from people online is fine, but this kind of training is inherently dangerous. I'm encouraging you to at least find out about the risks, and for my own advice, I think taking a course in free diving is wise.

I just got back from a week of diving and and every dive it crosses my mind.

 

speaking of holding breath, I was doing a lot of that today inn the jerz. I got worked while paddling out.

 

South facing much the same. 3 nice waves in 2 hrs, with a few near miss efups, and some notable denials

 

gruvi......?!?!

 

Given the question posed by original poster, i.e., training to increase breath holds, it is then reasonable to do everything to improve.
The exchange of O2 occurs at the alveolar level. These cells reside in the lung and are continuously attacked by viruses, bacteria, and our own body defense enzymes. Emphysema occurs in ALL humans with passage of time due to the alveolar cells being damaged.
The alveolar cells are protected by proteins that are manufactured by your liver cells, secreted and carried to the lungs by your circulatory system.
Alcohol is very damaging to your hepatocytes (liver cells), thus reducing the amount of protective proteins available to protect lungs.
An example of one such protein - alpha -1 - antitrypsin. Although a rare genetic disease, some persons are unluckily born with a malfunctioning or absent gene. They get emphysema early in life, whether they smoke or not. Smoking does huge damage to them an ushers in their demise. Alcohol should also be avoided.
There you have it.

 

In my opinion no amount of breath
hold training will prepare you for big wave surfing. The training require to survive big wave hold downs is in fact, having experience in big waves from an early age. I don't breath hold train and I'm not a free diver. I can hold my breath at rest on the couch or in a pool for 2.5 minutes. I think guys like Healey can hold their breath at rest for 6 minutes. Still, none of that will prepare you for getting rag dolled 30 feet down in pure blackness being pulled in every direction after a fall in a big wave. None of those big wave guys are staying down for 2-3 minutes even in those situations. It's only experience in big surf and staying calm which allows you to survive that, not how long you can hold your breath.

 

And for a lot of people, it helps to keep you calm knowing you can confidently hold your breath for nearly 3 minutes, and even the worst hold downs are typically less than a minute.

 

How is Nathan Fletcher still a smoker? Something I've often pondered.

 

yes.
this.
adjusting to the INTENSITY of the situation.

 

Exactly, like a trip on acid , relax and enjoy the ride... The more you struggle the greater chance you will get hurt, know your limits...