Breath holding techniques

swim laps.
speed 'em up then slow 'em down.....then speed 'em up again...

 

Layne Bechley was interviewed in a feature on women who surf big waves. She talked about alternate breathing while swimming freestyle, except instead of breathing every other breath to alternate sides ( ie: breathe to left, stroke, stroke, breathe to the right, stroke, stroke), she would breathe every 5th stroke, and after a while she increased it to every 7th stroke. I used to do this in the middle of my workout, going about 50 yards breathing every 7th stroke, then breathing every stroke after getting winded, then going every 7th stroke. It will increase your lung capacity while being active.

Word of caution. I am now 54 and don't train that hard anymore, and if you are over 45 I suggest you just swim fast, then slow, then fast again. And wear water wings in 23 footers.

 

you had a hog on the end of your shaft?
thats ok; happens to the best of it.

as far as big wave experience; i have some.
i consider myself 1 % of mark healy.

best advice is ....experience.
aka know when to say when.

the best way to get it is to work up incrementally.
such as ok i handled 10 ft wildo; maybe try some 15ft tres palmas...

hawaii is of course the best place for this.
except for your 40 new best friends getting in your way which makes things worse...

peru has a marvelous spot called pico alto....huge and threatening.....yet tamer and not as angry...
i'd do up rico then establish yourself at pico then consider being a geeko in hawaii...

 

Dude, you're pretty sick!

 

Take a class. It's worth it- Performance Freediving does them and there are two places licensed to teach by them in southern FL. So, not too far. If you are freediving especially. I took mine through Vortex out of Miami.

 

Practice makes perfect.

 

Run rock...aka grab a big bolder, swim it a lil ways out, drop it, swim down grab it, then run with it till you have to go up for air. Just like you see them doin in the movies.

Oh and anything that helps your stamina/lung capacity will assist in your breath holding.

 

might i recommend long sweet love making sesh-uns? go fast, then slow, then fast, then slow. breathe in, breathe out. wax-a on, wax-a off. etc.

 

I prefer to pinch my nose so none of the air escapes.

Also smoke Marlboro reds for cross training.

 

Go back and find the original posts Emass made that were pages long. Practice holding your breath till you have finished reading it. You'll be up to 4 min in no time man.

 

Smoke cigarettes while working out. Trust me. Dont listen to those fitness "experts". Oh and auto erotic asphyxiation.

 

When we were in high school living in SoCal, a small group of us used to skin dive quite a bit off Palos Verdes gathering abalone and attempting to spearfish with our cobbled together Hawaiian slings or old, hand-me-down spearguns. Never trained for it, we just did it. But we were just kids. Used to have contests swimming the length of the pool underwater.
Thinking about free diving and spearfishing, I came across this stunning pic:
http://www.opticstalk.com/uploads/14136/marlin_in_water.jpg

 

If you are practicing alone....don't. Take a course, then be more conservative than the instruction. Surfing,bodysurfing, etc. you are doing it without a "buddy" so if you pass out underwater, bye-bye. My 2 cents is that anyone Freediving should have a Freediving recovery vest. Period.

 

Do static apnea tables several times a day.

Download the "Static Apnea Trainer" app that has a dolphin icon. It has both CO2 sessions and O2 sessions that will do wonders for increasing your breath hold. These sessions are done OUT of the water, just relaxing in a seated or prone position.

In about 2 months I went from a crummy 45second hold max, to my personal best of 4min 20sec.

The CO2 sessions let you set the timer for how long you will hold your breath, then gradually decreases the breathing time allowed between breath holds. This helps your body gradually get used to higher CO2 levels in the blood.

The O2 sessions have a set breathing time between holds, but gradually increases the hold time after each breathing period. This helps your body gradually get used to the lower oxygen levels you experience toward the end of your breath hold.

You can do this training without the app of course, but the app is nice because you can put in headphones, close your eyes, and just wait for the signal while relaxing instead watching a clock.

 

Vince Fontane knows the deal.

 

Jay Moriarity 1978-2001 RIP