Surf Survival Course

its about as easy underwater as short-burst urinating

suniliarity, rasta

 

I don't exactly practice holding my breath. But i do breathing exercises. For instance, yoga. Iv mentioned yoga a few times in the past week. Don't want to sound like a preacher. But it really does help out in so many diffrent ways. It's not just stretching and holding a pose. It's stretching and holding a pose, while remaining calm and breathing. Deep controlled breaths. Sounds easy but when you get into more intense yoga....it can get difficult and you'll see how it can benefit you in the water.

On top of that, after a yoga sesh I'll lay flat on my back. Relax. And breath. Slow smooth controlled breath. In for 5 seconds, out for 5 seconds. Then up it to 10. Then 15. Key is not to go 1..2..3..4..5..678910.

None of this is as extreme as the survival course. But i have noticed a big improvement in my ability to hold my breath as well as my ability to stay calm under water. When i go under i feel confident. I train for this. I got this. Relax. Pop up. That's not to say the sh*t doesn't hit the fan at times. But much less often.

And as far as that sensation of almost blacking out you mentioned. I have had it happen to me. The first time it happened really bad (actually on the day i mentioned in your turtle roll thread on the LB). When i came up it was completely black. I thought my eyes were shut but they weren't. That was the day i decided i would start working on my breathing

 

Yes, and similar to a meandering fart bubble trapped in ones wet suite

 

Meandering hahahaha i just try to channel those out of a sleeve instead of letting then escape in the "immediate whiff" danger zone

 

You should man. I think you'd like it. If you go on YouTube and search for "yoga for surfers" there's this chick. Has three videos. Yoga for surfers 1,2, and 3. Some is pre surf stuff, some is post surf, and some is good for non surfing days as a work out. The lady is really annoying. But it's good stuff to start out with. I suggest checking it out. Deal with her annoying dialogue until you get the routine and breathing down, then you can just do it by memory so you don't have to hear her crap. From there you can move to more advanced stuff depending on what your looking for.

That's how i got into it. It's greatly improved my back pain, breathing, and overall health and fitness without lifting weights and doing other types of workouts that can cause damage to joints and what not in the long run. Do yoga first thing in the AM and i feel energized and ready fir the day. Don't think it's the whole "breath in energy from the earth" thing. But it does in fact give me energy. Just dint think it's coming from the earth haha

 

Swimming laps can help improve breathing. Each lap you try to go a little longer without taking a breath while you stay calm and relaxed. Sadly, the longest I can do that is about 45 seconds. But the way I surf, nothing bigger than a couple of inches overhead, and usually just waist high,45 seconds should be enough.

I suppose it's possible to go longer than 45" if you're not swimming, just floating in the pool.

Yoga always looks very peaceful and beneficial. The reality was I tried it three different times during my life, all different teachers, and I just found myself bored. So many love it though and it sure brings them benefits.

Good way for men to meet women probably.

 

I joined the LA Fitness just for that reason. Most, if not all, of my work sites are in PA and I bought a place in PA that I'm fixing up. So I go to the La Fitness in PA to swim laps. I feel like I haven't lost any paddle strength when I go a little while without surfing. Plus, the see-through Yoga pants wearing young hotties in there would give a dead guy a chub.

 

I'd jump on that offer. Mine was about the same. Just go in there and act like an azzhole, like buying a car. It can't hurt to have the pool option. I mean, it does get flat and crappy at some point in FLA right???
Seriously, all I seem to see form you, Betty, Val, and Si are warm, sunny, waves, unicorns and fairies. Meanwhile, I look out over a dank, gray, muddy, post-apocalyptic work site and a gunmetal gray, small, choppy ocean.

 

Oh, I forgot COLD and WINDY as fock.

 

lol that's pretty funny I have a la fitness not too far me and I been checking it out specifically for their pool and its 19.99/month as well.only thing I don't like is its not a deep pool,but still good enough for laps.

 

yea I been procrastinating on that one lol,been wanting to go for weeks.

only thing holding me off is I belong to this weekend pool club thing ,its not a big pool at all,but it does go up to 14ft deep and that's the only reason I go,just to practice staying up in deepwater for a long time.hard to swim laps cause theres usually like 30 children in the pool lol.im like the only adult there that's not with their kid lol

 

I breath train a bit, but an old guy told me along time ago, if it's big, don't take off as soon as you make it back out to the lineup. Catch your breath and get your heart rate down to normal in case you wipe out on the next wave.

When its flat, I like to freedive in 15 - 40 feet with a dive flag in tow, for safety, but also for resistance. Very relaxing. Also, the second day of freediving you can hold your breath longer, your lungs are pre-expanded. So on big days, the day before is important. Smoke less jah, breathe more O2 that's my motto.