Dry Breath holds, what are the benefits?

    thanks Rolo, I've been out of touch for a while, trippin', it's been a rough year man. I missed this place.





    Quote from av001

    proper surface intervals are also important, i know this is hard when fish are moving.


    I think this the only thing my watch is good for. i usually try to double down time


    agreed, there is a huge difference in my dives when I rush a breathup vs a long, calm breathup. One of the reasons I train on shorter recoveries is that sometimes you may just need to dive, you never know. Let's say you just came up from a dive and 40 seconds later there is a situation, your buddy is struggling with a fish on in the bottom 50' below, you may need to dive again to help.

    China V.I.P

    I had stair climber I used for winter training, I would hold my breath while keeping a average pace.
    Now I jog in place in a room that doesn't have any furniture to hurt me if I black out.
    I'm not going to talk times here as it's up to the diver to find a good balance.
    Cheers, Don Paul

    "Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home'' Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.


    Spearfishing Store the freediving and spearfishing equipment specialists.

    Quote from sdeisen88

    thats a good idea don,, probably similar exertion to finning on descent and ascent


    I've been doing this routine since 1985, I had a friend that was a ParaMedic spot me in 1999 to see what it was like to black out. I had tunnel vision but never got to the Samba stage. I just wanted to see what my personal limits were that day. Stay safe.
    Don

    "Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home'' Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.


    Spearfishing Store the freediving and spearfishing equipment specialists.

    Edited once, last by Don Paul ().

    I prefer the same Don, jogging in place while breath holding and also apnea walking around my lake. (on the grass part)


    I also do dry tables though because I think it is good for muscle memory type thing were you get used to the co2 build up and when you can deal with it to an extent then when you go diving your mind is used to the feeling and relax's a bit better, of course I dont over do my tables and I welcome the co2 build up to remind me to head for the surface, but, it just gives me a good sense of knowing I am ok and can make it there because my dry static practice. Hope this makes sense.


    I forgot to mention that when I do my O2 and CO2 tables I start with relatively easy tables but I do light walking in place in the beginning and then as the tables progress I do light jogging in place till my table is over, this is to simulate me descending and ascending using my muscle groups (legs) and using O2, otherwise the tables are just tables really and not helping because in real life diving you are using your muscles and O2...I look real funny though because I were a helmet in case I pass out and bonk the old bonker, wife says I am a bit crazy. Even the lightweight tables become difficult when doing light/moderate jogging.

    Edited once, last by black1 ().

    Reviving an old thread but... whats the cardiac benefit/benefit to newbie spearos of doing tables? I cant see myself doing them after I am an experienced diver that gets to fish many days a week, but right now I get to jump in the water once in a week if I am lucky. Beginning to develop breath hold and cardiac adaptation has to have some benefits for the beginning diver I would think. And this comes from someone that most people would consider relatively fit. Opinions?

    Good question, but somewhat already answered. I just read this thread again as it's a good thread to read more than once.


    Personally, a couple winters ago I used dry static tables alone to get to the 4 minute mark, but it gave me a chronic ringing in my ears that just comes back whenever I do them for a few days now. 'Point is, they can be easily over-done, especially when the benefits from dynamic apnea are more usable anyway. Do it like Don and you won't go wrong. (That sounds like a good Zappa song. A little green rosetta? No? ...Just me? I'm all alone on that one, huh? Damn. Ok... ...never mind.) Read the thread again brother... -just sayin'... :thumbsup1:

    Just read the thread and really enjoyed it, but i have a question. My dry static times are around 3:50-4:00, my total dive times are just below or above 1 minute at 40-50 feet, comfortably . I do both static and dynamic breath holds throughout the day , and longer dives are coming pretty easy. My concern is am i just learning to tolerate higher CO2 levels or increasing my efficiency. When doing dry breath holds my heart rate does not really drop, which has me concerned, if in the water my heart rate is high and i'm just unknowingly pushing myself harder ( young and dumb) . Any tips for focusing on efficiency and not CO2 tolerance. :confused1:

    Be safe ... Happy hunting .

    Dive more and relax more. Are you struggling to get fish or do you just want more bottom time?
    The only way to increase dive time us by diving more and learning how to dive better. Please don't seek longer dives for their own sake. It is a dangerous pursuit

    i like to spear fish

    Thanks Lunker, its efficiency i'm after , trying to relax more during dives. As a rule i try not go go over 1 min dives, just for the sake of safety.

    Be safe ... Happy hunting .

    I have done breath holds on the elliptical because I feel like that mimics a similar leg movement to kicking underwater moreso than running or whatever but I dont feel like it helps or anything like that more than just getting out there, relaxing and diving. I believe your breathhold ability can change from day to day just like some days other physical activities feel better than others.

    Cardio (stationary bike) made the biggest difference in my approach to diving. It added 15-20 seconds to my average bottom time.


    I tried stationary breath hold tables at home but didn't notice any improvement.


    One thing for sure….it takes me a looooonnnngg time to warm up. I start doing my best dives after about an hour in the water. That could be 10 - 12 dives or so but when I start peeing a lot, my dive times go up. The first 8-10 dives of the day are rarely over a minute. Then I jump to 1 min 15-25 sec. Best days a bit more.

    I do often wonder if developing the ability to dive longer and deeper as the years pass is a result of a physical adaptation which improves my ability to suvive and function at low oxygen levels, or just a psychological adaptation that allows me to be comfortable pushing myself closer to blackout/death.

    Quote from hank

    Cardio (stationary bike) made the biggest difference in my approach to diving. It added 15-20 seconds to my average bottom time.


    I tried stationary breath hold tables at home but didn't notice any improvement.


    One thing for sure….it takes me a looooonnnngg time to warm up. I start doing my best dives after about an hour in the water. That could be 10 - 12 dives or so but when I start peeing a lot, my dive times go up. The first 8-10 dives of the day are rarely over a minute. Then I jump to 1 min 15-25 sec. Best days a bit more.


    I'm the same way. I always have better breath holds later in the day than first starting out. I've heard about the regular cardio working great for apnea so I started running again to test that theory out.

    For a while I was running 8 minute miles 2-3x a week. Definitely saw an improvement by 10-15 seconds. I've just recently added yoga 2-3x a week into the mix with varied results. I see a large improvement in recovery Times. I'm no longer nearly as winded when I surface, however I still need a good breathup to attain any sort of decent bottom time.


    I'm also the type to need a long warm up. I don't get into my groove until about two hours into my dives.

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