how to train breath holding?

[diver_forever]

I want to be able to hold my breath longer underwater.
for now i can easily swim 25 meters for 30 seconds underwater...if i go slower i can hold it for 45 seconds.
the max i can do is 50 meters for 1 minute. but after that i go back to 30 seconds...

some people said if you do cardio (run, bicycle) it will help.

so what kind of training can i do to maximize my breath holding?

 

[Hank49]

I've tried doing tables while laying on the couch. There are a couple types.
One, you hold your breath for a minute and a half between increasingly shorter intervals.
From 2 minutes between breath holds down to 15 seconds.
Two, you hold your breath for 30 seconds, increasing by 15 seconds with a constant 1 and a half minute interval.
BUT, I found that this helped me get from a max of 3 up to 4 minute breath hold while watching TV...it didn't really help me while spearfishing.
I just spearfish free dive now. Try to relax. I do long and slow breathing in between dives and do a quick 3-4 hyper ventilations just before going down. It depends on the current, how big the fish I just saw is...hah...was I swimming to get to the point where I'm diving.
Honestly, I rarely dive for more than a minute while spearfishing. I now have a Suunto D4 and time them. But, I still get fish.

 

[jjhill]

Freedivers tend to train via 2 methods, O2 tables and CO2 tables. As you might suspect O2 tables helps your body adjust to hypoxic (low O2) conditions. CO2 Tables help with hypercapnic (high CO2) conditions.

O2 Tables start with a 2 minute breathup followed by a short hold, the breath up duration always stays at 2 minutes but the hold duration increases by 15 to 30 seconds each time. There are typically around 8 holds in a table

CO2 tables have 8 holds also but the holds are always the same duration for example 2 minutes. You would start with an initial 2 minute breath up followed by a 2 minute hold, then on each subsequent breath up gets shorter while the hold stays the same. The table typically ends when you get down to a 2 minute hold followed by 15 seconds rest followed by another 2 minute hold.

There are several free apnea tables available on the internet. Remember to never train in the water alone.

Since starting these tables and training with a competitive freediver I went from struggling with holding my breath for one minute to being able to hold for over 5 minutes now. Feel free to ask me any other questions.

 

[JohnniG]

Thats an amazing improvement

 

[Rhone Man]

I was messing around looking at Tec diver training in the Caribbean and I came across DiveTek in Cayman, who also teach free diving.

They say (and I kind of believe them) that they can train most people to free dive to 100 ft, and to breath hold in excess of 5 mins. Apparently they training Jessica Alba for her role in Into The Blue (for which we should all be thankful) and she was holding her breath for over 6 mins by the end.

Almost enough to inspire me to take a trip to Cayman, but I suspect it is not magic and jjhill is right - a skilled instructor can get a lot out of someone with proper training.

 

[redstrom]

The majority of people can hold their breath for 2-3 minutes on the couch or in a pool applying basic breath ups that can be taught in minutes. The tough part is getting from 3 to 5 minutes and beyond... Apply the ocean, kicking and your time goes down dramatically.

A dive to 100ft and back to the surface should only take 1 minute (ie 33ft per 10 sec). I think the rule of thumb is something like you should be able to do roughly half the time in the water versus what you can do on the couch. So if you can hold your breath for 2 minutes on the couch you should theoretically be able to reach 100ft. That is if you can control your heart beat --fear and excitement have a funny way of getting in the way in freediving.

I took DiveTech's beginner class last year in Grand Cayman --it was a complete eye opener. Never held my breath for more than a minute -- did 2m 25s on my first static ever. Never been deeper than 15 ft on breathhold in my life, hit bottom at 45ft on my third dive. Will be back in Feb next year and plan to dive with them again.

 

[Hank49]

I was in the water Sunday with a current that I could barely make headway against using longblade fins. I wanted to stay in the same place because there was a big school of dog snappers about 70 feet down...not to mention a few black grouper and some horseye jacks passing by.
Needless to say, I could barely reach 40 feet for 10 seconds because we were breathing hard on the surface.
How do you train for that? Running? Swimming? I don't know. My buddy runs 10 miles and he was having a hard time doing 50 seconds.

 

[cutlass]

Be safe always. Be patient with your limitations and manage your progress toward your goals. Base your goals on you, not someone else. Work most on relaxing and being comfortable. Your abilities will have ups and downs, even from dive to dive. Accept them.

I've blacked out. There was no warning except knowing that I had pushed harder than usual. It was very close.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I was in the water Sunday with a current that I could barely make headway against using longblade fins. I wanted to stay in the same place because there was a big school of dog snappers about 70 feet down...not to mention a few black grouper and some horseye jacks passing by.
Needless to say, I could barely reach 40 feet for 10 seconds because we were breathing hard on the surface.
How do you train for that? Running? Swimming? I don't know. My buddy runs 10 miles and he was having a hard time doing 50 seconds.

Work as a team and use the weaker diver to help push the better diver upcurrent on the surface and then when he does do his dive, push him down to 30 feet or so and then ascend and watch as a safety diver?

 

[Hank49]

Work as a team and use the weaker diver to help push the better diver upcurrent on the surface and then when he does do his dive, push him down to 30 feet or so and then ascend and watch as a safety diver?

We actually did a variation on that. We took turns driving the boat while the other guy was in the water drifting past the spot. I would get a fish, get on the boat and we would go back up current. Jorge would jump in etc. We ended up getting 4 nice jacks (12 to 25 lbs). The snappers....they're too smart. It's all about diving down and acting uninterested in them...playing a game until finally a few get curious and come in close. I can't hunt that way drifting by.