Was never good at this, but getting better.

[nimoh]

i was sort of taught to hyperventilate at the freediving course i attended, only 5 breaths right before the dive though. this thread on spearboard just came up about a week ag with a lot of really good info about hyperventilation. the reason i was taught to do it was to increase your ratio of O2 to CO2, but another diver argued that doing a full exhale right before you dive will get all the CO2 out, keep your heart rate down, and is safer. apparently hyperventilating makes you think you can stay down longer, it tricks your body into thinking it doesn't need air or that it doesn't hurt as much, when it really doesn't increase your bottom time.
i havn't tried the long exhale method, and i've never had any issues with the 5 quick breaths before i dive...but the info on this thread makes sense so i'm going to give it a shot next time i go out

How Much Deeper Can i Dive With freediving fins and proper gear? - Spearboard.com - The World's Largest Spearfishing Diving Social Media Forum

I was a little confused in your post since it seems to imply that you should dive with empty lungs, and immediately thought how is this possible? So I followed your link, and found this:

Final Breaths…


Breath for approximately 2 minutes, from the belly, all the time focusing on the exhale.
Keep these breaths relaxed and no deeper than you may do so whilst relaxing in a ‘normal’ situation.
You are looking at ensuring that the exhale is approximately 2x the length of the inhale. These are not deep breaths, they are simply controlled.
Start you final breath phase.
Take a slightly deeper breath in.
Breathe EVERYTHING out… And i mean everything, until you are having to spit out the last bits of air in your lungs.
Your final breath in needs to be focused and almost mechanical in its nature.
Start breathing in from the diaphragm. Keep breathing in from the belly until you can’t get any more air in.
Shift your focus to breathing in from the chest… keep breathing in until you cant get more air in to the chest.
Shift you focus finally in to breathing in to the collar and neck… This is a bit abstract I know but it really finalises the breath and ensures you are holding a good posture for maximizing your capacity.
OK…. Now its time to dive.

It seems that the technique also includes instructions for the final inhale before diving. It think I may take these instructions to the pool next time and test it out against hyperventilating.

 

[Arubandi07]

I was a little confused in your post since it seems to imply that you should dive with empty lungs, and immediately thought how is this possible? So I followed your link, and found this:

Final Breaths…


Breath for approximately 2 minutes, from the belly, all the time focusing on the exhale.
Keep these breaths relaxed and no deeper than you may do so whilst relaxing in a ‘normal’ situation.
You are looking at ensuring that the exhale is approximately 2x the length of the inhale. These are not deep breaths, they are simply controlled.
Start you final breath phase.
Take a slightly deeper breath in.
Breathe EVERYTHING out… And i mean everything, until you are having to spit out the last bits of air in your lungs.
Your final breath in needs to be focused and almost mechanical in its nature.
Start breathing in from the diaphragm. Keep breathing in from the belly until you can’t get any more air in.
Shift your focus to breathing in from the chest… keep breathing in until you cant get more air in to the chest.
Shift you focus finally in to breathing in to the collar and neck… This is a bit abstract I know but it really finalises the breath and ensures you are holding a good posture for maximizing your capacity.
OK…. Now its time to dive.

It seems that the technique also includes instructions for the final inhale before diving. It think I may take these instructions to the pool next time and test it out against hyperventilating.

That actually is a perfect description of the final inhale, and not as complex as it sounds. The first stage is purely abdominal('diaphragm breathing'), meaning that, if performed correctly, it all happens 'on the bottom', your rib cage won't expand in diameter or upward(no noticeable shoulder lift). The second stage, chest-breathing, is the lateral expansion of your chest cavity, you'd feel your chest getting' wider, still without your shoulders lifting at all. Third stage, involving the most upward section of your lungs, will result in a slight shoulder lift, and complete the final breath.
With a bit of practice, you should be able to isolate and maximize these three phases, which will definitely help in getting the most out of your actual lung volume.

 

[nimoh]

maybe with a little practice I can breathe some air into my arms and legs as well just kidding, sounds like a good system, and I am guessing it reduces (or even eliminates) the blackout risk associated with hyperventilating

 

[Arubandi07]

maybe with a little practice I can breathe some air into my arms and legs as well just kidding, sounds like a good system, and I am guessing it reduces (or even eliminates) the blackout risk associated with hyperventilating

Funny bastard, ain't ya?? ... Should check out 'the Pub', sometime ...

But seriously, trust me on this one, as an ex-pro horn player, I know a thing or two about breathing ...

 

[Hank49]

It seems that the technique also includes instructions for the final inhale before diving. It think I may take these instructions to the pool next time and test it out against hyperventilating.

You probably know this but didn't indicate it.....don't practice in a pool alone. Have a buddy within arm's length who knows how to rescue you if you black out.
My son blacked out in the static breath hold portion of the PFI course we took last year June.

 

[nimoh]

You probably know this but didn't indicate it.....don't practice in a pool alone. Have a buddy within arm's length who knows how to rescue you if you black out.
My son blacked out in the static breath hold portion of the PFI course we took last year June.

I agree completely both that it shouldn't be done alone, and that I should have mentioned that I wouldn't be doing it alone (in case I were to give someone else ideas).

My pool practice consists of jumping in when my LDS has the pool rented for a class, and usually there will be a couple of instructors, and a handful of divemasters around (I am not the only DM that takes advantage of free pool time when not participating in the class).

Also, when I am doing something such as this (trying a skill that I have never tried before), I will also explain to another DM what I am going to do, and then have them keep an eye on me.

thanks for pointing that out, Hank

 

[Arubandi07]

That actually is a perfect description of the final inhale, and not as complex as it sounds. The first stage is purely abdominal('diaphragm breathing'), meaning that, if performed correctly, it all happens 'on the bottom', your rib cage won't expand in diameter or upward(no noticeable shoulder lift). The second stage, chest-breathing, is the lateral expansion of your chest cavity, you'd feel your chest getting' wider, still without your shoulders lifting at all. Third stage, involving the most upward section of your lungs, will result in a slight shoulder lift, and complete the final breath.
With a bit of practice, you should be able to isolate and maximize these three phases, which will definitely help in getting the most out of your actual lung volume.

Nimoh, forgot to mention: what I described above, can, and should be practiced 'dry', until you really get the hang of it ... Don't take it to the pool, until it 'feels right' ...

 

[nimoh]

Got it, thanks.

I will also be reading more about it before attempting it. Looking back at my posts, it seems I was implying that I was going to go to the pool tonight and give it a shot without much thought into what it is that I am trying. That's just not how I roll. I will be taking a safe approach.

 

[scubacheeze]

Sorry about the confusion on that! Has anyone gone from hyperventilating (5-6 quick breaths only, not anything super intense) to the full exhale right before your final breath? I'm interested to see if you've found any differences in the water

 

[Orsk]

It's been a couple days since I have been able to get on here and check in. I'm going to see how that final breath technique work for me thank you for posting it.

Here's a quick update on my progress. I'm still working with the CO2 table and it seems to be working. I end up with a new PB almost every day. I finally broke the 3 minuite mark yesterday with a 3:09. I'm hoping that there will be something at the Tacoma Dive Expo this weekend to play with or in.