breath-hold swim

[weazelz]

not that I'm interested in Fundies after my day of DIR grooming on saturday, honest ...

is the breath-hold swim just that - a swim with your face in the water & no breathing? or is it something more, like an underwater swim?

[RichW]

Originally Posted by weazelz

not that I'm interested in Fundies after my day of DIR grooming on saturday, honest ...

is the breath-hold swim just that - a swim with your face in the water & no breathing? or is it something more, like an underwater swim?

It should really be underwater.

Rich

[Tricky]

It's an underwater swim. 15m iirc.

[weazelz]

Originally Posted by RichW

It should really be underwater.

"should really" meaning "must" ?

is weighting allowed? I'm just naturally rather buoyant

[RichW]

Originally Posted by weazelz

"should really" meaning "must" ?

is weighting allowed? I'm just naturally rather buoyant

Well, it's not something I'd really encourage, to use a weight.

To put it into perspective, I've been teaching GUEF classes since 2004 and have yet to have a student fail on the breathold. Sure, some needed some help with technique, but at the end of the day it isn't particularly difficult.

Rich

[Fiona]

The breath hold swim was something I was really concerned about. I did a couple of trial runs while I practiced for the swim test at the gym, I am also buoyant. I also thought about weighting or doing it on the surface.

In the end "bloody mindedness" took over and I succeeded the full distance underwater.

[weazelz]

I was in the pool tonight & thought I'd have another crack at this. a few deep breaths, breathe out until I sink, see how far I get, swim swim swim & pop up - about 15m from where I started

oh dear .. I'm running out of reasons not to do fundies

[NotDeadYet]

If you can get someone to spot for you then practice on either empty or half empty lungs. It reduces buoyancy problems and some people find it actually extends breath-hold ability -- most diving mammals dive on empty lungs. Downside is that if something goes tits up then you sink like a stone, hence having a spotter is a good idea. It does make it far easier to swim underwater as you aren't fighting the big flotation bags that are your lungs.

I do a lot of dynamic apnea in the pool, best tip is learn to swim efficiently, i.e. the minimum amount of strokes and glide as much as possible. Do the opposite to what your brain is telling you, slow down rather than speed up, big, slow movements. Think about how you move through the water, streamline as much as possible. Also, you've got a hell of a lot more time underwater after the urge to breathe kicks in.

One thing I find really useful is apnea walks, you hold your breath and try to walk as far as possible, I do it on a treadmill to avoid looking like a purple faced psychotic dog raper whilst walking down the High Street.

Cheers,

Stuart

[Fiona]

Originally Posted by weazelz

oh dear .. I'm running out of reasons not to do fundies

That's step one, now step two - if you can sleep with a pair of blue dry gloves in the room you really have no more excuses

[Janos]

Originally Posted by NotDeadYet

Also, you've got a hell of a lot more time underwater after the urge to breathe kicks in.

But if you are pushing yourself, make sure there's someone there who knows what you're doing. I remember once pushing myself, then surfacing, and feeling really woozy for a couple of seconds until I'd got my breath back.

Janos