How to Increase Breath Hold for Freediving?
There are multiple water activities that have become popular in the past few decades for the different challenges and obstacles that they offer to the enthusiasts. And since our world counts with lots of aquatic environments such as rivers, lakes, oceans, and so much more, you won't have to hold yourself for practicing these kinds of activities such as free diving. However, this one is a very tricky activity since if you don't know the basic measures and follow the recommendations you may cause some tough damage to your body or even death. For that reason, let's discover how to improve one of the skills that you will need for freediving and in fact, is the most important one when it comes to swimming under the water. Stay tuned to learn more about how to hold your breath for a longer time.
Besides the traditional security measures like making a group of companions and capable professionals that could aid someone in case that something goes wrong in the activity, there are multiple recommendations that most people should know before and after jumping into the water. For that reason, the next couple of tips will be explained in a successive way which means that we will explain everything since the individual begins the activity, the development of the individual and how he or she should act after getting out of the water, every single point will be important. o pay attention.
PART 1: BEFORE JUMPING INTO THE WATER.
When it comes to breath holding, different people might have different lung capacity. And when it comes to freediving this is not something that differs wildly. Your friends may be able to hold their breath for 2 minutes without any problem while you are struggling to resist a whole minute without taking air. Anything wrong? Well, everyone has their own way of holding air in their body, and is a fact that those who are regularly playing some specific instruments, practice some regular swimming or diving, and do some other breathing techniques are prone to resist more time without feeling that the body needs some fresh air. Therefore, you should start practicing some of these activities that can boost your breathing and holding breath methods, and remember, this is not a competition. The process will be slow but it will be worth it.
Before you jump into the water make sure to breathe in deep and try to hold your breath, inhale over about a five seconds period to avoid causing fatigue to your body and then after that, wait until your body shows the urge of requiring some air and slowly exhale. Repeat this procedure at least five times and you will see a great boost during the activity. Take this as a way of turning on the senses of your body.
PART 2: DURING THE FREEDIVING ACTIVITY.
While you are free diving your body will be burning a lot of oxygen and calories for the impression of the water environment and for other aspects such as the temperature and natural conditions of the environment, so keep in mind those details while choosing where you will be diving. Try to be in a warm environment if you are practicing how to hold your breath longer since your lungs and body will feel better under these natural and comfortable conditions. Also, if you are willing to start in the freediving world, then it's recommended to put some anaerobic workouts in your routine since they are perfect to burn off some steam and your body will be capable of holding more air after experiencing that kind of pressure and adapting to those conditions.
If you want to dive deeper and then you start seeing something truly amazing, your heart rate will be slow since this phenomenon occurs when our body is experiencing cold waters or more pressure, and to reduce the blood cells that go through our body the heart reduces its speed, which may sound critical but it's actually the opposite at least for freediving since this will allow you to dive for a longer time. For that reason, if your body is experienced with anaerobic exercises then more blood will be saved for vital organs of your body, which means that your oxygen will be stored easily while diving, perfect for longer sessions of free diving. However, don't try to push your luck and recognize your limits, since this could cause your death if you stay too much time under deep places under the water.
PART 3: ARRIVING AT THE SURFACE.
While swimming to the surface you may start feeling some contractions in your throat and diaphragm and while this doesn't seem to be normal it is completely common to experience while diving. For that reason, you DON'T need to panic otherwise bad things will happen like water blackout which is starting to lose the consciousness or passing out for a false alarm of getting without oxygen when in reality you are just panicking for something that doesn't exist, so don't try to fight an invisible enemy. Just stay calm. Don't panic and do your best to reach the surface. In the case that you start panicking, close your eyes a little bit and start thinking in boring things to maintain your brain distracted with anything else.
After getting out of the water, it is recommended to hold your breath for a couple of seconds and then exhale. Repeat this process a couple of times to reduce or get rid of the dizziness of your mind and body, and after that, congratulations! You completed your first training session on how to hold your breath longer. You just need to repeat this every single time when you are diving and after some time you will see considerable progress which means that you could take longer freediving sessions with friends and partners. Just don't push your luck and recognize your limits. Stay safe!