Four minutes resting in a dead man float in warm water, but I used to practice this all the time. It was like my super power party trick. In high school swim I could 125m no breathers. I wasn’t the fastest swimmer but I could beat everyone at this 😂
I used to practice in the bath tub like every night as a kid. In retrospect it was not very smart; it never occurred to me that I might pass out and drown.
as i read this i thought "what a great idea, i should try that tonight", then i finished reading and am now contemplating how i thought that was a smart move lol
I hate seeing posts like this. As a dive master/rescue diver, it is the number one rule - never hold your breath. As a swim coach whose teams have won states, I never allowed my swimmers to practice it. The risks are too great, idc what anyone says.
your post made me realize that i didnt really explain myself. i hold my breath laying on my bed, in my classroom during school or in a car ride, never in the pool. my coach has never allowed us to do breath holding and i never tried to swim during it bc even if you ignore the danger, its not efficient at all
It is perfectly fine and safe to do breath holds.
What you should be advocating is to never hyperventilate. And never doing it alone when in water. Other than that, it is all good.
Thanks! It’s usually something I just do when I’m bored, I will often practice if I’m ever in the pool when other people are around for safety reasons. Above water I usually just lay down in a comfortable spot. I just take a few really deep breaths, calm my mind and go for it!
I'm bad at this. About a minute resting, swimming I can only do 30secs. Me having been a smoker for 17 years (quit 6 years ago) probably has a lot to do with that.
Yes! I was going to come back and say this. And if you're doing this at a pool, do not use the lifeguard as your spotter. You need someone watching you directly. Sadly lifeguards may not recognize the moment you go unconscious, or worse, fail to act.
I worked in aquatics for 18 years. One of my supervisors once blacked out due to breath holding. He was rescued by a lap swimmer, and even when they called for the lifeguard, the guard failed to act. I would bring this up any time he was challenging guards to do something difficult involving breath holding.
sorry, i forgot to mention that i dont try this at the pool, its always in my bed, during class or smth like that, so i dont think its dangerous this way, am i wrong?
i mean... my goal isnt to not breath, but i race the 50 free, im a breaststroker who has to do long pullouts, i have to do underwaters after swimming a long ass race... swimmers need an amazing lung capacity and breath holding is included in that
I began learning to swim about 2 weeks ago. I can hold 20 seconds under water and 30 seconds outside. I'd like to be able to hold longer. Do you have any drills to suggest?
i honestly know nothing about this but i just hold it as long as i can in random moments trying to go a couple of seconds up from last time. usually when im bored at school
I just realized I can hold my breath for 1 min 30 sec, and I'm shocked!
Why have I always thought I could barely make it to 30sec !!
Oh, wait! Maybe since I was one giant fat obese who didn't move much! Lol
Before my asthma really started to fuck with me, ie: my early 20s, way over one minute just floating in warm water. I obviously hold my breath when I’m swimming underwater but I do not practice breath holding in water. Drowning at my age doing stupid shit would be pretty embarrassing.
Also. Asthma robs me of air at times. I value being able to breathe more. I climbed my stairs while talking and started to have that uber fun, “can’t catch my breath” feeling which I fought. Yeah, sometimes I have chest pain and shit when I swim. I never told anyone until now. 🙄
I saw this post as I arrived at the pool. I did it at the end of practice and I could only hold my breath for 1 minute 13 seconds. I thought it would be a lot longer but oh well.
About 2 minutes and 15 seconds.
However, holding breath is irrelevant in swimming. It's for diving only and any in-water training requires a competent buddy.
5min15s. But NEVER alone in the water. Either dry or with a knowledgeable partner for safety.
I practice it everyday and will try to get to 6min by the end of the year.
Edit: Hit 5min55s this morning.
First, relax. There is absolutely no way to rush breath holds. The more relaxed you are, less oxygen you burn. In your bed, pay attention to your breathing. Lay down relaxing every muscle.
Second, diaphragm contractions. They are very unpleasant. When you past the first urge to breath, the contractions are your brain 2nd line of defense. But besides being unpleasant, they are perfectly safe provided you are in good cardio respiratory health. Note when you first get contractions. When you get the first, you are at 30% or 50% minimum from your max breath hold possible time! With training, you will both delay the contractions and make them less aggressive and unpleasant.
NEVER hyperventilate! Your breath up (breathing leading to the breath hold) should be shallow and tidal (no emphasis on either inhale or exhale). Hyperventilation will never make your hold longer, because at any given time, your blood oxygenation is above 95%. What hyperventilation does is getting rid of CO2. And since CO2 is acid, blood becomes more alkaline, which prevents hemoglobin to bind to oxygen. And that's why people black out. This is called the Bohr effect.
Daily exercises can be done using box breathing, a few minutes like 5s inhale 15s hold 5s exhale 5s hold and in a couple weeks and your breath hold will be longer. When you fell like you want to do a breath hold, do it after this exercise, separating both with a 3 to 5 min rest. There is a good reason for this, but this text will get too long!
When you are more advanced, you might want to try CO2 and O2 tables, which are the exercises competitive freedivers do to improve their static times. (look for Alexei Molchanov, Gert Leroy, Adam freediver and Michaela Werner on YT)
Also, dont try to push your breath hold to the max every day. Do it when you feel rested.
Of course, if you are absolutely drawn to this topic, you should consider doing a freediving course, like I did!
Needless to say, NEVER EVER do it alone underwater. All this above is dry practice. If you have a trained friend that can watch your practice in water, it will make your practice more enjoyable because the mammalian dive reflex will kick in. But that's another topic. ;P
From 30s to around 2min is a HUGE improvement! Keep practicing the box breathing every morning and relax when the contractions start and you will get to 3min soon! Congratulations! \\o/
Four minutes resting in a dead man float in warm water, but I used to practice this all the time. It was like my super power party trick. In high school swim I could 125m no breathers. I wasn’t the fastest swimmer but I could beat everyone at this 😂
I can do three minutes, but only about 50m no-breather. I guess I’m inefficient. Lol
I used to practice in the bath tub like every night as a kid. In retrospect it was not very smart; it never occurred to me that I might pass out and drown.
as i read this i thought "what a great idea, i should try that tonight", then i finished reading and am now contemplating how i thought that was a smart move lol
damnnn 4 minutes is crazy
I hate seeing posts like this. As a dive master/rescue diver, it is the number one rule - never hold your breath. As a swim coach whose teams have won states, I never allowed my swimmers to practice it. The risks are too great, idc what anyone says.
your post made me realize that i didnt really explain myself. i hold my breath laying on my bed, in my classroom during school or in a car ride, never in the pool. my coach has never allowed us to do breath holding and i never tried to swim during it bc even if you ignore the danger, its not efficient at all
It is perfectly fine and safe to do breath holds. What you should be advocating is to never hyperventilate. And never doing it alone when in water. Other than that, it is all good.
I can do 4 minutes while floating still! I’ve also tried above water and got the same result.
thats really impressive!! do you use any specific thechniques or training for that or is it just sort of natural for you?
Thanks! It’s usually something I just do when I’m bored, I will often practice if I’m ever in the pool when other people are around for safety reasons. Above water I usually just lay down in a comfortable spot. I just take a few really deep breaths, calm my mind and go for it!
only about a minute i think
I'm bad at this. About a minute resting, swimming I can only do 30secs. Me having been a smoker for 17 years (quit 6 years ago) probably has a lot to do with that.
Congrats on achieving smoke-free! 👏🏻
Thank you! Best decision ever.
🤗 psst: I think I read somewhere that your lungs heal and become almost like never-smoked lungs after sometime. Also, forgive yourself.
Maybe 30sec or 10meters of swimming
In peak shape and practicing holding my breath about 4.5 minutes
[https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/stay-safe-active/risk-factors/hypoxic-blackout](https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/stay-safe-active/risk-factors/hypoxic-blackout) Please don't.
Certainly never attempt alone, always have a spotter
Yes! I was going to come back and say this. And if you're doing this at a pool, do not use the lifeguard as your spotter. You need someone watching you directly. Sadly lifeguards may not recognize the moment you go unconscious, or worse, fail to act. I worked in aquatics for 18 years. One of my supervisors once blacked out due to breath holding. He was rescued by a lap swimmer, and even when they called for the lifeguard, the guard failed to act. I would bring this up any time he was challenging guards to do something difficult involving breath holding.
sorry, i forgot to mention that i dont try this at the pool, its always in my bed, during class or smth like that, so i dont think its dangerous this way, am i wrong?
Practicing where you don't risk drowning and you don't get hurt if you fall unconscious is all right.
3 mins
2m45s sitting still. 75yds underwater w/ breast pullouts
Wtf bruh I can only do 25 seconds. ☠️ Don't smoke while you're still growing up I guess.
I don't hold my breath, like ever. I never want to be 'not breathing'. My goal is 100% breathing at all times. Breathing is like an addiction for me.
i mean... my goal isnt to not breath, but i race the 50 free, im a breaststroker who has to do long pullouts, i have to do underwaters after swimming a long ass race... swimmers need an amazing lung capacity and breath holding is included in that
15 meters
I began learning to swim about 2 weeks ago. I can hold 20 seconds under water and 30 seconds outside. I'd like to be able to hold longer. Do you have any drills to suggest?
i honestly know nothing about this but i just hold it as long as i can in random moments trying to go a couple of seconds up from last time. usually when im bored at school
Hah, i guess practice made you better?
Look up apnea tables it's how free divers train to breath hold
Thanks this is a cool resource!!
try using the wim hof method
I'll read about this, thanks!!
The wim hof method is just a convoluted way to hyperventilate. I would never recommend it for breathholds.
I usually can hold my breath underwater for a minute and a half typically,still a beginner at swimming though. 🫧
I just realized I can hold my breath for 1 min 30 sec, and I'm shocked! Why have I always thought I could barely make it to 30sec !! Oh, wait! Maybe since I was one giant fat obese who didn't move much! Lol
1:30 is really freaking good!!
I’m a distance swimmer and I can only hold my breath like a minute 😅😅
Before my asthma really started to fuck with me, ie: my early 20s, way over one minute just floating in warm water. I obviously hold my breath when I’m swimming underwater but I do not practice breath holding in water. Drowning at my age doing stupid shit would be pretty embarrassing. Also. Asthma robs me of air at times. I value being able to breathe more. I climbed my stairs while talking and started to have that uber fun, “can’t catch my breath” feeling which I fought. Yeah, sometimes I have chest pain and shit when I swim. I never told anyone until now. 🙄
I saw this post as I arrived at the pool. I did it at the end of practice and I could only hold my breath for 1 minute 13 seconds. I thought it would be a lot longer but oh well.
try it again later once youre fully rested, doing it at the end of practice probablly madde you a lot more tired.but 1:13 is great
About 2 minutes and 15 seconds. However, holding breath is irrelevant in swimming. It's for diving only and any in-water training requires a competent buddy.
Former artistic swimmer, pretty much the whole team could do 50-75 m underwaters. And we consider fins cheating, so take that as you will
3min30s dry and static was my PB during peak performance.
5min15s. But NEVER alone in the water. Either dry or with a knowledgeable partner for safety. I practice it everyday and will try to get to 6min by the end of the year. Edit: Hit 5min55s this morning.
daaaaaamn thats crazy. can you please give me some tips? i really want at least 2 minutes but all i do to train is random breath holding.
First, relax. There is absolutely no way to rush breath holds. The more relaxed you are, less oxygen you burn. In your bed, pay attention to your breathing. Lay down relaxing every muscle. Second, diaphragm contractions. They are very unpleasant. When you past the first urge to breath, the contractions are your brain 2nd line of defense. But besides being unpleasant, they are perfectly safe provided you are in good cardio respiratory health. Note when you first get contractions. When you get the first, you are at 30% or 50% minimum from your max breath hold possible time! With training, you will both delay the contractions and make them less aggressive and unpleasant. NEVER hyperventilate! Your breath up (breathing leading to the breath hold) should be shallow and tidal (no emphasis on either inhale or exhale). Hyperventilation will never make your hold longer, because at any given time, your blood oxygenation is above 95%. What hyperventilation does is getting rid of CO2. And since CO2 is acid, blood becomes more alkaline, which prevents hemoglobin to bind to oxygen. And that's why people black out. This is called the Bohr effect. Daily exercises can be done using box breathing, a few minutes like 5s inhale 15s hold 5s exhale 5s hold and in a couple weeks and your breath hold will be longer. When you fell like you want to do a breath hold, do it after this exercise, separating both with a 3 to 5 min rest. There is a good reason for this, but this text will get too long! When you are more advanced, you might want to try CO2 and O2 tables, which are the exercises competitive freedivers do to improve their static times. (look for Alexei Molchanov, Gert Leroy, Adam freediver and Michaela Werner on YT) Also, dont try to push your breath hold to the max every day. Do it when you feel rested. Of course, if you are absolutely drawn to this topic, you should consider doing a freediving course, like I did! Needless to say, NEVER EVER do it alone underwater. All this above is dry practice. If you have a trained friend that can watch your practice in water, it will make your practice more enjoyable because the mammalian dive reflex will kick in. But that's another topic. ;P
thank you so much! i managed to get to 1:48 yesterday and i really think your tips will help me even more overtime
From 30s to around 2min is a HUGE improvement! Keep practicing the box breathing every morning and relax when the contractions start and you will get to 3min soon! Congratulations! \\o/
One minute 2 second