How to start your Breath hold training | Making breath holding easy

Harry discusses how he approaches the beginning of his breath hold training, to build a solid base of comfort with CO2.
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[@tousdr]

"...biggest mistake... too hard, too fast" could be written in gold. Good beginning The rest... I can only suscribe it Thanks

[@freedivepassion9498]

Thanks

[@tousdr]

@@freedivepassion9498 Y' welcome. Thanks to you!

[@alexthiessen8352]

Really a brilliant metaphor for life

[@Music-tt1wl]

Thanks, man ! This is crazy cool ! Now I feel my lungs larger and even my voice changes and become more manlike !!

[@freedivepassion9498]

Haha, manly voices must be the most underrated side effect of freediving

[@uwuwaifuuwu8054]

I'm looking forward to finishing the video!

[@seanwhitham74]

Great lesson bro. I have always had the approach of just "toughing out" statics, which makes them a bit unpleasant. I am going to start again with this approach, and am looking forward to building up a nice comfortable 3 minutes. Thanks again! Love your work boss

[@freedivepassion9498]

Good luck with your new training style

[@tristanleblanc3057]

Yes it works very well, i got them now at 4 or 4,20 min, taking 3 min recovery each time

[@freedivepassion9498]

Nice work Tristan, see you in Thailand

[@callumthorsen5474]

Thanks for this, it's a great way to do it that I've never heard before, it will be my CO2 build up routine from now on 🤙🏻

[@freedivepassion9498]

Enjoy the process!

[@niallkeane3794]

im asthmatic so started just to see how far i could go if i pushed an got to a respectable 1:55 in 2 days while my average was under 20 seconds. i do it before bed because in such a weird way the feeling your lungs are about to pop is really meditative and relaxing!

[@freedivepassion9498]

Breath holds have long been used in yoga to help quiet the mind.

[@TheAmanullah95]

Didn't expect to bump into Seth Bike Hack in free diving lesson.

[@kimnakamurasamejima1745]

@@TheAmanullah95 Same here! wtf! so unexpected! LOL

[@KKISCRAZYFUL]

That's encouraging, I also have asthma and 1:55 sounds incredible

[@ignaciob5203]

I don’t have asthma but my anxiety kicks in shortly after 1 minute of doing nothing, even while training in dry land so I have to push a lot to get 2 or 3 minutes.

[@middleclassthrash]

I've always enjoyed breath holds, ever since i was a kid. The stressful phases you describe never felt bad to me.

[@freedivepassion9498]

Great!! that's how it should be

[@IntuitiveIQ]

Really great content, thank you. Subscribed. I have a question: are you doing special breathing before these breath holds, for example, three seconds in and six seconds out for a few minutes, or are you just doing tidal breathing?

[@roarfiercefemininerisingma9607]

I love your logo and thank you for the info

[@djdavidphillips]

Good vid Harry. I'm just starting with some tables at the moment. Nice timing

[@freedivepassion9498]

May the force be with you 😃

[@lauraking8216]

Great information and explanation - thank you for sharing Harry :)

[@freedivepassion9498]

Thanks 🙂

[@alexthiessen8352]

Great philosophies 🙏

[@tobiasjensen940]

Great video!

[@satkriyayogajewel2146]

Thank You for this. I feel more confident about my personal process thanks to your explanation..

[@freedivepassion9498]

Your welcome

[@abdullahmarei-karate3225]

Great content and informative.. Thanks for your efforts.

[@freedivepassion9498]

Your welcome

[@connorperrett9559]

When a man with jawline like that talks about something fitness related, I listen.

[@freedivepassion9498]

😂

[@AS-gx4qg]

Very good insight. After reaching 5.00 dry a year ago, I got demotivated and had trouble finding motivating to come back to that level. I will try your method and treat myself better in the beginning and write down my training program. Thanks.. Very interesting insights. I this happens a lot. We had a lady in our freediving club which was very advanced. She quit and sold all her gear at some point,, simple because she realised that she did not enjoy it no longer to push herself so hard. It is like Tom Cruize trading for mission impossible . He get to 6.30 min quickly but hated every minute doing it. Would never do it again..

[@freedivepassion9498]

Thanks for the comment. I also see many people burn out because of constantly pushing, they just didn't know there is any other way.

[@laurencejensen8684]

Appreciated as always Harry

[@freedivepassion9498]

Your welcome 🙂

[@mariahvicary]

Hey, your videos are really helpful and I appreciate the insights. Please consider lowering the volume of your intro music. It's like twice as loud as your voice and blasts my speakers every time. Thanks.

[@guybartlett9587]

Than you!

[@sunnykrusty]

thanks mate, very thorough and information 🙏

[@freedivepassion9498]

Good luck with your training and welcome to the channel

[@babaliefie]

Thank you Harry.

[@freedivepassion9498]

Your welcome

[@truckerenoch8824]

I've always loved freediving, but I'm in the early stage of COPD. I want to learn how to manage it, so I can start diving again. Fortunately, my backup hypoxic drive hasn't kicked in yet and I'm hoping the training will help deal with this a little better.

[@TheOfficialStrongest]

I actually Increase In Motivation instead of Decrease This tip Was Useless For me But Good tip to Give for the others who lose motivation Holding your breath is all about 1.Having a Calm Mind 2.expanding your lungs 3. Exploding your lungs 4..for swimmings, divings and for deep diving

[@boakonstriktor7973]

Very helpful. Thanks.

[@missakhaladjian]

Thank you

[@arekstefaniak6239]

Thanks for the video. How long breath up and recovery between breath holds would you recommend?

[@freedivepassion9498]

Breath until CO² is neutral and breath is calm, So about 2 minutes. No hyperventilation.

[@antonioalvim1437]

Great video. Can you pls detail a little bit more on CO2 dry static tables, doing it on empty lungs (RV) is the right approach? You save a lot of time. Thanks man! 🙏🤿

[@rowanationer]

Great video. Did I miss what the breathing gap should be in-between breath-holds?

[@freedivepassion9498]

2 minutes should be enough, the point is to give time for CO2 to become neutral

[@ahmedemaraa1978]

Thanks for the good work

[@freedivepassion9498]

Thanks for watching

[@motox296]

Thanks man!

[@freedivepassion9498]

Your welcome

[@nobuyukidu94]

Hi, thanks for the video it’s really helping. One question: do you completely empty your kings before the last breath or do you just directly switch from regular tidal breathing to the last breath? Thank you!

[@freedivepassion9498]

Empty the lungs first, as much as you can without too much effort

[@postedbyabot5005]

It’s coming summer time I think I’m going to do a mix of static and pool trainings.

[@freedivepassion9498]

Good luck!

[@atanasarabadzhiev5192]

Hello. great video there! Thank you for it! I want to ask how many sets of 4 breath holds good to do per day?

[@freedivepassion9498]

Just 1 set

[@bonniferful]

Im an above average freediver and Ive never been in any training just an experience from being a fisherman since my childhold but when I tried spearfishing things have changed. I was having difficulties in holding my breath longer.

[@freedivepassion9498]

If you have never been trained, there is surely many thing that can help you to hold your breath longer

[@Doppelganger132]

How long do you rest/breath between each of the 4 breath holds? The CO2 Tables I have been using run a series of 8 breath holds of the same duration with the rest interval deccreasing 15 sec each time. Example 2 min hold 1:45 rest with the last two 2 min hold 30 sec rest

[@freedivepassion9498]

I rest until my breathing is normal, meaning the CO² has returned to its natural level. Each breath hold should be started with the same amount of CO², this is how you can gauge if you are improving or not.

[@milomirvasiljevic9179]

Freedive Passion So, these are not CO2 tables you’re running, just the breath holds, if I got you correctly?

[@freedivepassion9498]

Yes, that's right. In my opinion CO² tables are not a good training method.

[@Doppelganger132]

Thank you for clarifying.

[@BlissfulBloke]

@@freedivepassion9498 could you elaborate a little about why you don't feel CO² tables are a good training method please.

[@marcorombola2365]

Hi Harry, thanks for sharing this informations. My question is: do you warm up or stretch before this dry tables or just start cold with the first breath hold? Thanks! 😌👌

[@freedivepassion9498]

I do it without warm up, as soon as I wake up.

[@marcorombola2365]

@@freedivepassion9498 I started with your method this morning: 4x 1'45'', I got 4,2,1,0 contractions. No warm up, felt easy and effective. Doing it dry is gonna effect my breath holds time in the pool? I'm usually able to reach 3' without contraction in the pool (my pb is 5'44''). Thanks!

[@freedivepassion9498]

It will help in the pool. Train hard dive easy 😉. Keep up the good work and let me know how you get on 🤘

[@djdavidphillips]

@@freedivepassion9498 I do a bit of Pranayama first whe I wake up. Otherwise I just fall asleep again!

[@marcorombola2365]

@@freedivepassion9498 Hi Harry, back here to let you know I continued the basic no contraction training and it's going great! 5-7 breath holds 4 times per week, no contraction, working on improving the breath up (very slightly overbreathing, no hypervent) and the mental path. Now my first contraction arrives about after 3' to 3'30'' (average), some spikes at 3'45''. I will definetly continue working on it! 💪👌

[@richardb7495]

Thank you ! I think i will start trying this soon :)

[@freedivepassion9498]

Enjoy the ride!

[@Spunjahbob]

Thanks for this video, Harry. Just two questions; 1. how should you breathe in between breath holds? (normal breathing or otherwise) 2. how long of a recovery time should you have in between breath holds? Much aloha from Hawaii.

[@freedivepassion9498]

Normal breathing until your feeling recovered. Usually 1.5 -2 minutes is enough

[@juremarkovic1756]

Very intresting but I don't understand where ends comfort zone and starts though zone?, because he speaks about contractions, for me comfort zone end even before contractions starts, because after 1 or 3 contraction I can hold breath maybe 20, 30 second more.

[@aohall]

hey man quick question what IS a contraction ? thanks for the vid- tryna improve my breath hold for surfing!!

[@freedivepassion9498]

It's an involuntary contraction of the respiratory muscles whilst holding the breath

[@killik102]

thank you

[@umnick2978]

I pushed my limit about 7 months ago and hit 4:30, but after a little bit I started to only be able to hit about 3:30 minutes then I gave up. maybe I overworked myself? I can consistently get to 2:30 with no breathing exercises/discomfort, and with breathing exercises and a bit of discomfort probably more around 3:30. I assume I should just practice doing holds around or a little longer than 2:30 for now

[@cwillatts]

Been doing this for a week or two now and increased my comfort zone by 50% so far. As I progress I notice that my first hold invariably sucks although it's sucking slightly less as sessions go by. Discomfort and contractions can often start early. Do you think doing a 1 Min warm up hold would be a good idea before the 4 holds? I'm doing mindful breathing and/ or alternate nostril breathing for a few minutes before starting.

[@freedivepassion9498]

It's normal for the first one to be more challenging. Doing a warm up will help with this, I tend to breath a bit more before the first hold to counteract the faster urge to breathe

[@ferrangrau8392]

You talk about contractions and the tough zone. When I hols my breath my though zone prolongs a lot before i feel any contractions (I cant actually force it in dry). The tough zone requires contractions or you are refering the urge to breath after the confort zone?

[@freedivepassion9498]

It could be that what you are feeling is due to anxiety, and not CO2. So training the mind not to project and to be at peace in the moment may help push back the "tough" part until you feel higher levels of CO2

[@jamiehuk3716]

Hi Harry, thanks for this vid. I just wanted to ask if you have ever tried a similar approach to dynamics ? thanks, Jamie : )

[@freedivepassion9498]

Yes, it is a very useful form of training, in DYN things are a little different as there is much more to master than breath hold, and much time must also be spent on these things. But once these are taken care of, yes, it's a great way to start your base training.

[@nasero12]

something you dont explain: how should we breathe before the breath hold? nose, mouth? hiperventilate or not?

[@freedivepassion9498]

It's good to experiment with that, sometimes I breathe in different ways depending on the type of training that I am doing. For CO2 training, I do tidal breathing through the nose for the moat of the BU

[@darshm1]

Hi Harry, how long would you recommend rest/breathe up between each breathhold?

[@hot_guy997]

I make it to 3 minutes but I start feeling my stomach contracting after a minute or a minute and a half and it keeps contracting but it starts contracting before it gets uncomfortable.

[@freedivepassion9498]

You can train away that response. It is partially mental

[@mtns7036]

Lovely stuff . What types of breathing do you do in between breathold? And is it holding on the exhale?

[@freedivepassion9498]

It's normal Tidal volume between holds, and the holds are on full lungs

[@mtns7036]

@@freedivepassion9498 many thanks , I don't dive but I'm very interested in Breathing methods and find you guys facinating. Of course yes it would make sense a diver would hold on the Inhale! I do alot of wim Hoff where you hold on the exhale. Keep up your amazing work!

[@zachstoll9501]

What is your recommendation for the recovery breathing time?

[@freedivepassion9498]

2-3 minutes, you should have neutral levels of CO2 again

[@zachstoll9501]

@@freedivepassion9498 thank you!

[@ronymoutran1171]

How much rest should a person take between the 4 static breath hold sets? Thanks

[@freedivepassion9498]

1,5 - 2 minutes

[@santhiyapei5570]

I watched another video that said you shouldn’t practice daily, but rather 2-3x per week due to the effect of iron levels in your blood, if I understood correctly. What’s your opinion on this? Thanks. 🙏

[@freedivepassion9498]

How often you trai depends on the intensity you train at. You could breath hold daily at the appropriate level. CO2 tolerance is best created with high repetitive holds regularly, like 5 x per week. I have never heard of a correlation between pure STA and iron levels. Only deep diving and hemoglobin.

[@35nacl]

Hi Harry, do you do this training with a few warm up breath holds before you start the session, or is this training is to build a no warm up base hold? I’m one of those lucky few that gets super early contractions. Without warm up for dry static, I’ll always feel a minor contractions around the same time on the first lap and it gets uncomfortable really early. But on my second lap onwards, it comes a little later.

[@freedivepassion9498]

Everyone has a harder first hold, so warm up is an option. Personally I do 5 deeper breaths on my first hold (slight hyperventilation) to compensate for this. Then the following holds are with tidal breathing before hand.

[@35nacl]

@@freedivepassion9498 Thanks for the reply, Harry. Will give this a go. Building up my base again as my tolerance have regressed since I got extremely sick last year.

[@freedivepassion9498]

Start very easy and build from there. Good luck!

[@jodecaesteker3971]

I'm also one of the lucky fews with early and unbearable contractions... 🤜🤛🙃

[@HarrisonD7]

Hi Harry, some great replies here so hoping you may be able to help me. I've been spearfishing for like 5 years now and have never trained my breatholds particularly well but did some co2 tables towards the end of last year and started a couple weeks ago. My static pb is just 1:45ish and while spearing maybe up to 1 min wet. I have never experienced contractions. Is this possible or am I simply just not pushing myself into the "tough zone" you describe?

[@freedivepassion9498]

Yes, it sounds like you are starting to breathe before it gets tough. It helps a lot to have an experienced freediver to guide you through and give you the confidence to go deeper into the static. Not to mention the safety issues.

[@HarrisonD7]

@@freedivepassion9498 Sorry only just picked this up! Thanks for the reply. Think I'll carry on doing CO2 tables for now and book a course later in the year :)

[@lundberg146]

Hey, how far apart should I do my breath holds each day? Should I do them in one session, say like within one hour? Or should I do them like 3 hours apart? Just did my first 2:17 and I feel I was still in my comfort zone.

[@freedivepassion9498]

Wait about 2 minutes between holds, enough time for your breathing to return to normal

[@EatPastaBeFasta]

How do you prepare for the training you talk about at 5:00 ? Do you take just one deep breath or more? Or is it just about the contractions? For example: one deep breath, contractions start at 1 min and five deep breath, contractions start at 2 min = same effect because CO2 number is the same just at another point?

[@freedivepassion9498]

That's correct, so to be time efficient it doesn't make any sense to do any big breaths.

[@EatPastaBeFasta]

@@freedivepassion9498 Thanks a lot! :)

[@tabula123456]

What do you do at the beginning of the breath holds? Do you start by relaxing for 2 minutes or breathing deeply for X amount of time. And in between breath holds do you breathe normally for a minute or breathe deeply for two minutes before you go back into the next breath hold?

[@freedivepassion9498]

Just breath normally the whole time, so you start with a neutral level of CO2

[@tabula123456]

@@freedivepassion9498 Cheers!

[@BendOfMind]

can i still do this if i smoke 4 - 5 joints per day?

[@freedivepassion9498]

I don't see why not, just don't expect to break any world records. You will have to switch to a vape if you want a WR 😉

[@jordancoburn104]

How long are you breaking for between static breath holds? I have heard elsewhere that the breaks can be reduced.

[@freedivepassion9498]

2 minutes should be enough

[@MrVibriocholerae]

Should i hold my breath while walking or laying down? Does it make a difference?

[@freedivepassion9498]

Laying down for this exercise

[@MosesTOC]

can someone explain me what he means with contractions? :)

[@skinz1234]

HI been watching your vids and i just went for my first breath hold!!! i cant ignore the CO2 urge to breath!!! I try to ignore it but still have to breath when the urge comes!!! Even when i resist! After about 20 seconds!! What can i do? Thanks

[@freedivepassion9498]

Probably trying more than 1 time will help

[@skinz1234]

@@freedivepassion9498 i understand and thanks to your reply i rewatched this video. so i start feeling uncomfortable only after 20 seconds!!! And im wondering do u think anyone can hold their breath to the point of spasms or are some people just too weak? Thats my question!!! If maybe theres something wrong with me? But i will retry concentrating your Taking It Easy method here! Thank You very much for answering me :)

[@Testeverything521]

Does training to hold your breath increase lung capacity or just carbon dioxide tolerance?

[@francoisa.1279]

Just CO2 tolerance and or O2 depending on the exercises. Increasing lung capacity relies on different exercises like stretching and packing. You can improve a lot before worrying about increasing lung capacity ;)

[@Testeverything521]

@francoisa.1279 My wife has reduced lung capacity. I was looking for ways to help out and breath holding was the first idea I looked into. It seems like there are better options though.

[@freedivepassion9498]

Breath holding may not be the answer, but planning to fully utilize the respiratory muscles will help. I recommend the slow pranayama exercises

[@crazymug]

What if i can only hold for around 1 min at top ?

[@freedivepassion9498]

Then do 10 holds to 45 seconds and build from there

[@nktrainingsystems]

What do you mean by contractions? Is that letting the breath out?

[@freedivepassion9498]

Its the involuntary contraction of the breathing muscles. Like a hiccup while holding the breath

[@amoreazione3563]

This will sound crazy, but I wonder if a freediver is more resilient when getting a sever form of covid - the expanded lungs' capacity must be advantageous, no?

[@freedivepassion9498]

Not given the examples of some very deep divers I know. Breath work and lung stretching should logically help with rehabilitation though.

[@himynamespaul7954]

What does he mean by contractions some1 tell me

[@zod5966]

I've been watching breath hold videos lately to include freediving videos because I'm gassing out in my martial arts training. Do you think that this kind of CO2 training would help me improve my endurance and cardio for martial arts?

[@freedivepassion9498]

It may give a minimal benefit

[@kanaka108]

Can you do this training sitting cross legs? Is it OK.

[@freedivepassion9498]

The amount of time you can hold your breath will be reduced, so 3.00 without contractions is unlikely. But apart from that, it is ok

[@sparkybudda7764]

Hi, I practice buteyko. We breath hold after the exhale. Do You have any experience with this method?

[@freedivepassion9498]

We train that way in freediving. It can also be used to simulate altitude training if done in the right way.

[@grantharada5660]

What are contractions?

[@freedivepassion9498]

Involuntary muscle spasms of the respiratory muscles

[@not-one-not-two]

Does this have to be done underwater?

[@freedivepassion9498]

No, it should be done in bed

[@adorablepaints416]

I decided to become mermaid for a job so its very important to learn this without harming myself. Thank you, how much could I progress aprox in 4 months?

[@adorablepaints416]

Right now l do 1:30 without problem. 1:50 with contractions, I have found while letting some air out prolongs ability to withold.

[@freedivepassion9498]

How quickly you can progress depends on your history and comfort in the water, the quality of your coach and not allowing any mental blocks to appear. Best of luck

[@adorablepaints416]

@@freedivepassion9498 30 years of sea made me pretty comfy. I do not have a coach but I find your methods useful, btw dives wouldnt be more than 5-6 meters. Tnx

[@adorablepaints416]

Most of the tourists keep them selves close to the shore 😁 so I have no need to go any deeper than like 2m lol in reality. About metal blocks, what would be the most common?

[@heartfrancisco7999]

what do u mean by contractions?

[@freedivepassion9498]

It is the involuntary contraction of the respiratory muscles. It feels like a hiccup.

[@Arda5858.]

i am 14 and my rekord breathhold was2:50 cause i havent trained for a long time i can hold my breath just for 2 mins what should i do. i get my divereflex very fast

[@freedivepassion9498]

Be consistent, and gentle, training takes time by definition

[@Arda5858.]

Freedive Passion now i can hold my breath for 2:30 Easy

[@kattodoggo3868]

@@Arda5858. my record is 23 sec :D

[@AdrienBeITube]

Movember!

[@mrcorn4581]

"Better to do 15-20 2 Minute breath holds per week" XD I can't even hold my breath for more than 1 minute 🙃

[@per-erikhedmark3490]

👏👍👍👍👍

[@anglerandrew8404]

New friend and support here. Dive ON! 🤝🔔💯🙏 im new to this bro...

[@freedivepassion9498]

Welcome to the team!

[@agentstaple1]

Fking hell are you a scouser or a viking? Can't put my finger on it. Cheers though mate great vid!

[@freedivepassion9498]

My accent has been raped and pillaged, so maybe I am half viking now

[@oceancrossingutopia]

Here is the real secret. Drink a lot of beer and keep pushing how long you can wait to pee. This will make breath holding way easy.

[@freedivepassion9498]

There is nothing like perspective

[@deangoddard821]

2 min 😆. I get 40 seconds 😆🙈

[@austinmolinich9777]

lmao right?! like im just starting and I've never smoked or done anything bad for my lungs a day in my life and I'm getting like 30 secs

[@freedivepassion9498]

Most people do 2 mins on their first day of a freediving course. Not that you are bad, it's just having someone to guide you makes a big difference.

[@siennasfam3618]

What is a contraction?

[@TrumpGaylord69]

When you felt pressure on your chest when holding breath