Stay-at-Home Dry Apnea with Alexey Molchanov | Molchanovs Freediving

This 15-minute practice originating from yoga is simple, very effective, and scalable. Incorporated in our daily routine, we will increase our CO2 tolerance, get more familiar with our breathing muscles, and improve our ability to relax while holding our breath. With Alexey Molchanov, World Champion Freediver, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Molchanovs.
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We are encouraged to stay at home. That doesn’t mean we can’t continue our freediving practice. Freediving is not merely happening in the water. There is so much we can practice from home that will improve our performance in the water. Let’s embrace this time of solitude to create new routines and ways of living. In the face of solitude, community carries on.
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The Molchanovs Mission is to share our love of freediving with the world. We do this by cultivating the level of knowledge and skill of all freedivers, by building global and local communities that fuel passion for freediving, and by developing gear that provides the best freediving experience possible.
Our inspiration, Natalia Molchanova, is one of the greatest and most decorated freedivers in history. She was a passionate educator and a role model to many in the freediving community. Molchanovs is firmly rooted in her philosophies and approach to freediving, and is continuously updated with the latest developments in education, technology, and scientific research. We are inspired and honored to have had Natalia as our inspiration. Without her, the Molchanovs Movement would not exist today.
Find out more about the Molchanovs Freediving Education here: molchanovs.com/pages/molchano...
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[@AliImran-nr8mc]

5 sec inhale 15 sec bh 5 sec exhale 5 sec bh Can also do 10 sec exhale For 1 min 5 sec inhale 40 sec bh 10 sec exhale 5 sec bh Inhale 5 sec stay same Exhale bh only inc after 1 min total slowly

[@tataata]

thanks for sharing!! especially scaling up suggestions, they are gold!

[@GrahamKidd]

Thanks Alexey !

[@singingbody8058]

Thank you so much for your generosity and flow!

[@sammychow1540]

Good exercise! Thank you very much Alexey

[@riyadissa9822]

Thank you champ 💪🏆

[@Mycardsharp]

👍👍👍 you're a brilliant man.

[@gabrielperez9685]

really, really cool and useful, thanks Alexey!

[@hannahlouise333]

Thank you very much! I have been searching for a co2 tolerance exercise that is actually enjoyable and first session was really nice so lets see how it goes! I would certainly be interested in an apnea walking video 😀

[@user-to9ek9sd8j]

Champion! ) прямоугольное дыхание! Ура! ) хорошо работает

[@deonb6106]

Brilliant advice, thank you for graciously sharing your knowledge Alexey! Blessings.

[@sambbk9225]

Thanks for those videos Alexey

[@karelcervenka6746]

Спасибо, Алексей, за упражнение. Басейны у нас в Чехии теперь все закрыты, буду «сушить»...

[@XozinhoX]

thank you for sharing of your knowledge.

[@mericatalay]

Old fashion is gold fashion, thank you soooooo much 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️

[@aliciadarcy1]

The empty lungs hold ~ I can hear my heart beating like a drum in my ears. This is a valuable lesson thank you for sharing. ❤

[@andreasfarmakis5422]

Cool!

[@julienmartel770]

Wow very cool tanks!

[@xenzo7971]

Thanx for sharing ,really it’s so good

[@carahibah]

Thanks Alexey, I’ve been practicing if for just a couple of weeks and my CO2 tolerance is notably increasing!

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

Nice work!

[@eduardopires3838]

tks for share your knowlege with us

[@divermidori]

Thank you~~~~

[@Floandro-rp3uq]

Wow. This is a really sympathetic and good tutorial. Thank you. You are a good guy. ;)

[@romasrubezius9638]

For me it's a best ever video lesson. I'm practicing it every day and it changed my life a lot. Thank you Aleksey.

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

You're very welcome! Happy practicing!

[@mintymint4048]

Best breathing tutorial. Thanks.

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@constantinezorge]

вот это поворот. англоязычный канал, подпишусь и на него.

[@paolofrigo5028]

Grande! sei un fenomeno e anche simpatico

[@enrico48353]

thank you very much

[@riyadissa9822]

❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@joseulloa1874]

Hola Alexey buen video como los enseñas ...gracias

[@lajcik5627]

Hey! Thanks this is realy usefull! I gonna try this!

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

Let us know how it went!

[@christophhein5033]

Thank you!

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

You're welcome!

[@monikacastellsestella7602]

Hi Alexei I feel I am not doing my aim Wich is be enside the water because in here is cold. I got a flight to leave to Indo and I am trying to leave to turkey for helping But media are not very interested in many things if we are not paying our own everything. So hope to reach Indo in the midle of March and finally free dive again surf again and be in a place were my life can be as I am again Hugs and kissess. I started our olimpic games in kas!!! So I allways remember turkey and siria and free divers as we are when we are there!!! Superhugs!!!!

[@alejandrocesar1718]

Great video, I was only wandering how to link the cycles, so you finish with the exhale breath hold and then you pause, breathe normaly and then start the next cycle, or do you start the next cycle right after the exhale breath hold?

[@derdjedder]

I have the same question, hopefully someone will answer :)

[@TripSmith]

I agree, what do we do between cycles?

[@derdjedder]

@@TripSmith so I did this exercise the last 3 days and I did it, as obvious. I hold my empty lounge 5 sec and after this I make a 3 sec full inhale which ends in holding my breath for my chosen time (40sec). So in the end it is as described from him and you repeat everything after the finish. I have to say that I don't know the truth, but this is what I found out works the best for me

[@mayankrathi505]

amazing!! Do i do it on empty stomach or any time of the day. Thanks

[@daleto2]

hi Alexey, Thank you! How often should we do this cycle per week? Is it unhealthy to train the lungs too often per day/per week?

[@alidogan1006]

Thanks for this great training which I found a little mediation in it as well :) when you say it is originated from Yoga, is it the general pranayama practice or is there something spesific ?

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

That's correct, it is a Pranayama practice :)

[@Hudiny1]

Thank you for this video, Alexei! Super helpful! As I stated extending my intervals, currently at 1:10, I'm starting to experience what i believe is high blood pressure towards the end of a full lungs breathold. A pulsing sensation in the head. Is this an expected side effect of the full lungs hold? Should I asjust anything?

[@rodrigocortez6099]

Hi Alexey! Tks for the video. I'm level 2 freediver (going for level 3 in two months) and have question about contractions. Wouldn't it be good to let the contractions come in and train relaxation with them? I'm doing 10 cycles and contractions start at the 7th or so cycle. But if it can work, I'd be willing to go on with contractions to be more and more comfortable with them. Would it be a good ideia?

[@gabrieleromeo6712]

Thank you SO much Alexey for sharing this great training technique! What body position do you recommend for this exercise? Thanks again

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

You're welcome! You can do this either on a chair or standing up as long as you are comfortable, but also please be careful of any hazards around you in case you start to feel dizzy or lightheaded

[@user-ft8kn2um7q]

@@MolchanovsFreediving can i do it while laying in bed?

[@35nacl]

This reminds me of a one breath table, but this exercise is not stressful compared to that. You mentioned that this could be done daily. Is it alright to do this on days when I have my dry/wet training sessions, or is that just too much and over training? For example, this breathing exercise plus apnea walk tables, within the same session with a few minutes rest in between the two exercises, or is it best to do this on days when there are no other specific training?

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

If you’ve having a wet training session, you don’t need to do the dry apnea additionally. It’s only a replacement for a wet session. However, you can combine it with apnea walk tables.

[@dr.eusebioluis7583]

Alexei i really appreciated your avise and, is help me a lot how many time your advise this trayning in a day?

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

You can incorporate this practice in our daily routine to increase your CO2-tolerance, get more familiar with your breathing muscles and improve your ability to relax while holding your breath. You can practice this every day with shorter intervals and incorporate longer breath holds (1 minute or more) 3-4 times per week.

[@Jayd3z]

Awesome video Alexey! Im a beginner to freediving. I'm looking to do this practise for 5 mins, how many reps should I be doing in a 5 minute span, assuming i'm doing the 30 second exercise. Do I do the 30 second exercise continuously for 5 minutes without break? Like another inhale breath after the empty lung hold? Or should I wait until I feel fully recovered before doing the next 30 seconds cycle?

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

Glad you like the video! You want to be doing these exercises without getting any contractions, so start slow and see how you feel with the 30 seconds continuously (without fully recovering each time) for 5 minutes, or until you feel any discomfort or contractions. Remember to focus on relaxation and feel the expansion of your whole body and learn to be comfortable with it, and slowly increase the duration as you get more and more used to it. All the best!

[@Jayd3z]

I tried continuous without recovery breath (30 seconds for 5 minutes) got a massive headache. Damn….with decent recovery breaths I was doing 1 minute 30 seconds for 10 minutes. Without the recovery breaths, this is SUPER INTENSE

[@djnree]

thanks for the tip :) can i do little bit of packing (just after the full inhale) in order to help stretching breathing muscles better

[@AlexeyMolchanovFreediving]

Yes you can :) When I do my cycles of more than 1.30 per cycle then I add some packing :)

[@meetyadobraw]

❤

[@nunzio2111]

Hello Alexey! This exercise is wonderful so far! My cycle is getting longer as I feel comfortable with it until the end of 15minuts. When I started I thought: doing 90seconds for cycle for 15minuts is impossible. Instead, here I am. Please could you advise if I should carry on doing longer cycles or is better to change exercise? Or just do this as It is into my morning routine! Thank you very much and I hope to meet you and the movement soon!

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

Thats awesome, you can make workout longer, up to 20 minutes and then start to alternate intensity, one day stat with comfortable time up 1:30, second day do shorter time but with longer exhale breath hold, progress to make it even longer then inhale one. For example start with 1:00 total, 5 in, 25 hold, 10 out, 20 hold and then slowly reduce inhale part and increase exhale part. aAnd third day try to do longer then 1:30 normal type with more time with inhale.

[@nunzio2111]

Molchanovs Freediving thank you so much. I am so excited to try and carry on with this type of exercise. See you soon

[@federic1988]

It’s fantastic that the world champion answer any questions, you’re a great person mr molchanov

[@nobuyukidu94]

Thanks Alexey, that’s a great video to train CO2 tolerance during the cold winter months! I’m at 1min10 but the last 4 minutes of the 15-min cycle are quite intense. Not unbearable but not easy as well. 1min was easy but I jumped directly 1min10. Should I keep training at 1min10 or go back to 1min05 or 1min? Thank you!

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

Try different ways: do 1:10 cycle for 5-7 minutes 1:00 and 1:05 for 12-15 minutes :)

[@nobuyukidu94]

@@MolchanovsFreediving thank you!

[@simon.annies]

How intensely do you breath out? like really sqeeze the lungs as empty as possible or less than that?

[@ki3r0]

Hi, thanks for your tips! I had a doubt while doing the exercise. Does it influence whether I inhale through my nose or mouth? Thank you!

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

It will be harder just through your nose. Also, when actually freediving we use our mouth because of our mask/noseclip so it's best to do it through your mouth.

[@officialjoshuachristian]

Great video! I have a question though: why is it bad to experience contractions during the workout? Shouldn't we be enduring the contractions as this excercise is supposed to help with C02 tolerance?

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

It’s actually not a bad thing to experience contractions, it’s in fact a great signal to help gauge your co2 tolerance, but in this exercise we are trying to focus more on deepening the relaxation of the muscles, which through practice should help you be more comfortable during breath holds, and should also help delay the time you get your first contraction as a result over time, so enduring contractions is not the main aim here :)

[@officialjoshuachristian]

@@MolchanovsFreediving thanks for the clarification ♥️

[@nunzio2111]

Thank you so much Alexey. Can I do it laing down?

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

Absolutely, that's the most comfortable position for me as well :)

[@cocoycano3824]

Hello alexey, how many minutes or hours of relaxation you take after the 15minute routine until another 15minute routine within the day?

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

Usually I do 1 dry apnea routine per day, if you want extra load, do more than 15 minutes, you can progress to 20 and even up to 30 minutes. But for the rest of the day it is better to focus on other exercises, like mobility, strength if needed.

[@cocoycano3824]

@@MolchanovsFreediving alright! Thank you so much!

[@diverlife2668]

So idk why but I still feel a tad confused on this because when I'm diving besides equalizing I struggle with this constant out of air feeling that makes me instantly turn around and go back up any advice?

[@franksdoglife]

Thanks for sharing! Good stuff :) But, you need a whiteboard to illustrate the cycle. I´m visual in my learning method

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

That's a great idea! thanks!

[@JoshauCalum]

With the exhale, do we force out all of the air? Or do we exhale until comfortable?

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

Force out until comfortable

[@gypsy696]

Hi Alexey, not a free diver, just been doing breathwork…my question is why are you not focusing on the empty lung hold ? They are harder. I can do 3.5-4 min holds with air in, but only 90 sec empty lung holds.

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

Thank you for a nice question! For beginners and amateurs we find it much more helpful to get used to the full lungs sensations

[@iovis2g]

Hello from Greece,α question which training is suitable for improving apnea? aerobic or anaerobic training? Considering that the anaerobic threshold is activated by high-intensity movements and that during diving the movements are soft and gentle, the energy comes from aerobic metabolism? or maybe the body detecting low oxygen levels activates the anaerobic energy production mechanism?

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

Hello! This topic is very complicated and hard to answer, especially in the comments. We have a video on the channel about training periodization with Vitomir, you can find some answers there: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXeceGV9hMxribssi=KJBdPhV_3KQpLl25

[@leeweiming3368]

may i know after inhale>hold breath>exhale thn finally free lung breath hold. beside increase breath holding time, is increase free lung breath time also important? how consistant should we increse the free lung breath hold time?

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

Hello! not entirely sure what you mean? sorry! But you can go increasing gradually as your comfort levels will begin increasing as well.

[@oceanlife1503]

How often should I practice this exercise per week?

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

You can incorporate this practice in our daily routine to increase your CO2-tolerance, get more familiar with your breathing muscles and improve your ability to relax while holding your breath. You can practice this every day with shorter intervals and incorporate longer breath holds (1 minute or more) 3-4 times per week.

[@NSMetaLpig]

hi im a nobie, is there a side efect if i directly go for this cycle? 5 seconds inhale 45 breath hold 5 seconds exhale 15 seconds breath hold no air

[@TheTuhiki]

Hello i dont understand good english. Can you tell what are the excercies please?

[@patrickmanfred]

Do you lock the throat? Or just hold at the diaphragm?

[@derdjedder]

How do I connect the circles?

[@floydfernandes8819]

Is it ok to practice exercise daily.

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

Yes these dry exercises are okay to practice daily, but please be mindful if you feel any discomfort at any time and adjust accordingly.

[@floydfernandes8819]

@@MolchanovsFreediving thanks for the advice..🙏

[@julienmartel770]

Just a question, how ican adapt this training to apnea walk?

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

It’s like a CO2 table, a warmup. It’s safe and efficient, hard to overtrain. You don’t create too much hypoxia and it’s a great development exercise. It improves the mobility of the ribcage and stretches the intercostal muscles and diaphragm. If it’s not done with too much intensity, it’s a great warmup. After you recover for a couple of minutes you can do any kind of training like freediving training or in your case walking apnea. If you have good endurance and recovery, you can do walking afterwards.

[@user-to9ek9sd8j]

@@MolchanovsFreediving, ит воркс, грейт!)

[@AlexeyMolchanovFreediving]

Also if you want to do breath hold duiring walking I ll another video about it:)

[@kingiptam9211]

@@AlexeyMolchanovFreediving thank you you suggestion!! looking forward your apean walking video~!

[@selimdemir6979]

Hi alexey ..! İ m spearfishing diver..Max 20 meter hunting ..i want more 5 meter dive and relaxing ..but i use cigarette ..is this training does it work ? What do you suggets ?

[@MolchanovsFreediving]

This training is helpful for all freediving activities...but smoking definitely doesn't ;)

[@user-ft8kn2um7q]

cigarette = high blood pressure,cancer

[@pioquintoclinic2467]

Hi! Is there a break in between cycles? 😁 thanks to anyone who can answer.

[@daredevilcourier3640]

that's what I am wondering! I don't think so

[@marciofernandes7091]

is that an oura ring?

[@AlexeyMolchanovFreediving]

yeap :)

[@BobCunt-dj8yq]

How does this transfer to actual exercise like running? Also not sure this should be taught on the internet

[@sebas8145]

Thank you! I’m going to start training but I have 2 questions How many times do I do this exercise a day? Do I do it everyday a week?

[@DeepBlueSpirit2]

As explained in the video: total training session can be 5 minutes (beginner) up to 15 minutes (more advanced level). You can do this exercise daily.