I 'partially' agree with you in the sense that it depends on how well trained someone it. For example I always place proper CO2 tolerance development BEFORE any Hypoxic development (delayed urge to breathe is a pre-requisite). But with the athletes I coach, when add this typeof training into the program after making adequate improvements in CO2 tolerance they are usually able to experience hypoxia to the intended degree with these types of exercises. 2: I would also agree that it would be unlikely to experience LMC or close to levels of Hypoxia without any contractions or strong urge to breathe even on RV.. However, I don't think that good hypoxia training means becoming 'very' Hypoxic. It's better to become slightly Hypoxic over and over, and I think that's possible without any significant urge to breathe (even with somewhat under-developed CO2 tolerance).

@@trainfreediving2772 lots of things to unpack here, the approach needs to be addressed in a more nuanced manner. One thing that I totally agree is to have CO2 tolerance as a prerequisite for such hypoxia training, which was not mentioned in the video. About stronger or milder hypoxia, depends on the purpose we use it. If the intention is to create more lasting adaptions mild hypoxia for prolonged periods of time will better fulfill the purpose. Stronger hypoxia can be like a test. So it’s not possible to train hypoxia without including CO2 tolerance unless one hyperventilates, which is a way to isolate hypoxia at the expensive of removing a fundamental part of the training, but then again depends on the context and overall purpose of the training. RV training for me in incomparable

@@mrcave5750 Again I agree with you that more nuance would be needed to fully explain anything . Anytime I make a public video / post (we haven't focused on RU-vid for a while now) it's more of an 'introduction' to the concept.. not a full breakdown of the entire process since that would take an hour+ to make sure every piece is addressed..

@@trainfreediving2772 thanks for sharing thar. Overall I appreciate your approach as it seems we align in many aspects. In my opinion and experiences the graphic is just wrong and potentially misleading as well. Not the best way to convey your message. Cheers

In this case it's not really strength trianing: More like finning with correct form loads the (right muscles) and that 'placement of the load' reduces / eliminates pronation. I assume what you're talking about would be similar to a runner.. actually I HAD issues with pronation on my right foot (evidenced by wear patterns on my running shoes).. I also fixed this with strength training of the Hips (so yes, that is a thing too).

Usually they touch BECAUSE of pronation.. but the question / solution is why is there pronation (answered by the video).. My view is that if you can walk your ankles / feet are strong enough to fin without pronating, so therefor the pronation is a way of re-balancing another issue up the chain of the leg.

Well I reccomend {reverse packing every EQ with a particular tongue position (H) and a particular timing (right after EQ, not before or between them)}.. Why not every 2.. the more air you make available, the easier it will be to reverse pack as you get deeper. Waiting every 2 might work well for 20-30m, but it stops working easily after that

Training once per day it too much for most people. I typically have myself and my athletes train 3 or 4 days per week, and they tend to see the fastest progress that way. In static that could be 6-12 total breath holds depending on the workout, but having full days off from breath holding is important

​@@trainfreediving2772 Would you say there are physiological adaptations or is it purely mental? I know that some people have conditions which make them build up too much co2 and the body adapts by keeping bicarbonate in the system. Could this adaptations be replicated with breath-holds?

@@JohnDoe-id5ih I'm pretty confident that there are physiological adaptations... If it was only psychological the progress would stop pretty quickly, but most people I work with make improvements on this for months / years.. this isn't just "relaxation" (psychological).

Hey great question, Unfortunately I don't think you can "equate" it, which is actually the reason I started focusing on the (# of breaths method).. In 10s for example, I can take 1 breath or 8-9 breaths if I breathe really fast, so that's up to a 9x difference in starting CO2 (In terms of CO2 out / O2 in): time is almost irrelevant, it's the liters of air breathed per time. That being said if you breathe the same all the time and you know each 00;05 of additional time has a certain effect you can manage your recovery by time (I do to in many cases) but I cannot tell you time = breath..

Hey.. Many divers do what I explained 'naturally' / without thinking about it and unfortunately if they haven't gone through the process of fully understanding the mechanics of it, they often cannot teach or problem solve that aspect of EQ. I'm glad this cleared things up for you. Hopefully it helps you maintain your air supply below 10m

I'm happy you found it helpful and were able to make the most of your location to make some progress!

If I (or anyone) said we know the "exact mechanism" we would be making stuff up, so I'm not going to pretend to have a specific answer.. However, what we do know (from sports science research) is that the body / mind adapt best to "threshold level" stimulus for what ever we are doing (flexibility, strength, endurance, hypoxic tolerance (mountaineering is another example) etc.. I assume also CO2 tolerance).. What I think happens (why this delayed the urge to breathe) is that we do 2 things.. Physically: the body becomes a little better a regulating acidity (since we are providing a MANAGABLE dose of acidity) Mentally, we become more relaxed during the initial CO2 symptoms (since they are mentally Manageable), VS reinforcing the expectation of upcoming contractions.. Neurally: your CNS learns that it's "normal" to go a long time without contractions Vs doing hard tables: your CNS learns that it's "acceptable" for contractions to start early

@@trainfreediving2772 that makes sense. I thought since for example when doing bodybuilding you lift to failure which stimulate muscle growth. Similiarly i thought going maximum would be best. But your logic makes sense. And since you saw improvements in your clients and sp forth i guess there is science behind it. Thanks for the reply

@@Kyoutube121 hypertrophy training is one of the only examples of where going to "failure" is the actual best way to improve.. it's the exception to the rule.

"can they be".. Yes. "Should they be"... Thay depends on what you were doing before and your own genetics / response to training. I often see people plateaued because they are training too often. I would reccomend maximum 3 or 4 breath holding days per week (for 99.9% of people) more than that will likely slow down your progress..

Cool I appreciate the response

Hey.. In short, yeah that could work but my "concern" would be how short the exhale holds would end up, after 1st contraction on full lungs for a few rounds you'll just almost immediately get them after your exhale. You'd be better off doing this on just 1 volume, full to 1st, 1 breath, full to 1st, etc.. Ive actually been seeing good results from a slightly different version of this (I call it 2-part holds) Breathe up, RV to 1st co traction, 1x inhale, full to first.. rest / breathe up for 2:00 and repeat 3-5x total. The benefits here is you get 2x 1st contraction exposure per hold, the no contraction time(s) are maintained or increase through the exercise, you get to practice focusing for the (total: RV + Full) time, and as your RV times improve you might even get a little bit of hypoxia exposure as well..

Hey Rod, Thanks for reaching out and letting me know how you're applying this stuff differently, but still successfully!! In short, I'm not 100% sure how much difference there theorietically is between applications (performance) Vs (quality of life).. but "typically" There needs to be some degree of progressive overload (training becomes more challenging) as time goes on in order to continue making adaptation (or seeing benefits) from the training. This "overload" can be achieved in different ways (more reps) (longer holds) (shorter recoveries).. From a performance perspective, the best way is to manipulate all 3 in different ways, to provide lots of different stimulus to the body. I would say the only difference for your approach would be extra "conservatism" (your trianig shouldn't feel very challenging). As an example (I'm only "guessing" here).. You've got your standard 8x1:15 with 4x breaths.. You could do also do; 10x1:25 with 5-6x breaths 6x 1:00 with 2-3x breaths In "theory" (like I said I'm guessing) each if these workouts is equivalent (the last hold of each workout feels the SAME but the way you got there is different according to the 3 variables we can manipulate.. As you apply this VARIATION to create more adaptations, then slowly over time you OVERLOAD by increasing the hold times (1:15 becomes 1:25, 1:00 becomes 1:10, 1:25 becomes 1:35 etc...)

@@trainfreediving2772 Thanks for your quick response, I will 'work' at what you are showing me and see where it leads. I am amazed how little the 'medical' profession have helped me understand to art of breathing. I was given a machine to help me breathe at nighttime called a CPAP, basically felt like putting the hose of the vacuum cleaner on blow and into the mouth. But no one ever described the way the Free diving Fraternity explain about Co2 intolerance and also of course relaxation, the actual two opposites of what someone with breathing issues has. Stay calm and become tolerant of co2 is a great Mantra. Once again thank you Rod

Personally I see very little difference between EQing the mask and noseclip. If you have good mask technique / management, maybe on RV you gain 1-2m since the main limit is the chest, and +/- 5m on full lungs. If there's a massive difference (like 15-20m more with noseclip Vs mask) you're probably doing something wrong with the mask..

@@trainfreediving2772 thanks Nathan , if so keep going using the mask Take care bro!

@@ageo65 I use the noseclip only because I prefer to freefall with both hands by my side for easier balance & it allows arrow position for the descent with mono / bi fins.. not for eq haha..

👍👍😎

So a "basic" Sequential would have the glottis closed all the time. However what's you're doing has a use (and a funny name: Squirelling). The use, is to continue to top up your cheeks deeper than the depth that you could normally fill them using you abs (so reverse pack refilling). This is useful for really deep dives so you can keep 100% full cheeks down to 50-70m.. there's no harm in doing this for shallower dives The use-less part of this is if you're doing it all the way to the bottom of your dive. If this was the case, there's no need to fill your cheeks at all, and just use Frenzel..

If you're speaking about the Audio, I don't know / it's fine for me when I play it? If your talking about the trianing volume (number of holds), this is only a "conceptual" video just to show the idea of what to achieve. Realistically, training volume needs to match the individual.. For example the "holds to 1st contractkon" method; the volume will be very differen between a person who's getting 1;30Sta Vs 4:30Sta.. a 200m diver might use 10x25 with 3-5 breaths between , where a 100m diver might only need 6x25 with 3-5 breaths to achieve the same training results.. Make sense? // if it was just the Audio, there's a little extra info haha..

@@trainfreediving2772 it was about the audio but, the extra was more than welcomed thanks

Since making that video, if I look only at my 1:1 online coaching, I've had about 45 people who have specifically needed / wanted to deley their urge to breathe as the primary focus for their trianing cycle. Using this style of training (not just this exercise, but the concept of getting CO2 up to around the first contraction level and holding it there though the table without getting to strong urge to breathe / hard contractions).. 43 of them increased their time / distance / depth to 1st contraction by at least 10-20% within the first 8-10 weeks of training.. and then building on that if they've continued for more training cycles. (The most recent case was a guy who's first contraction came just before 40m Dyn, after 4.5 months, he's up to 1st contraction between 75-78). The 2 that didn't, often "broke" the program and went into push-zone on a regular basis (1/2 of their sessions). That's without commenting on people who've also significantly delayed their contractions by using these types of exercises without my direct hands on programming / coaching.. -- Other than that (actually measuring CO2 levels, and the effects it has on the blood), nothing "scientific".. But we know that endurance, flexibility, stamina, lactic threshold, mitochondria, etc.. Are build fastest by training around the point where you START to stress the system. NOT by going to the LIMIT of the system..

Did it work?

How is your progress now?

I wouldn't say safe Vs unsafe.. but if you do apnea / breath holding after a workout, your breath holds will feel like crap.. much better to do them before or on non working days