Breath-Hold Training

The general physical training of an underwater shooter differs to some extent from that in all other underwater sports. In the system of general physical training sessions, training and auxiliary exercises, alongside the whole set of physical exercises that develop the athlete's strength, agility, athleticism, endurance and willpower, paramount attention is given to teaching the athlete to breathe correctly. And this means correct breathing not only, and not even so much, while performing a particular exercise in the water, but a thorough mastery of breath-holding in general, and correct breathing at any moment of year-round training – on land and in the water, in the gym and at home, in the pool and at sea. In no other sport does breathing occupy such a decisive place. In addition, the future underwater shooter needs to know that smoking and competitive underwater shooting are incompatible.The first group of exercises is done at home and in the gym. Many of the breathing exercises and some of the physical exercises recommended here are borrowed from the training system of the Indian yogis. They are offered to swimmer-divers for good reason. Through many years of personal experience, the author of this book has become convinced of the usefulness, and sometimes the indispensability, of certain yogic breathing exercises for the physical development and training of athletes – underwater shooters. In the specifics of the Indian exercises, which are also the most important in our sports training, two points are especially important: rhythmic movements and correct breathing while swimming, and voluntary breath-holding. Thus, the well-known promoter of this system S. Issudian writes in the book "Yoga and Health": "Swimming is the only sport which, with its ideally rhythmic movements, makes us breathe deeply in the style of Pranayama. It is precisely thanks to this property that swimming is extremely good for health. The crawl is a superb example of yogic breathing. One of the most profound experts on yoga in our country, the physician B.L. Smirnov, writes: "Into the technique of yoga the Indian people have put their age-old wisdom, which amazes with the depth of its knowledge of physiological and psychological laws and the degree of mastery over one's psychophysical powers... The basis of yogic breathing exercises is breath-holding"*. * "Mahabharata", section "Yoga", from the afterword by B. L. Smirnov, Ashgabat, 1963. The former world champion in deep diving, the Frenchman Jacques Mayol, trains his breathing and does physical and preliminary breathing exercises according to the yogic system. During a visit to the Soviet Union in 1972, he asserted that yogic "asanas" (postures) and the "Pranayama" school of breathing are the most suitable for the training process of divers. The first section discussed the dangers of free diving on a breath-hold if this diving and breathing are done incorrectly. Breathing and diving with a supply of air in the lungs must be made competent and correct, so that sports training is not only not dangerous or harmful to a person's physical condition, but invariably benefits the athlete's health and strengthens him physically and spiritually. It is not recommended to do breath-holds right at the very beginning of training. First of all, you should master the elementary technique of correct breathing. All breathing exercises must be done standing or sitting upright, so that the chest, neck and head are strictly in one straight line. This is very important for the optimal effect of the breathing exercises. You should begin training your breathing under a coach's supervision, and it is best done in the morning and evening. When doing breathing exercises, you should strictly keep to a regular daily routine. Different types of breathing and special breathing exercises have their own purposes and produce different physical and psychological effects. The most useful for underwater athletes are full breathing, cleansing breathing, breathing to increase working lung volume, breathing to expand the chest, breathing that stimulates nervous energy, calming breathing, and some "energy" breathing exercises. Always begin the exercises with as full an exhalation as possible. Breathing must be very smooth and even. Right to the very end of the breathing excursion, the stream of air must flow without strain. The usual mistake is the wrong sequence in which individual muscle groups are brought into play. Particular attention should be paid to doing full breathing correctly. Take each breath so that first the diaphragm and abdominal muscles work, then the lower and middle ribs spread, and only last of all the upper part of the chest. To make the breath as full as possible, do not complete the movement of the diaphragm fully; without letting the belly bulge out, move on to a smooth lifting of the ribs, first the lower, then the middle and upper ones. Only at the last moment of the inhalation slightly tense the auxiliary muscles of the neck and back. The end of the inhalation must never be done with effort. Full breathing does not at all mean filling the lungs with air to the limit on every breath. You can inhale an average amount of air but distribute it throughout the whole volume of the lungs. However, several times a day take a series of deep, full breaths with maximum filling, to keep the whole breathing mechanism in a state of readiness. Cleansing breathing. It is recommended at the very beginning of cleansing ventilation, i.e. immediately after ending a breath-hold. It is done as follows: fill the lungs fully using the previous technique, hold the air for a few seconds (5-6), purse the lips as if to whistle, and exhale a little air with considerable force. Then stop for a second and again make a short exhalation, pushing the air out through the lips, and so on, until all the air has been exhaled. It is important that the air is exhaled with force. It is remarkably refreshing and quickly eliminates oxygen deficiency. The exercise is usually done standing with the feet slightly apart. 2-4 cycles are recommended. Chest expansion. Stand up straight. Fill your lungs fully and hold. Stretch your arms out in front of you at shoulder level and bring together your tightly clenched fists. Forcefully pull the clenched fists back, keeping the arms at shoulder level. Calmly return the arms forward. Repeat the arm movement several times. Exhale quickly and forcefully through the open mouth. Increasing working lung volume. Any correct breathing increases working lung volume, especially systematically performed full breathing with maximum filling. But there is a special exercise to expand and activate the alveoli – the tiniest lung sacs, entwined with blood capillaries. Stand up straight with your arms down. Beginning a slow, gradual, wave-like inhalation (following the rule of full breathing), bend your arms at the elbows and tap your chest lightly with your fingers the way a doctor usually percusses a patient. When the lungs are full, strike your chest with your palms. The aerodynamic impact will open up collapsed alveoli, make them work and activate the transfer of oxygen into the blood. Do not strike hard or many times, so as not to damage the very thin membrane of the alveoli. The exercise is done carefully and no more than 1-2 times a day. Stimulating nervous activity. Standing, take a full breath and hold it. Stretch your completely relaxed arms forward horizontally. Slowly spread your arms to the sides, gradually tensing the muscles so that when the arms are fully spread to the shoulders the fists are tightly clenched and the arm muscles tremble with tension. Then, still keeping the muscles tense, slowly open the clenched fists and quickly clench them again. Repeat this movement several times. Exhale forcefully through the mouth. Do cleansing breathing. The aim of this exercise is to raise and invigorate the activity of the nervous system and restore nervous strength and energy. It is the best exercise for bracing and stimulating. Its effect depends largely on the strength of muscle tension, the speed of clenching the fists and, above all, on the depth of the inhalation."Ha" breathing to calm the nervous system. Stand with your feet apart. Inhale as in full breathing, at the same time slowly raising your arms above your head. Hold your breath for a few seconds (5-10), then bend sharply forward, drop your arms down, exhaling through the open mouth with the sound "ha". This sound should be made by the outgoing air, not by the voice. According to one Indian author, this exercise "enlivens" blood circulation, relieves chilliness and dispels a low mood. This exercise quickly relieves pre-start nerves and nervous trembling. A somewhat different way of breathing produces an effect similar to the previous one. Stand up straight, feet apart, and exhale sharply. Take a slow full breath, at the same time raising your arms forward, palms up. Holding your breath, clench your fingers into fists, quickly bringing them to your shoulders, and straighten your arms again. Then, while exhaling, lower your arms and relax them, leaning slightly forward.This exercise is especially effective if, when straightening your arms forward, you do it as though overcoming some strong resistance, slowly and with great effort. This exercise helps well with nervous trembling in the hands and gives self-confidence and readiness for competition. Warming breathing. Sitting "cross-legged", keeping your head and torso straight, take ten strong breaths in and out at a fast pace, then inhale deeply and hold your breath for 15-20 sec. Exhale slowly. Repeat three times. Then do cleansing breathing. The exercise relieves cold symptoms in the throat, quickly helps when the feet are chilled, and increases warmth throughout the body.We have already said that in our sport the duration of the breath-hold is of great importance. The athlete's freedom of behaviour underwater, the accuracy of his actions and, ultimately, success in performing underwater exercises depend on this ability. It is necessary to train the ability to hold the breath during physical activity. The numerous exercises that develop this ability fall into two groups. The first includes those that can be done at home, in the gym, on the poolside, i.e. out of the water; the second group consists of exercises on and under the water. Breath-hold training should begin under a coach's supervision with exercises performed at rest. Excellent exercises for this are all the breathing methods given here with a hold and no movement. After every long breath-hold, get into the habit of doing cleansing breathing and calm cleansing ventilation. Soon this will become automatic. The next stage in training voluntary breath cessation is holds during the simplest and brief physical exertions. Gradually, the physical activity during the breath-hold is made more intense and longer. Here are some breath-hold exercises under physical load. 1. Stand up straight. Put your hands on your hips. Hyperventilate as follows: 3-4 cycles of full breathing (with wave-like filling of the lungs from bottom to top) without holds. Then one more relatively quick (3-4 sec.) full breath, and hold your breath. Slowly bend your torso forward, backward and to the sides. The number of bends is increased as fitness improves. Afterwards, be sure to do 2-3 cycles of cleansing breathing. 2. Lie on your back, arms along your body, palms down. Hyperventilate and hold your breath. Slowly raise your straight legs up towards your head and just as slowly lower them back. Do everything slowly and with the muscles of the whole body tensed. Relax and, without getting up, do cleansing breathing. 3. The starting position is the same. Hyperventilate and hold your breath. Raise your legs slightly and begin a "crawl" kick with them. Slowly raise your legs, without stopping the "crawl" kick, to a vertical position and just as slowly lower them. Sit up straight and ventilate. It is useful to systematically do squats and movements to train the vestibular apparatus (head rotations, torso "funnel" circles, etc.) while holding your breath. Breath-holds while walking are also effective. Walking at a brisk medium pace, keep your head, neck and torso in one straight line. Take a full breath through the nose over 4 steps, hold your breath for 8 steps, exhale through the nose also over 8 steps. Increase the length of the holds in multiples of two (to keep the rhythm) – to 10 steps, to 12 steps and so on. When you get tired, do cleansing breathing and free cleansing ventilation, and rest without stopping, breathing fully 4 by 6 steps without holds. In all such training, the aim is an unstrained maximum hold under considerable physical load. A special place in the set of land exercises is occupied by breath-hold training while running. Easy running over increasing distances is an indispensable form of training for the underwater shooter's heart and general endurance. Running is also indispensable for training breath-holds under maximum physical exertion. To do this exercise, you must already have a good breath-hold skill on land and in the water using all the methods given here. In essence, holds while running test and train not so much the duration of voluntary breath cessation as the body's ability to function normally under oxygen starvation, i.e. the ability to quickly restore normal breathing after a hold without removing the physical load from the body. Run with a light long-distance stride, landing on the whole foot, more on its outer edge. Arms bent at the elbows without tension. Keep your torso, neck and head in one straight line, with your chin slightly forward. Breathing through the mouth is full, wave-like, but not maximal. The exhalation is somewhat longer than the inhalation: for example, inhale over 6 steps, exhale over 8 (or 4 by 6). As you approach the kilometre mark of the distance, hyperventilate through the mouth – 10-12 full breaths in and out in a 2x2 step rhythm, then a maximum exhalation and a full (but not maximum!) inhalation, and hold your breath. It is very important here to keep the inspiratory muscles tensed, i.e. not to relax them completely. Keeping the breathing muscles tensed is an essential condition of any breath-hold. Otherwise the weight of the relaxed muscles, together with the weight of the ribs, shoulders and so on, will press on the lungs, which will greatly hinder circulation in them. You can check whether the inspiratory muscles are tensed as follows: after inhaling, open the glottis – the air should not come out. You should not do more than one breath-hold per 1 km of running distance. Begin training with a 1 km distance with one hold close to the end of the distance lasting 10-15 sec. (watch the stopwatch). Straight away get used to normalising your breathing while running, doing several cycles (2-3) of cleansing breathing and cleansing ventilation on the move.Gradually (within the system of year-round training), by the competition period this exercise is built up to a daily run of 8000 m with eight breath-holds. Any athlete who starts doing holds while running will very soon be convinced that breath-holds not only do not increase oxygen debt while running but, on the contrary, remarkably activate the whole process of external and internal respiration, making breathing while running light and unstrained. The graph shows the duration of breath-holds over distances of 3, 5 and 8 thousand m.* * In the first months of training over the 8 km distance, it is recommended to do only four holds, i.e. every 2 km. A 40-second hold over the 5 km distance is done only occasionally, testing the athlete's limits, and always in the presence of a doctor. It is very important to make sure that the time needed to normalise breathing after a hold decreases over the course of training. And this will depend largely on the competence of the cleansing breathing and cleansing ventilation after the hold and, of course, on the athlete's fitness. With good fitness, normal breathing after a maximum hold while running should be restored no later than 2-3 min. The first sign of normalised breathing is the ability to take a full breath with a distinct feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. This exercise, better than any other, reveals each athlete's physical and physiological breath-hold capabilities, because it tests the ability to hold the breath and restore it while the body is working hard, under conditions of the fastest development of oxygen deficit. However, when an underwater shooter dives in natural conditions, for example when performing the 3rd exercise at sea, it happens that after considerable physical activity on the bottom, maximum muscular work is needed to return to the surface as quickly as possible. A critical situation of rapidly developing oxygen starvation arises. This should be remembered in training. The diver must be psychologically and physically prepared for such an undesirable but possible situation. Such a situation can be simulated during all breath-holds under work. This should be practised from time to time with each athlete under a coach's guidance and in the presence of a doctor. When the athlete feels that the end of the hold time is approaching, he needs not to reduce but to increase the physical load. For example, during torso bends or while doing the crawl kick sitting, before the end of the hold several vigorous squats are done; at the end of a hold while walking, a short jog is done; at the end of a hold while running, the pace is noticeably increased. It should not be forgotten, however, that even after this, a rapid relaxation of all muscles and a sharp drop in the pace of activity are unacceptable. In all conditions, muscle tension must be released smoothly. This must be developed to the point of automatism, because relaxation of muscle tissue during acute oxygen deficiency contributes to loss of consciousness. Such regular training, completely safe on land, will prepare the body for excessive loads and long holds, develop additional "emergency" physiological reserves, rule out loss of willpower control and the onset of panic, so dangerous underwater, and build confidence in one's abilities. Of course, such situations must be prevented in every way during training or competitions. However, these skills and qualities acquired by underwater shooters may prove necessary at competitions in natural conditions. Holds while running are an excellent indicator of an athlete's fitness and readiness for open-water competition. However, it is not easy to achieve the figures we have given (see graph) in this exercise. They are attainable for an athlete who is well trained, trains systematically and year-round, and keeps himself in a state of physical readiness. Meeting the conditions of the graph given is evidence of sufficient training of the underwater shooter's respiratory function. As for breath-holds at rest, a physically healthy person who is not a newcomer to sport can, within two or three months of mastering breathing exercises, daily physical activity and training, bring the time of voluntary breath-holding at rest up to 2-2.5 min. This is the benchmark time; once he achieves it, the athlete can be considered to have mastered the method and physiology of breath-holding at rest. Further increases in hold time will come only with long experience.Text taken from the website http://hunter-fish.ru/interestingly/646/