The world record in holding the breath underwater is 17 minutes and 4.4 seconds. It was installed on April 30, 2008 by American illusionist David Blaine. And this despite the fact that an ordinary person can live without breathing for only 5-7 minutes, after which he loses consciousness and may die. A special training in holding his breath helped him in this.
In order to be able to hold your breath for a long time, it is not enough just to inhale and not exhale as long as possible. And then try to improve your achievement. We need a whole complex of general developmental and special exercises, which was developed by scientists and athletes from different countries.
General Exercise
Obesity is the main enemy of breathing. Excess weight in the body is not only a load on the respiratory system, but also an excess amount of fat cells, each of which requires oxygen for its activity. Only a person of normal weight can be successful in holding their breath.
Run more often. Running develops the respiratory system and chest, promotes weight loss, and improves the lungs' ability to absorb oxygen. Long-distance running teaches the body to use resources economically, including oxygen. Running with attention to breathing is especially useful: train yourself to run so that for a certain number of steps there is a certain number of inhalations and exhalations.
Practice breathing exercises described in yoga and Chinese martial arts. It has been proven that they not only develop the chest well, but also teach how to control the diaphragm.
Engage in meditation and autogenic training. This is necessary in order to be able to control your emotions and disconnect from all extraneous thoughts. The ability to control oneself and not be distracted by anything is an important component in breath-holding training.
Special exercises
1. Take a slow deep breath, trying to evenly fill the lower, middle, and upper lungs with air. Then hold your breath for 1 minute. Exhale with force, through pursed lips, in several steps. Do not inflate your cheeks. Over time, try to increase the time you hold your breath.
2. Take vigorous breaths in and out for several minutes, trying to saturate the blood with oxygen as intensely as possible. After that, inhale and hold your breath for the maximum time. While holding your breath, stretch your arms forward at chest level, clench your fingers into fists. Begin to quickly move your arms back and bring them together until you can keep the air in your lungs. Finally, exhale sharply.
3. Walking with concentration on breathing. Take a certain number of steps of equal length while inhaling slowly. Then, without stopping, and without holding your breath, take the same number of steps as you exhale. Continue the exercise until you have completed several inhalation-exhalation cycles. If the exercise is easy, increase the number of steps during inhalation and exhalation. This exercise must be done several times a day.
4. Lower breathing. Lying down, place one palm on your stomach and the other on your chest. Begin to inhale and exhale air using only the lower lungs. Control your breathing with your hands: only the stomach should move, the chest should remain motionless. The exhalation should be long, through pursed lips, the inhalation is slightly shorter than the exhalation.
Holding your breath
Immerse yourself in the water, relax, and hold onto something like the side of the pool. Try to disconnect from all extraneous thoughts. After taking a few vigorous breaths in and out to oxygenate the blood, hold your breath and immerse yourself in the water. During inhalation, do not try to fill your lungs with air as much as possible. The breath holding time will be significantly longer if you inhale at 75-80% of your maximum lung volume. Do not store air in your mouth while underwater.
When swimming underwater, try to move slowly and smoothly to conserve oxygen. Concentrate on holding your breath and do not let extraneous thoughts enter your head. When looking around underwater, use your peripheral vision more often. Do not twist your head again and do not lift it up - if you hold your breath for a long time, this can lead to loss of consciousness.
After a long holding of breath, you must not exhale sharply and inhale new air. Exhale for about a third, then inhale. And only then do a full exhalation and inhalation.
Remember, the warmer the water, the longer the breath hold time, as in cold water the body needs more oxygen to maintain a constant body temperature.
When exercising in the water, use a helper. He will not only be able to time the breath holding, but he will also insure in case of a possible loss of consciousness.
