phew thanx! 
In a test of the Life Saving Crew I did ~75m without kickoff. (we were supposed to do 50m)
So kitarak is probably right since my normal record of holding breath is ~1min and to swim 75m takes longer IIRC.
“Someone please tell me how pearl divers hold their breath for 5 minutes.”
I’d like to know how they can see under water too…
Anyway, the ocean water here is 54 deg so that limits this hobby to about 30 seconds.
I meant this breath holding hobby.
Lemme get out my watch…
2 minutes 1.62 seconds. I probably could have gone another half minute at the expense of a few brain cells.
Just did 2:05
The first minute and a half was really easy; the last 15 seconds was pretty bad, but if need be, I had maybe another 5-10 seconds (at a guess, since I’ve never held my breath to the point of passing out). Online bragging rights weren’t worth the discomfort, though.
It seems as though exhaling slightly towards the end helped (the comfort factor anyway). Anybody else notice this? Or have an explanation for why?
Regarding pearl divers going for over 5 minutes, I think a big part of it is there cardiovascular system is in really good shape. I read an article in a spearfishing magazine (don’t remember which one, but it was probably about 3 years ago, if that helps at all) where they talked about a spearfisherman who could stay down for about that long. They mentioned that his resting heart rate was in the upper 20s, which I hear helps with things like this.
I got 2:30, before that my record had been 1:30. The difference was that this time I didn’t give up at the first feelings of discomfort, and I tried to see if what drm said about it getting easier after he first 1:35 was true or not. It was. I probably had another 15 seconds before I would have actually passed out, but since I’m alone I didn’t try for it.
A couple weeks ago I held my breath for 5 1/2 minutes. But it was in physiology lab, and I had been hyperventilating for 40 breaths, and the last 5 were on 100% oxygen. Lest anyone worry about my brain damage, I was hooked up to a pulse oximeter, and my pO[sub]2[/sub] was around 99-98 for nearly all of that time. or so my lab partners claimed
Bah!! Breathing is for wimps!!!
I just did 2:03. I’m kinda dissapointed, really, as I used to be able to do ~3:30 easily. Younger days and all that. In high school I could swim about 65 yards underwater.
I won $40 doing 2 minutes once. Spear-fishing my max was just over a minute.
-Tcat
Back in the day when I was much fitter, I could swim three lengths of the pool (75 metres) underwater; I don’t know how long it must have taken me, but I found that the best method was to swim in a leisurely fashion, maybe it was two minutes or a little more.
I’ve read that the discomfort associated with not breathing, as well as the mechanisms for kicking in the ‘must breathe!’ instinct, is the high presence of waste gasses (carbon dioxide, mostly) in the lungs and blood stream rather than the lack of oxygen.
So breathing out exhausts some of the waste and relieves the burden.
Over two-and a half minutes. I used to time myself at this factory I worked in (when the machines were running ok we could go for a whole 12-hour shift with nothing to do). I can’t do it first attempt though, you really have to practise for a while to stretch the lungs or whatever before you get the good times.
The constant droning of the machines helped, I think they lulled me into a really relaxed state of mind because when I hit the two minute mark I felt fine and there was no panic, in fact I felt great.
jusst got 2:04. When I was at Sea World, there was a place you could compare yourself to various creatures. I ALMOST got 2:00 there (which was equal to a seal!) However, the thing wasnt underwater, you just pressed a button and depressed it when you breathed.