Being Able To Last Underwater

Being able to last underwater for a considerable amount of time would be a great skill to have.

Can you guys give tips on how to train your lungs to last underwater?

 

I believe that it's very difficult to last long underwater, It takes lots of practices to be good to hold on breath for even 2 minutes, But slow by slow you can add up seconds;
So my tip to last underwater is to practice Deep breathing and exhaling slowly, All you need is to relax all your body just like during meditation, But here we are underwater you just need to focus ; Take a very deep breath and then exhale it slowlh see how long you can hold on it Slow by slow you can be better

 

Per My Seal friend practice holding your breath and try to increase the length of time each time you practice

 

The biggest part of this is to stay calm and passively resist the growing urge to breathe. Part of what practicing does for you is it helps you build confidence that regardless of what your instincts are telling you that you can last longer than you thought at first.

You are right in that this is a worthwhile skill. I saw a myth busters where they tried to shoot through three feet of water to a pane of glass. Even a 50 caliber BMG didn't break the glass. I was SHOCKED.

 

Holding your breath is only part of it. Hyperoxygenation of the lungs and blood will help you last longer, also slowly exhaling while you swim under the water will remove some of the CO2 build up in your system. Staying calm and using smooth easy strokes as you swim also helps you last longer go farther. My dad was UDT/SEAL(mainly UDT) for almost 30 years. WHen we were stationed in Pensacola, he taught pilots how to get out of crashed aircraft. They had an indoor olympic sized pool with a crash simulator. Back then, I could ride the simulator down to the bottom of the pool, unstrap myself and then swim too the other end of the pool. We were stationed there for 2 years, it took me a whole year to get to that point. I could not do it now, but I am still very comfortable underwater.

 

Call me crazy, but are we seriously considering this important? A " skill " that increases my survival time from 1 minute to 2 minutes is not what I would call a force multiplier. I will spend my time figuring out how to stay out of the water, then I won't have to worry about it.

I have spent a lot of time in the water. Participated in just about every water sport known to man. If life had taken me a different direction I might have ended up in the Navy. I love the water, and love the ocean. You want to increase your survival time? Don't go under there!!

Sorry. I am off my soap box now.

 

OTOH, if you can stay under and swim farther while you are under than people expect, it may help you escape and evade pursuers. JMO, YMMV

 

I will keep that in mind as they walk along the side of the pool waiting for me to come up.

 

I think I must be part alligator. As kids, I and my brothers and friends swam in the bayous. I outlasted them all in our underwater games. Fun times! Little did we know that our underwater hide-and-seek games could come in handy someday.

.

 

In my younger days I dived a lot.
Lying in bed each night I did fifty slow and really deep breathing and holds then slow exhales, I would breathe in then breathe in a little more and hold until I could hold no more then slowly exhale until I could exhale no more then hold for a few seconds, five normal breathes then do it again.

And while you are actually diving stay calm and relaxed

 

I was thinking more lake/river lol

 

Those are the most likely bodies of water I would be in as well. Just hope I don't end up underneath.

 

I can see the point of developing this skill. Just being able to recover something lost on the bed of a lake or river could save you a great deal of time and effort replacing it.
Not everything needs to be seen in the context of self defence.
Sadly this is not something I'm any good at so I can't offer advice, only encouragement.

 

You are in large company, Lonewolf! On the other hand, there are some, like myself, who grew up around LOTS of water (water, water, everywhere!). Many parts of the world are abundant in rivers, lakes, bayous, swamps, and other waterways. It is quite a contrast to the drier parts of the world, and requires different critical skills to navigate...in good times and bad.


.

 

Agreed. I have lived large parts of my life within sight of the ocean and when not near the ocean there were almost always lakes and rivers nearby.

 

Isn't holding your breath for longer then 3 minutes dangerous?
Referring to the rule of three. ( or has there been an update to it?)

I've heard of highly trained divers going for 20 minutes without air but they had a medical team on standby and needed treatment after.
So it doesn't seem worth the risk to try and push it unless forced.
Trying to train yourself to stay calm seems like a good idea though.

 

I took the classroom only portion of a water evac from a helo.

After a certain age bracket, the human body rapidly loses its strength. Plunged under water and surviving is reserved for only a few.

Remember it's not just air that's needed for life. An environment of cold water ... no need to explain.

Think what your situation would be in an overwater crash at Great Slave Lake or Lake Superior.

For the North Sea oil fields area; no need to think. Only prep required is reviewing the fate of all human flesh.

 

No way they went 20 minutes with no air. I used to hold my breath for over 4 minutes with no problem. My dad knew an old frogman who could hold his breath for 6 minutes. 1 guy in a nearly 30 year career of diving in the naval special warfare community. 20 minutes with no oxygen to the brain equals brain death.

 

There are people that can free dive up to 100 feet for a long time.

 

Not for 20 minutes. The guy my dad knew was a free diver before joining the navy. IIRC, he grew up in a small village diving for pearls. He was one of the original frogmen in WWII. 6 minutes is a long time when holding your breath underwater. Consider that in less than 4 minutes, I could escape the practice crash frame and swim and Olympic sized pool without surfacing. IIRC, and Olympic pool is over 150 feet in length.

 

Google Aleix Segura

 

Well duh. If I spent a couple hours breathing pure oxygen, I could have held my breath much longer too. That is serious hyper oxygenation.

You did notice that his max without prebreathing pure o2 was 8 minutes. He avoided brain death by saturating his internal organs and blood in pure o2

 

That's why I said it's dangerous to go over 3 minutes
And that a highly trained diver with a medical team on standby did a 20 minute run. in the end regardless of the pre prep he held his breath for over 20 minutes and is recognized in guiness records.
All I did was provide the extreme example of this situation and advise against others trying it.
But it did happen.

 

I have to learn to read, I thought the thread was about making underwear last. I dont know how to do that and if m6 survival depends on long periods underwater I am done

 

For those of you whose not accustomed or trained in underwater operation, suffice to say in practice it is more important to be able to move elsewhere while remain mostly underwater (undetected) rather than staying completely underwater. In fact in brown water environment all you need to do is keeping your head near water surface (thus able to breath and maintaining situational awareness) while keeping the rest of your body underwater which is similar to crocodile when hunting.