50 yd. underwater swim

[gioberg11]

B Hurb posted that he got 50 the other day (congrats by the way) and i was curious if anyone has anyway training tips for holding your breath or swimming the underwater 50?

[Illmaxic]

mind over matter... also, slow your heart rate down. it helps TREMENDOUSLY. I've been able to do it for awhile now, when I first started I needed to slow my HR down to do it. Now I don't need to. When I slow my HR I can almost do 75m.... its all about being comfortable and pushing through it. Although I DO NOT ADVISE doing it by yourself

[king henry viii]

B Hurb posted that he got 50 the other day (congrats by the way) and i was curious if anyone has anyway training tips for holding your breath or swimming the underwater 50?

it's actually 50 meters. but that's beside the point. The best thing to do is get in sick shape. Doing CSS sprints of 50 meters 20 times or 100 meters 10 times... with 1-2 minute rest in between each sprint. that will really build up your lungs. same thing with running sprints of 400 meters.

if you've got a buddy, you could do the hypoxic swims that Stew Smith recommends. There are many variations but one I remember is a pyramid. Swim 50 yards/meters taking a breath for every 2 strokes. then swim 50 taking a breath every 4 strokes etc etc up to 10 then back down.

[jp116]

Try taking a deep breath by inhaling for four seconds and then exhaling for four seconds. Do this for four minutes aka 4-4-4. Also yawn and yawn a lot, it slows the heart rate down. You are only underwater for 35-40 seconds so it is not even that long. And remember you will be doing this in the deep end and the deeper you go the faster you will go. Don't forget to practice doing flips after you jump in because this is where guys usually fail. No pushing off the wall either.

[gioberg11]

thanks for the info fellas. it is all very valuable. when you say to get your HR down, do you mean just staying calm or do you have other techniques to do this?

i know about the flip and no pushing off the wall in the beginning but can you push off the wall when you get to the other side?

thanks

[B HURB]

I should actually explain myself. I can do the 50 without kicking off the first wall but have not yet tried jumping in and doing the front flip. But it's better to take small steps at fist...as opposed to just tackling the whole thing all at once (cause then you'll just be disappointed and frustrated). When I started my first goal was just to make it across the pool. After that...make it across and push off the wall....then make it across both ways.

Here's my approach though:

1) Definitely slow down HR. I usually let out a long slow exhale before I take my last breath.

2) Don't waste energy. Be relaxed when you're taking strokes. Watch this guy here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxpNqGDY-F0

Notice how on each stroke he uses arms and legs separately and not altogether.

3) Getting through the first 25 is the roughest part. If you can manage to kick off the wall, you'll make it back. Just syke yourself out a bit and tell yourself that you're not out of air.

4) DO NOT LOOK AT HOW FAR YOU HAVE TO GO! THIS CAUSES PANIC!

Hope this helped

[jatkins]

2 questions what do u mean by CSS and how long will it take to make a difference

[king henry viii]

2 questions what do u mean by CSS and how long will it take to make a difference

combat side stroke

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4lUHudMN1TU


i imagine it would take months before you can do the full 50 meters. unless you train specifically for it, then it might take less.

[aaronsmith85]

Start in the deep end, jump in head first, summersault (you'll have to do this at BUD/S, so practice it), then swim as deep as you can before moving forward. Getting deep early is the key to getting through the revolution the easiest. It's a common technique you'll find on here.

On top of that, stay calm and spend most of your time underwater gliding and you'll be fine. If you can't make the 50m, just go as far as you can, then do it again. Over time, with practice, you'll get it.

[SealTeam6_Wannabe]

I haven't tried the 50m yet, middle of winter it's kind of hard to get to a pool. Especially when there's only one within 50 miles of where I live. To get to my question... I'm sure you guys have heard of techniques such as purposefully hyperventillating (in through nose, out through mouth, long repetative breaths) and "packing" air into your lungs in order to enable yourself to hold your breath longer, but I've heard guys say these methods are actually detrimental to doing the underwater swim. My question is this: does anyone with experience at doing the underwater swims use the methods of hyperventillation and packing, or is it easier to just slow the HR, take a deep breath, and go for it? I ask because after slowing my HR and taking a deep breath, I can hold my breath for about 2 minutes. Hyperventillating and packing, I've reached 4 minutes.

[king henry viii]

I haven't tried the 50m yet, middle of winter it's kind of hard to get to a pool. Especially when there's only one within 50 miles of where I live. To get to my question... I'm sure you guys have heard of techniques such as purposefully hyperventillating (in through nose, out through mouth, long repetative breaths) and "packing" air into your lungs in order to enable yourself to hold your breath longer, but I've heard guys say these methods are actually detrimental to doing the underwater swim. My question is this: does anyone with experience at doing the underwater swims use the methods of hyperventillation and packing, or is it easier to just slow the HR, take a deep breath, and go for it? I ask because after slowing my HR and taking a deep breath, I can hold my breath for about 2 minutes. Hyperventillating and packing, I've reached 4 minutes.

DO NOT hyperventilate.

Many people have discovered, on their own, that voluntary hyperventilation before beginning voluntary apnea allows them to hold their breath for a longer period. Some of these people incorrectly attribute this effect to increased oxygen in the blood, not realizing that it is actually due to a decrease in CO2 in the blood and lungs. Blood leaving the lungs is normally fully saturated with oxygen, so hyperventilation of normal air cannot increase the amount of oxygen available. Lowering the CO2 concentration increases the time before the respiratory center becomes stimulated, as described above.

This error has led some people to use hyperventilation as a means to increase their diving time, not realizing that there is a danger that their body may exhaust its oxygen while underwater, before they feel any urge to breathe, and that they can suddenly lose consciousness — a shallow water blackout — as a result. If a person loses consciousness underwater, especially in fresh water, there is a considerable danger that they will drown.

[aaronsmith85]

http://www.deep-six.com/page73.htm

That page explains what king henry is talking about. A little more scientifically if you're interested.

Someone posted a video from YouTube on this thread of a guy doing 138m underwater - it's pretty amazing. He clearly isn't hyperventilating at the beginning, rather calming himself. The 50m underwater is only a 40 second exercise, so don't freak - just conserve and glide.

[j-lat]

I should actually explain myself. I can do the 50 without kicking off the first wall but have not yet tried jumping in and doing the front flip. But it's better to take small steps at fist...as opposed to just tackling the whole thing all at once (cause then you'll just be disappointed and frustrated). When I started my first goal was just to make it across the pool. After that...make it across and push off the wall....then make it across both ways.

Here's my approach though:

1) Definitely slow down HR. I usually let out a long slow exhale before I take my last breath.

2) Don't waste energy. Be relaxed when you're taking strokes. Watch this guy here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxpNqGDY-F0

Notice how on each stroke he uses arms and legs separately and not altogether.

3) Getting through the first 25 is the roughest part. If you can manage to kick off the wall, you'll make it back. Just syke yourself out a bit and tell yourself that you're not out of air.

4) DO NOT LOOK AT HOW FAR YOU HAVE TO GO! THIS CAUSES PANIC!

Hope this helped


Huge help brother. With my first try, doubled my (previous) underwater distance. Reducing drag and a lower heart rate make all the diference in the world.

[btx81]

This is exactly what you need to know about swimming underwater. First, you should understand what "lung packing" is. Simply take a deep breath, close your mouth, quickly open to intake more air and immediately close your mouth to save that "packed air". You should feel your chest swelling comfortably. Think of it like topping off your gas tank. Now, when you jump in the water or push off the wall, make sure you're not allowing any oxygen to escape through your nose or mouth. Clear your mind and get moving. Here's the best way I can explain how you should swim the 50 underwater start to finish. 1. Jump in, flip forward without losing any O2. 2. Head should stay in line with you spine, reach your hands in front and pull them in a hour glass shape. 3. Then press your chest down in an effort to get your hips up and start your kick. 4. Your first kick will be a scissor kick. 5. Once you have finished the pull and the initial kick, you will continue with the breastroke pull and kick. 5. NOTE: In order to get the most distance, you should add a fly or dolphin kick at the end of your brst kick. This will give you a little more distance by lunging your body forward. 6. You should pull and at the end of your pull, shrug your shoulders to your ears, this make you more streamline, and hold for 3 to 4 seconds. Then start the hand recovery and the kick. 7. After the kick, hold your stream line position for 3 to 4 seconds and repeat. 8. You should be able to make it 25 meters on 3 or 4 pullouts. 9. Everyone else has said it right, do it slowly so you use less O2. Finally for training purposes, do a 5 minute lung buster everyday. A lung buster is when you start swimming freestyle and breath on the 1st stroke, then take a breath after 2 strokes, then take a breath after 3 strokes, then breath after 4, etc, etc as far up the chain as you can. You start over at 1 once you don't make the jump, usually from 12 to 13. So work on this. The higher up the chain you make it, the better you're doing. This is a great way to monitor your breath holding progress.

Bored at work. Hope that helps.

[infantry_scout]

The lung buster sounds like a good idea. Its Hypoxic swimming, which is outlined in the swimming workouts in "12 weeks to BUD/S"

[leahy_j]

i just do my regular swim workout, and at the end of it, without spending too much time to catch my breath, i do a few laps underwater. i'll swim the first 25 without air, push off the wall and go as far as i can, then surface for one breath and back down, push off the wall again, go as far as i can, etc... i do it for as many laps as i feel like, usually 3 or 4 laps. it seems to work pretty good, when i started i couldnt even make 25 yards, now i can make about 40.

[kevgats]

I should actually explain myself. I can do the 50 without kicking off the first wall but have not yet tried jumping in and doing the front flip. But it's better to take small steps at fist...as opposed to just tackling the whole thing all at once (cause then you'll just be disappointed and frustrated). When I started my first goal was just to make it across the pool. After that...make it across and push off the wall....then make it across both ways.

Here's my approach though:

1) Definitely slow down HR. I usually let out a long slow exhale before I take my last breath.

2) Don't waste energy. Be relaxed when you're taking strokes. Watch this guy here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxpNqGDY-F0

Notice how on each stroke he uses arms and legs separately and not altogether.

3) Getting through the first 25 is the roughest part. If you can manage to kick off the wall, you'll make it back. Just syke yourself out a bit and tell yourself that you're not out of air.

4) DO NOT LOOK AT HOW FAR YOU HAVE TO GO! THIS CAUSES PANIC!

Hope this helped

don't take a HUGE last breath before you go, this causes you to feel like your lungs are too full and you have to expend energy actually holding the breath in, take a medium/large breath, and once you get halfway let out a little bit of your air, and slowly let out more as you get closer. also mentally, focus on just swimming faster and faster and faster, if you just keep thinking about that all of a sudden you are going to be at the wall.

[bobsmily]

The trick I used to get passed the mental barrier was to set a goal for each attempt. I first started at 15 meters underwater, when I came up for air I would toss my watch another 5 meters ahead and then start over, and go retrieve it. I was able to do the 50 meters within in a week or so with that technique.

[jared1989]

cold water training slows your heart down...yeh it sucks but you will use less oxygen and you will get the feeling of moving under water by just practicing...always have a safety swimmer on long underwaters more than 25m