freediving
Static apnoea PERFORMANCE FACTORS Text and photos ALEŠ KOŠTOMAJ
Competition in static apnoea
ABSTRACT
Ever since the first deep diving competitions were organized, there has been debate about when the ultimate limits of human apnoeic performance will be reached, and which factors will determine these limits. Divers have thus far surpassed all former predictions by physiologists in depth and time. The common factor for all competitive apnoea disciplines is apnoeic duration, which can be prolonged by any means that increase total gas storage or tolerance to asphyxia, or reduce metabolic rate. These main limiting factors can be broken down further into several physiological or psychophysiological factors, which are identified in this article.
ing. This means submerging under water without additional external devices which would allow for breathing. With practice, one can make progress in breath-hold diving very quickly. Unfortunately, the methods and strategies of such diving are less known in the scientific field i.e. to scientists and are difficult to explain because they are currently difficult to research in the aquatic environment with existing technology. STATIC APNOEA Success in static apnoea depends solely on holding one’s breath, since a diver rests on a pool’s water surface in a relaxed manner. The ability of holding one’s breath is the basis of all other disciplines and methods of diving. There are three factors which determine the limit of holding one’s breath:
INTRODUCTION The word apnoea is derived from the Greek word a-pnoia and means “without breathing”. The very origin of the word has no connection with water but in modern terminology the word apnoea is used as a synonym for breath-hold diving or free-div-
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1. total amount of oxygen (O2) in the body (lungs, blood, and tissues); 2. ability to overcome hypoxia (deprivation of oxygen) and hypercapnia (excess of carbon dioxide); 3. metabolic rate.
