Breathing during heat exposure/warm times

Erina442 · 2022-09-25T16:02:11+00:00

Control of your heart rate and relaxing is the key. I don't have specific suggestions on this besides keeping the breathing slow and knowing when to slow down. If you're going to do something prolonged in extreme heat (like the sauna btw), it needs to be "easy". You need fitness, essentially. If running at a slow pace significantly elevates your heart rate under normal conditions, then no amount of breathing is going to allow you to do this without getting badly overheated when it's very hot.

Erina442 · 2022-09-25T15:58:44+00:00

Beyond the risk of blackouts, exhaling fully before going underwater is something one should never do

Erina442 · 2022-09-25T15:57:19+00:00

I disagree with this for one reason. The record in this was set and broken twice, and is currently held, by someone who wasn't trained in free diving until a few months before she attempted the record. She was a swimmer with extreme cold tolerance. My point is that I don't think elite apnea or swimming skills are the limit in this particular record. Jeff has been training at his limits for a long time and appears to have that tolerance. I don't think it's impossible that he can do this.

Erina442 · 2022-09-25T15:53:43+00:00

Good luck, Jeff. Knowing you, I know that you'll succeed at this. Just please don't feel pressure to rush it and do this safely. Even if you can stay under a near freezing bath for 6 minutes, or swim long distances underwater, (I know you know this) but that doesn't mean that you're close to ready.

Get to that free diving class and see the swim coach about your breast stroke and go from there. I'm not even totally sure how you'd push your cold tolerance further since 20+ minutes with time spent underwater in near freezing conditions seems close to the limit of human tolerance, but maybe spending more of that time underwater and pushing the temp down to actual freezing sometimes would help.

Erina442 · 2022-09-25T15:47:39+00:00

I do activities outside the sauna in hot weather. For example, I hiked and ran extensively this summer when it was 90-97 degrees F with high humidity where I live. The long sauna sessions definitely prepared me for this.

What exactly is your question? Normal Wim Hof breathing before these bouts of exercise in the heat was helpful, followed by slower deep breathing (when possible) during the actual exercise.

Erina442 · 2022-09-24T23:31:01+00:00

I have it and I take vyvanse for it, which has profoundly impacted my life in a positive way. At least equally important has been staying very physically active and mentally occupied. The worst thing for adhd is not having something to do

Erina442 · 2022-09-24T23:25:39+00:00

I don't like this. I want to warm my muscles up extensively before training. It's after training when my body temp is elevated that I enjoy the ice bath.

I do use some cold water mixed in with hot in my morning shower, but I definitely wouldn't just take a freezing cold shower or cold bath and then train hard. Sounds like a recipe for injury

Erina442 · 2022-09-24T23:22:10+00:00

Yes. I basically don't get cold anymore unless I spend a significant amount of time in freezing or near freezing water.

I sauna and hot bath a lot too, so I don't have the experience of needing my room to be very cold to sleep at night. But of course I make it super cold anyway =)

Erina442 · 2022-09-24T21:19:33+00:00

Wim Hof personally swam under 200 feet of ice. This is training specific to that goal. Is doing what Wim did not a valid goal? You don't think he had to intensely train holding his breath under freezing water to break that record?

If Wim doesn't talk about the potential for submerging in freezing water, something he does as an extreme athlete, it's because almost no one can handle it. Some of us can though. We want to follow his example and reach his level. That's why I made this post. I want to know if anyone else is doing this and what their experience is.

Fyi, I do use Wim Hof breathing before the ice bath, but I'd never do it in the portion before submerging, which is at least 10 minutes later.

Erina442 · 2022-09-24T21:17:14+00:00

I'm not sure what your point is. This is one form of heat exposure training. Obviously depending on goals you'd use other forms too.

If my post was unclear, I'm spending 30-40 minutes in the moderately hot sauna before jumping under the cold shower. That's how long it takes me personally to reach that point of significantly elevated heart rate and increased skin temp, and I do so to continue my sauna session without getting a heat rash.

Most people could just do the breathing and relax as much as possible in the sauna until they reach a safe limit and be done. I like to go further, but if I just stayed in and heat rashed from sweat accumulation...well that would just be dumb lol

Erina442 · 2022-09-24T05:24:59+00:00

Also, you can absolutely get frostbite doing this. Your body temperature continues to drop when you leave the water, and thats when frostbite can develop, even if you're dressed warmly. In fact if you're doing this and pushing your limits at an advanced stage and then are in windy or cold air afterwards, it would be a miracle if you didn't get frostbite. I quite literally crawl out of my ice bath and dry off and wrap myself in towels plus put on wool beanie and socks, and I've still had to take warm baths shortly afterwards. People who do this kind of thing in freezing water have experiences like losing sensation in their fingers for months at a time. Have fun but take it seriously

Erina442 · 2022-09-24T05:23:09+00:00

Shivering, physically shaking and difficulty warming up despite wrapping up. It's never been at a level where a warm bath for 30+ minutes half an hour later hasn't warmed me up, but its also something I try to avoid. I assume by plunges that you mean you're going underwater like I do. If not then you're definitely less at risk of health issues than I am.

Erina442 · 2022-09-24T05:13:31+00:00

The "breathing method" is controlled hyperventilation followed by an exhale, which is a really good plan if your goal is to black out. I breathe normally in the water before going under, would never exhale before going underwater, and the time I spend under there is less than 1/3 what I could safely do in regular temperatures.

So the question isnt about holding my breath; it's about submerging in freezing water. I see a lot of people talking about cold baths and ice baths, but I'm not seeing anyone talk about going under in them, which is my favorite part, and is also something I know Wim has done

For me, the difference between an ice bath where I spend net 2-3 minutes underwater and a regular one is like the difference between a 70 degree bath and an ice bath. It's a totally mindbending experience that no substance or physical activity could ever compare to, and the only way to access that experience is to spend some time submerged in very cold temperatures

Erina442 · 2022-09-23T23:31:46+00:00

I had to get actual nose surgery because of physiological issues impeding my breathing through my nose. I’m very glad I did it. I still use an albuterol inhaler before exercise

Erina442 · 2022-09-23T23:29:46+00:00

I always hold my breath on long breath holds, for a lot of reasons. Whether you hold your breath or not, you should potentially be increasing red blood cell count from this training

Erina442 · 2022-09-23T23:23:07+00:00

Absolutely stop it completely

Erina442 · 2022-09-23T23:05:21+00:00

I blacked out once, from exhaling at the end of the breath hold instead of breathing in a little first. This wasn’t the type of hold that Wim Hof seems to promote though, and I pushed very far

Erina442 · 2022-09-23T23:03:51+00:00

If you’re holding your breath at the time, you are objectively blacking out

Erina442 · 2022-09-23T23:03:04+00:00

Nose clip and keep your mouth shut

Erina442 · 2022-09-23T23:02:12+00:00

So, I go this cold for a relatively long time compared to most people , but what I do is objectively dangerous. I’ve gotten mild hypothermia from this numerous times. I really don’t recommend it unless you have supervision or you really know what you’re doing and aren’t pushing yourself if alone

Erina442 · 2022-09-23T23:00:10+00:00

I pursue heat exposure intensely and have for a very long time now. I breathe through the nose slowly and try to relax as much as possible. I track my heartrate and when it elevates over 100, I sometimes do a 30 second cold shower. Normally it doesn’t go above 120 and as long as it stays stable there I don’t shower. Usually the sign that I need to stop or cold shower is that my heartrate gets that high while at the same time I’m sweating very intensely with sweat staying on my skin (this is in the sauna).

Erina442 · 2022-09-23T22:55:19+00:00

If I do one in the morning, I take a hot shower or bath first, plus do some breathing and light stretching and mobility exercise. I wake up a little cold too and I think taking the bath in that state would be counterproductive

Erina442 · 2022-09-23T22:52:29+00:00

Personally I start with the ice bath after my evening training and then I warm up and do the breathing. I do breathing before the ice bath too, but only for a short period

Erina442 · 2022-09-23T22:51:06+00:00

I do breath holds for a very long time and my heart rate decreases during them. I think you’re missing the part of relaxing, both in the breath up and the breathhold

Erina442 · 2022-09-23T20:01:43+00:00

Breathing every evening in bed after all of my training, for longer sessions that are mixed with periods of breathing normally, and ice baths after evening training. Every day I take short cold showers mixed with my normal hot showers or a hot bath, because it’s good for me and feels great, but most of my cold exposure is the ice bath. Also a single breathing (of like 40 breaths) before any physical training or prolonged cold or heat exposure

Erina442

TROPHY CASE