How long can you hold your breath for?

[coachTanthony]

[purplepoppy]

Just under 2 minutes but I can hold other people's longer if they don't struggle too much.

[coachTanthony]

lmao.

[Bricealan]

@purplepoppy Well, you have to pinch their nose closed, then put your knee in their chest, that way they can't get away! 🤔🤔🤔👍🤷‍♂️

[Caroline91]

OMG, I can't stop laughing!! And aren't there definitely some people you might just like to help out like that? I know I would sometimes!

[Bricealan]

@Caroline91 That's why I love the GAG site... Yourself and Coach, and Purplepoppy add so much humor to this site, it is priceless

[Caroline91]

@Bricealan Hmm, thanks for the compliment. I kinda think @purplepoppy takes the prize for best humor. I haven't really let my sense of humor loose yet bc I'm afraid of offending someone. You're not bad yourself, dude, you do a nice job of keeping it going.

[Bricealan]

@Caroline91 For me personally, this is why I visit the site so much, as there are a lot of good, friendly, intelligent people that are willing to exchange information and humor

[TommyMountainFigure]

A couple of years ago during a bad chest infection, I was left suffering with something called Laryngospasms. My windpipe blocked for about 90 secs. I was left with no air, no way to breathe. I could barely stand and I am a very fit guy.

This happened about 20 times at different points with no warning, and every time I thought I was a goner!

If I think about it, I probably could have held on for maybe 10 or 20 seconds longer, but certainly no more than that!

[Bricealan]

@TommyMountainFigure DAMN, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE!!! Have you been able to resolve the medical issue that caused it?

[TommyMountainFigure]

@Bricealan The chest infection caused coughing fits that lasted almost 3 months. As soon as the infection cleared, the coughing stopped, and thankfully, I've never had a repeat of it, but you're right. I thought this is it. I'm dead.. every time it happened.. I could have got a job with the Blue Man group. that's how bad my colour went.

[Bricealan]

@TommyMountainFigure That sounds terrible. glad you are better !!!

[Caroline91]

LOVE the Blue Man group, but would really rather YOU didn't try to join it that way,

[TommyMountainFigure]

@Bricealan @Caroline91 Thank you. I appreciate that.

[OfMiceandMen]

I gather it would be a couple of minutes, when I use to do a lot of snorkeling it was up to about 3 mins. I could dive about 25 to 30 ft and cover quite a stretch with my flippers on.

[Caroline91]

Ever swum through a school of anchovies? It's beautiful bc they're actually rainbow colored underwater so it's like being caught in the middle of a rainbow. But, it feels really slimy all over. Ew!

[Bricealan]

@Caroline91 No but I have surfaced in a Giant Kelp bed!!! But easy to swim through

[Caroline91]

@Bricealan I think you win on that one... kelp just might be slimier that little fish lol. And kelp, unlike seaweed, is prickly.

[OfMiceandMen]

@Caroline91 I have not swam through anchovies before, but I have been in the water when the alewife are running in Lake Ontario. Looks like a wall of silver moving in unison.

[Caroline91]

I had to look that one up so learned something new today! Most of my experience is salt water. It was so weird the first time I swam in one of the Great Lakes. Wall of silver sounds mezmerizing.

[OfMiceandMen]

@Caroline91 I've done both. I SCUBA dive and snorkel in the ocean whenever I go on holidays along the coast. I checked out "Larry" the lobster near Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia while diving in the bay right beside the lighthouse. Claws were a few feet long, could see the body entirely because he was backed into a bedrock crevasse, but head circumference was about the same as making a circle with your arms touching your fingers together. He's something like 4 or 5 ft long.

[OfMiceandMen]

Couldn't see the body...

[Caroline91]

Love hearing about stuff like that. My experience is All Pacific Ocean from Washington state to South America. I once came face to face with a moray eel and still have my nose attached to my face!

[OfMiceandMen]

@Caroline91 Nice, I the back end of a moray eel swimming along the bottom when I was diving in Jamaica while staying at Sandals. Lots of excursions with sea turtles, barracudas, and one nurse shark.

[Caroline91]

Impressive

[Caroline91]

A long time — 2 1/2 - 3 minutes. At least i used to bc I body surfed and it could make the difference between coming out of things alive or drowning. Almost drowned twice. Still didn’t stop me from gettin’ down to the sand when I heard “Surf’s up!”

[FunkyMonkee]

We used to have pool in the back yard (16 x 32) and, if I readied myself for a while, I could swim all the way around the pool a little more than once under water with one breath.

[Caroline91]

I think that's one of the best ways to do it. I used to work on holding my breath in an olympic size pool and see how far I could go underwater.

[FunkyMonkee]

@Caroline91 I tried that once, too and didn't get very far but, I don't think I took the time to prep, either. I'll generally stand in the corner at the shallow end and do what I guess could be called breathing exercises. I can only imagine this helps me to take in more air when it's time to go and hold it longer. I'm also kinda trying to relax and get myself ready for the feat.
My uncle Mike could stay under for a LONG time! He'd take a deep breath, grab a lead weight or two and sink to the bottom (9') and swim around down there for a good 2:00 before he'd come up! And he was an occasional smoker! Other than attempting a hit of grass 3 times over the period of a year after we got rid of the pool, I never smoked a day in my life!

[Caroline91]

Wow, that's impressive.

[FunkyMonkee]

@Caroline91 Yeah, we couldn't understand how he could stay down for so long.

[Rosexøxø]

I’ll have to try this later but I may or may not come back.

[Caroline91]

Don't worry, you'll start breathing again as soon as you pass out!

[Caroline91]

That would be a sad day for us all!

[Lynx122]

I could do 2 minutes once under water but I don't know if I could still do it now.

[worldscolide]

About 3 minutes if I prepare for it, if not one minute.

[Caroline91]

@worldscolide What do you do to prepare for it?

[worldscolide]

@Caroline91 deep breaths over and over followed by a single long deep breath. the logic is to get your blood over saturated with oxygen.

[Caroline91]

Yep, that works. I've done that, too. But, when I was in the water and a big wave had already broken so I was facing a massive wall of white water, I would be lucky if I could get one deep breath in before the long one. I dunno, maybe I was already well oxygenated from being in (and under) the water for awhile already. Or maybe I was in the water so much routinely that I just had good blood oxygen levels bc when I had a critical injury a few years ago and I was in the trauma unit, they said I had one of the highest oxygen saturation levels they'd ever seen. Guess they hadn't worked on many bodysurfers!

[worldscolide]

@Caroline91 Ah lol. Never body surfed. I just swim a hell of a lot

[Caroline91]

I'm down with that.

[worldscolide]

@Caroline91 Im actually happier in water than i am on land lol, I know, weird.

[Caroline91]

Not weird at all... at least not to me. I grew up on the Pacific Ocean and, until I had to start work, my wardrobe consisted of school clothes and bathing suits. I only wore shoes to school because there was some health law. I loved it when I got to the university bc I could go barefoot and I also took my dog with me. And, by the way, the dog wouldn't stay on the sand when I was out in the water... swear to God that damn dog bodysurfed!

[worldscolide]

@Caroline91 Nice, I grew up on the east coast my self!!

[Caroline91]

What? There's and EAST coast?

[worldscolide]

@Caroline91 yup. Grew up in Virginia Beach VA.

[Caroline91]

Oh that's right -- Duh-da da-da Well the East Coast girls are hip...

[Caroline91]

ANY PLACE with the word "beach" in it will do, Sir!

[worldscolide]

@Caroline91 Absolutely agree!!

[Bricealan]

Haven't tried that one... maybe a minute?

[Bricealan]

@coachTanthony by the way Coach...'where do you get those wonderful toys? (Pictures) ?

[coachTanthony]

the dark web ha ha ha

[AviatorTom]

About a minute. Longer when I was younger.

[Wiredone]

1 minute and 41 seconds

[exitseven]

Around two minutes.

[electromagnetic]

Under a minute.

[msc545]

about 4 minutes.

[LavLavLuv]

1 minute

[LaurenM1997]

A few seconds it hurts too much to do it

[LaurenM1997]

If I have hiccups I do it

[katiesmuff]

About 90 seconds

[goebenbreslau]

like a minute

[Anonymous]

3 minutes