I'm really proud of myself! I was finally able to get past this roadblock that had been nagging me for so long.

As I've mentioned before, I used to compete as a freediver and back then I was able to consistently hold my breath over 5 minutes. My best time then was 6:02. Because I overtrained and had a serious athletic burnout coupled with CNS overload, it had become impossible for me to hold my breath for a long time the way I used to. Anything over 3 minutes felt like an impossible feat. I'm sure you can imagine how frustrating it is to lose a skill you once had.

It took ...

I'm really proud of myself! I was finally able to get past this roadblock that had been nagging me for so long.

As I've mentioned before, I used to compete as a freediver and back then I was able to consistently hold my breath over 5 minutes. My best time then was 6:02. Because I overtrained and had a serious athletic burnout coupled with CNS overload, it had become impossible for me to hold my breath for a long time the way I used to. Anything over 3 minutes felt like an impossible feat. I'm sure you can imagine how frustrating it is to lose a skill you once had.

It took me a while but I did it! My approach was multifaceted, involved a lot of self-care, meditation, visualization and regular workouts.

This clip features a 4:01 dry breathhold with LOTS of contractions , shot from 2 different angles (shown unedited):

1) Full body side view

and

2) POV using a gopro so you can see what I see

First contractions show up at about 1:30 in, which is usual for me (I always get them around that mark), and then slowly increasing but irregular up to 2:30, at which point the real struggle starts. Regular heavy contractions in the last minute. By 3:30 I knew it was a done deal, and nothing would have stopped me. But I'd say in the last 20-30 seconds I was having a really hard time keeping the air in, an early sign of possible LMC and hypoxia. I also saw very rapid white flashes with my eyes closed.

Now that I've broken this barrier, next up is to go and do this in the water. Very soon. Slow and steady progress will see me back over 5 minutes... all in good time!