Breath-holding exercises killed one, another critical
Former Member
Tragic news link
Lifeguard in critical, swimmer drowned in breath-holding exercise gone wrong at Staten Island pool
Quote:
"Joseph Lyons Pool is closed for the day after two men were found floating face down Wednesday.
One man training to be a Navy SEAL was dead and a city lifeguard was in grave condition yesterday after they tried doing breath-holding exercises in a public pool in Staten Island.
Bohdan Vitenko and Jonathan Proce, both 21, were found facedown in 3 feet of water in the Lyons Pool in Tompkinsville, where they were practicing techniques similar to those used in military training, authorities said."
"the pool is 3 1/2 feet across the entire surface. An adult can easily stand in it with their head above water," " (see this report)
Wonder if it is also dangerous to swim a 25m lap or as long as you can without breathing?
How does this happen when there are lifeguards on duty?
It's actually more of a problem that the pool is so shallow. The swimmers probably had limited options for positioning their body. I wouldn't be surprised if they practiced holding their breath floating face down. I get the impression that your average lifeguard will have a tendency to ignore people they perceive as good swimmers. Honestly, I've wondered how long it would take for someone to drag me out of a pool if they saw me floating there. Unfortunately, all it takes is a couple minutes for brain damage or death.
I wouldn't be surprised if they practiced holding their breath floating face down.
That's a good point. I assumed they were swimming while holding their breath, but if they were just floating that would be totally different. The lifeguard(s) wouldn't know anything was wrong until it was too late.
Your body tells you to breath because you have a CO2 build up,not because you are low on oxygen.If you hyperventilate before breath holding you have artificially lowered the CO2 so the cue to breath is gone,therefore you run out of oxygen and pass out with out the cue to breath.This can happen to anyone,even those in excellent health.
I've seen many videos and articles about the "dangers" of hypoxic training in swimming. From what I've read though, it's really only dangerous if you have certain heart conditions, which you won't know about unless you go get checked specifically for them, or you have an accident. Personally, it's not enough to get me to stop. Hypoxic training is too beneficial.
Too beneficial -v- death? :afraid:
Yes, I'll do hypoxic sets when they're assigned by a coach. But if I have or am getting over a cold, I modify them as I see fit. Having both high blood pressure and asthma, I will gladly use those as excuses.
As to the lifeguards...if they can't see a portion of the pool, they need to move to where they can and possibly let management know if it is a staffing issue.
I lifeguarded at a major waterpark in Allentown, PA over a summer in college. They positioned us around every pool, water feature, and on busy days even at ride entrances and in chairs leading into the wave pool. We rotated every 15-20 min, got 2 x 15 min breaks as well as a 30 min lunch break every day. And yes, I did a couple saves in 3 feet of water...if someone wasn't responsive to my whistle, I jumped in.
I've seen many videos and articles about the "dangers" of hypoxic training in swimming. From what I've read though, it's really only dangerous if you have certain heart conditions, which you won't know about unless you go get checked specifically for them, or you have an accident. Personally, it's not enough to get me to stop. Hypoxic training is too beneficial.
There is a difference between breath holding practice or seeing how far you can swim underwater and hypoxic training.We have had debates on the forum on the value of hypoxic training,but even no breath 25s are not going to usually be pushing the boundaries of danger.Breath holding as long as possible is a whole different and potentially lethal problem.
How does this happen when there are lifeguards on duty?
"At approximately 8:25 this morning, two men participating in the adult lap swim program were observed face down and not moving in the corner of Lyons Pool," said Benepe. "They were removed by lifeguards and aquatic staff who immediately began resuscitation efforts."
I've seen many videos and articles about the "dangers" of hypoxic training in swimming. From what I've read though, it's really only dangerous if you have certain heart conditions, which you won't know about unless you go get checked specifically for them, or you have an accident. Personally, it's not enough to get me to stop. Hypoxic training is too beneficial.
1) How do you hold your breath so long that you die?
2) Why would you hold your breath so long as to die?
3) If there were some reason you feared that maybe you'd have a problem... why would you have a breath holding contest/excercise in water?
Here is more info:
Quote:
"
Both men, who were in excellent shape, suffered cardiac arrest. Witnesses said that they were in an area of the pool that was out of eyeshot of lifeguards.
"Lyons Pool is huge. So what's happening in the far, far corner is hard to see. If you're only two lanes away, it's impossible to see," ... The men were spotted floating face-down in the three-foot-deep shallow section only when one of the two lifeguards called an end to the adult swim session.
"The lifeguards were beside themselves. They were giving them CPR. ... the military advises against certain breath-holding exercises or swimming underwater at length to avoid "shallow water blackout," which can lead to drowning.
"
How can there be any area of the pool that is out of eyeshot of the liftguard?
You have to be careful with this and listen to your body. I know a kid that nearly drown swimming for distance under water. I forgot the distance but some people were like i bet you can't swim xx meters underwater. He passed out as he was coming into the wall and inhaled some water before he could grab onto the wall and sunk to the bottom.
As long as your training and being smart about it, I think it's fine. But competitive breath holding is kind of risky.
