I'm very curious about a few things:
1) Average lung capacity of a competitive swimmer vs average population and other competitive athletes from different sports.
2) Comparisons of same groups ability to exhale with force. Are swimmers in the top percentile of watermelon spitting champs?
3) How this relates to cardiovascular health.
4) What are your favorite drills or workouts to help with the ability to spit watermelon seeds? (or gain lung capacity to swim faster and longer)
I sat nervously watching competitors at our County Fair Watermelon Spitting Contest last weekend. The 300lb guy that looked like he could eat the entire watermelon in one bite, the skinny girl full of energy, and many others went to the line to top my first shot of 49 1/2 feet. The closest was an average looking teen that fell 2ft short.
Extra Credit Question:
Do swimmers have a higher incidence of sleep apnea then then normal in the population? If so does all this holding of breath contribute? this seems more serious...
I'm very curious about a few things:
1) Average lung capacity of a competitive swimmer vs average population and other competitive athletes from different sports.
2) Comparisons of same groups ability to exhale with force. Are swimmers in the top percentile of watermelon spitting champs?
A couple of years ago I had my lung capacity tested at a "health fair" (various health insurers trying to get you to sign up with them). The woman made me do it a second time because she thought the first reading was an aberration. My reading was average for an 18 year old male, and I am a woman in my mid-40s (so, then I was in my early 40s). And I have asthma! She told me to keep swimming. :-)
Sorry, I have no info on watermelon spitting. I'm not a great spitter; never learned the technique. But I am great at blowing up balloons, even ones that others have trouble with. :-)
In a controlled environment, I would think technique, height, skill, mouth strength, and seed density/shape would probably be more significant on spitting ability than lung capacity.
Nevertheless, 49.5' seems to be quite an accomplishment. Were these medium or large seeds?
I don't have sleep apnea, but I have recently discovered/noticed that I do an odd voluntary breath-holding thing very occasionally when I sleep. I noticed this when I started paying attention to what could be the trigger for a few bouts of atrial fibrillation that seem to always occur in the pre-dawn hours.
I have no idea why I hold my breath occasionally when I sleep, but I have wondered whether it could be related to swimming.
It sounds to me like you exhibit a sign of sleep apnea. Why do you say you don't have it? That is what happens. Please take that seriously and get tested if you haven't..
I sat nervously watching competitors at our County Fair Watermelon Spitting Contest last weekend. The 300lb guy that looked like he could eat the entire watermelon in one bite, the skinny girl full of energy, and many others went to the line to top my first shot of 49 1/2 feet. The closest was an average looking teen that fell 2ft short.
Extra Credit Question:
Do swimmers have a higher incidence of sleep apnea then then normal in the population? If so does all this holding of breath contribute? this seems more serious...
1) 49.5 foot is a huge distance. Is that some kind of world record?
2) I sing.... my lung cap in singing is now HUGE as a result of swimming. So I can at least I know for sure that you build a lot.
3) Being someone who has since "cured" my sleep apnea by losing a huge chunk of weight, I seriously doubt the breath holding actually does count for it. Especially in a (more or less) subconscious state. However - if you find yourself consistently rolling from side to side and turning your head to breathe.... :rofl:
1) 49.5 foot is a huge distance. Is that some kind of world record?
2) I sing.... my lung cap in singing is now HUGE as a result of swimming. So I can at least I know for sure that you build a lot.
3) Being someone who has since "cured" my sleep apnea by losing a huge chunk of weight, I seriously doubt the breath holding actually does count for it. Especially in a (more or less) subconscious state. However - if you find yourself consistently rolling from side to side and turning your head to breathe.... :rofl:
I have heard that Singing is a method of reducing sleep apnea. I have been in good shape and a swimmer all my life but know that I have had sleep apnea all my adult life. I stopped singing in church about two years ago. I read a note in a medical journal that said that singing helps reduce sleep apnea events. Over the past two years I have noticed that mine has gotten worse. I better start singing again. I'd still like to know if swimmers are more likely to have it.
I've done a fair amount of lung function testing on age group swimmers recently...They've all had lung volumes and forced expiratory flows about 20% greater than normal. Naturally, I am in no position to postulate as to whether they have increased lung function from swimming or whether they gravitate to the sport because of their larger lung capacity. It does occur to me, however, that people with larger lung capacity may float easier than those with smaller lung volumes.
Sleep apnea, and control of breathing during wakefullness and sleep, is a pretty complicated topic. I wont touch that except to say that those rare individuals with blunted sensitivity to carbon dioxide can hold their breath much longer (and sometimes forever). They may also gravitate towards swimming or free diving (a strange sport that also goes by the name apnea).
Maybe I should add watermelon spitting to our procedures in the Pediatric Pulmonary Function Lab....
