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 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 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..
