The classic of apnea training: holds stay the same while the rests shrink round by round – down to just 15 seconds.
Your benefit: Round by round your body adapts to rising CO₂ – the urge to breathe becomes familiar and loses its edge.
How the exercise works
- 1.Breathe calmly and normally before each hold – no hyperventilation
- 2.Hold the same time every round (calculated from your best time)
- 3.The rest shrinks by 15 seconds each round – down to 0:15
- 4.Relax into the urge to breathe instead of fighting it
- 5.Too much? Skip a round or end the session cleanly
The CO₂ table is the best-known exercise in apnea training: eight equal holds while the rests shrink step by step from 1:45 down to just 15 seconds. Because recovery gets ever shorter, your CO₂ level rises round by round – exactly the stimulus that triggers the urge to breathe. Your nervous system learns to tolerate this feeling and stay calm instead of stressing. Choose the level so the final rounds are demanding but cleanly doable, and progress via hold length rather than grit. Two to three sessions per week are plenty – and do not train it on the same day as the O₂ table.
Practise breath-hold exercises on dry land only, never alone in the water, no hyperventilation. Stop immediately if you feel unwell.
