Dry compensation for beginner level apnea (1/2)

Start dry compensation in apnea

Part 1: Volumes and Locks

What is dry compensation?

The principle of training out of water is called "dry training." The benefit is twofold:

• train more often, even when you live far from the sea
• train more intensively (you train more intensively in 30 minutes on dry land than in half a day at sea)

Today we will talk about dry training related to the compensation, and more particularly for the "beginner" in the broad sense, that is to say the person beginning to be interested in the principle of dry training for compensation. These are either people starting freediving at sea, or who get stuck at around 10-25m without really knowing why.

So I'll try to keep it as simple as possible, but sometimes it will be necessary to go into a bit of technical detail...

Required accessories

• Dry trainer or Otovent (see description below if you don't know)
• mirror (or phone camera)

Why compensate?

When you go down into the water, you quickly feel discomfort and then pain in your ear (even in a swimming pool). This is due to the fact that the pressure in the ear (more precisely the middle ear) becomes lower than the pressure exerted by the water. The eardrum, which is like a drumhead separating the middle ear from the outside, gradually deforms (it hollows out), creating this pain. If nothing is done, this can lead to the eardrum tearing. A real pleasure, apparently.

Compensation involves sending air from the nose to the middle ear, via two small channels (two small tubes) called "Eustachian tubes." The air pressure increases in the middle ear until it matches the pressure around us. The eardrum returns to its normal shape and the discomfort (or pain) stops.

Be careful: if you continue to compensate, you end up bulging your eardrum in the other direction. The sensation is similar, except this time the more you compensate, the more the pain will increase. So it's all a matter of dosage!

The main methods of compensation in apnea

Without going into too much detail, there are various compensation techniques for apnea:

• Vasalva : It involves compensating by directly using air from the lungs, via the chest muscles. We pinch our nose, we blow air into our nose without thinking too much about where this air is coming from, and miracle! We have compensated. Very popular with scuba divers (wrongly according to May, but I will come back to this in more detail in another document) This technique should be forgotten when practicing apnea because it will not allow you to descend beyond 8-10m.

• Voluntary tubular gape (VTB) : We don't all have the same physiology. Some lucky people (10-20% of the population) have Eustachian tubes (you know, the little tubes!) that are particularly wide and straight. A few small jaw movements or specific small muscles allow them to open these tubes to balance the pressure without having to create excess pressure. A bit like when you swallow or gulp on an airplane. Except thatin freediving this only works for a few people and very few are those who can descend to more than 30m with this method.

• Frenzel: This is the technique to use when you're starting out in freediving. So I'll go into a little more detail below. With a little practice, it will "quite easily" take you to 30-40m, or even more!

• Mouthfill or Frenzel Fatah : this is the expert method. The one that takes you over 100m. But it requires excellent self-control and is more dangerous than the "classic" frenzel because the pressure in the mouth is higher. It is therefore not recommended to start learning mouthfill before being perfectly comfortable at 30-35m. Especially since what we learn for the Frenzel will be useful for the mouthfill.

As you will have understood, the day's exercises will aim to master Frenzel, and only Frenzel.

A bit of anatomy: volumes and doors

As we saw earlier, our respiratory system can be broken down into 3 volumes:

• the lungs (+trachea etc.)
• the mouth
• the nose

Moreover :

• The middle ear is connected to the respiratory system by the Eustachian tubes (in the nose)
• there is a "door" between the nasal and oral cavities: the soft palate
• and another “door” between the oral cavity and the lungs: the glottis.

How to control the soft palate

We are all, in principle, capable of opening and closing our soft palate. But no one has ever attempted to do so voluntarily. This is what we are going to try to do...

For this you will need a similar accessory to the one in the photo. You may know it as a Dry Trainer orOtovent. You can find a dry trainer on our site or ask for an Otovent at the pharmacy

Please note: . If you buy directly from the Otovent brand, I advise you not to use the balloons provided with it because they are much too stiff (they are not originally intended for freedivers but for a separate medical use). Prefer balloons that are large and as flexible as possible.

Also, when the ball is new, it is best to inflate it 5-6 times before starting, in order to relax it.

Exercise 1: Place the balloon on the nozzle, between the two grooves at the bottom of the photo. Inflate it (without pinching your nose). Is the air not escaping from anywhere? This means that you have unconsciously closed your soft palate. Try to stay like this for a few seconds. You can also do the same exercise without a ball, because When you inflate a balloon, you unconsciously close your glottis. The advantage of the mouthpiece is that the balloon always remains open, whereas normally you probably pinch the balloon with your fingers or lips to take a breath.

Exercise 1B: Inflate and hold the balloon as in exercise 1. Then, keeping the mouthpiece firmly sealed against your lips, let all the air escape through your nose. Did you succeed? This means you know how to open your glottis!

Exercise 1C: We're sticking with the same idea, but making it a bit more complicated: repeat exercise 2, but only let a little air escape. Then block again, open, block, etc., until the balloon is deflated. Try to have the cleanest possible closures.

Repeat these three exercises for several days in a row to make sure you master them.

Exercise 2, 2B, 2C:Let's do the same thing but in reverse: inflate the balloon and pinch it so that the air doesn't escape. Then place the tip against one nostril while keeping the other nostril closed. Finally, stick out your tongue to make sure it doesn't block the air from escaping.

• Exercise 2: Stay still, tongue out: air must not escape
• Exercise 2B : While keeping your tongue stretched (this is important!) "make sure" that the air escapes through your mouth (you have therefore opened the soft palate)
• Exercise 2C: Let out a little air. Then block again, open, block etc. until the balloon is deflated.

Exercise 3: Neutral position of the veil: Place two fingers of one hand in front of your nostrils, and one finger of the other in front of your mouth, to feel the breath. Say "OOOOOOOOOH" while exhaling through your nose and mouth at the same time. Try to receive breath on all your fingers.

Note: You'll likely find during this exercise that it takes very little change to direct air toward your mouth, nose, or both. It's all in the subtlety...

This exercise is quite difficult to master, and therefore not really within the reach of a beginner. Don't worry if you can't do it. However, I'm talking about it now because it clearly demonstrates the subtlety required.

How to control your glottis

Exercise 4: Take a glass of water (preferably straight from the fridge so you can feel it better). Take a good sip and hold it in the back of your throat (like a mouthwash).

The water stayed there? Good news, that means that you know how to close your glottis, because it is this that prevented the water from going lower. If you have taken cold water, you can feel where the cold sensation stops. The lowest part corresponds to the location of your glottis. Stand in front of a mirror and try to locate the location

The difficulty now will be to open and close your glottis voluntarily and keep it perfectly closed for several tens of seconds.

Exercise 5: Stand in front of a mirror. Fill your lungs, place your tongue downwards, mouth open, and place one finger horizontally on your Adam's apple. Exhale gently while saying the sound "AAAAAA." Then try to block the air where the water stopped. Check in the mirror that it is the glottis and not the tongue that is blocking the air:

• you should feel your Adam's apple rising and falling (or see it rising and falling in the mirror)
• your tongue should remain flat and still

Variant : If at first you can't keep your tongue at rest, start by doing the exercise with your tongue stretched out and facing down. This is less like what we're trying to do, but at least you can be sure that your tongue won't block the back of your throat.

Exercise 5B: same thing but in reverse (so inhaling slowly).

Note: Dissociating the tongue and glottis is often difficult. We generally tend to mix the two. Focus on the geographic area of ​​the glottis and check the result in the mirror.

Exercise 6: Empty your lungs partially or completely, depending on your comfort, as if you were doing an Uddiyana bandha (yoga pose). Block the glottis, lower the diaphragm and open your ribs with your mouth open and tongue lowered, without letting any air in: you should feel it pulling on the glottis.

Repeat these exercises 4-5 times each and for several days in a row.

Only once you have mastered control of the soft palate and glottis can you begin our next series of exercises:

Dry Compensation for Beginner Level Apnea (2/2): Frenzel

See you soon!