I've figured out why my retention times aren't improving...
1) I'm usually doing it after training/a long day as opposed to in the morning
2) I'm usually doing it after having coffee/dehydrated
3) I'm sitting with improper posture, even when I try to sit with proper posture. I work a desk job and my lower back is pretty weak because of it. I believe my tight back and chest restricts my ability to take air in.
I stayed home from training after work and decided to do the exercises at 5pm. I'm going to make a conscious effort to wake up early and get this done instead of leaving it until later.
After the first round of sitting upright and being disappointed in my results, I decided to lay down for the first time in weeks and instantly there were much better results. I was able to take more air in, I felt my hands cramping, I felt more fully charged, and more tingling in my body. I also saw more lights in the later rounds. This feels 'right'.
This week Wim has you do 3 rounds of breathing, pushups, more rounds (as many as you like), certain stretches and other yogic poses, followed by meditation. He gives you more mental coaching to help with the cold showers which has provided some interesting results.
I have a weak lower back too, but I found when I started that my retention times were no good because the novelty of forcibly inhaling had worn off so my inhales weren't actually generating a ton of oxygen in my blood.
ReplyDeleteSo question 1: When you do the breathing, are you feeling all of the sensations like tingling in the fingers and lightheadedness? If not, you're not taking in enough O2 and you have to find a way to standardize your breathing so that even when the novelty has worn off you are able to hold your breath longer. I've found that taking 5 slow breaths to focus on technique prior to the actual breathing helps with this.
Question 2: Have you attempted to forcibly relax throughout the breath holding period? Since your muscles tend to involuntarily contract after the final exhale, I've found it beneficial to constantly make myself aware of where I am tense and then actively let it go. This usually makes it so that I can last 2:30 before having to inhale. Also, I've found that feeling tense about getting a good time will also hinder you getting a good time, so try to find a method for mitigating this.
What happened to this blog? I was enjoying it!
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