How long can navy seals hold their breath? The average navy seal can hold his breath for 2 – 3 minutes. But then some can go further than that
Navy seals are considered superhuman to some level.
The majority of navy seals go through an intense level of tests and training before becoming a seal.
Very few among them make it to the end of it. And based on some recent reports, 80% of them quit before fully becoming a Navy Seal
One of the tests Navy Seals go through is called “underwater competence” during this training their hands and legs are tied while they enter into a nine-foot-deep pool
Some navy seals can go for 4 minutes and more but the highest recorded by a human being is 24 minutes.
That being said, we will be delving into some other fascinating features of navy seals but before that, how do people get into the navy? what are the requirements?
To even get the chance to apply there are some tests you would go through which will be listed below:
- You must meet the minimum eyesight requirements (uncorrected 20/200, corrected 20/20)
- You must be between the ages of 18-28. If you are 17 you need parental consent
- You must be a citizen of the US
- You must score a minimum of 165 on the ASVAB test
You must pass a diving test and physical screening test which involve these
- Swim 500 yards within 12:30
- After 10 minutes of rest, perform 42 push-ups within 2:00
- After 2 minutes of rest, perform 50 sit-ups within 2:00
- After additional 2 minutes of rest, perform 6 pull-ups (not timed)
- After 10 minutes of rest, complete 1.5 mile run within 11:00
Now that, you’ve figured out the answer to “how long can navy seals hold their breath” and what the requirements are, let’s answer the question, How do you get into the navy?
Since you are aware of the requirement such as eye strength, your age, and your citizenship.
Here is the step-by-step guideline on what exactly you need to do to get into the navy and get a Seal contract
- Earn a diploma or a GED
- Meet with a Navy recruiter
- Score high on the ASVAB
- Score high on the C-SORT
- Pass the PST
- and then receive your Seal contract
let’s delve deeper into other interesting info about navy seals
Most Navy seals can hold their breath underwater for 2-3 minutes.
But it depends on the level of practice each man put into it
Some Navy Seals on Quora mentioned that they can go as far as 4 minutes.
All these might be less realistic for a normal human. But then, navy seals are trained for that and anyone can do the same.
Based on reports, most Navy Seal’s salaries vary based on the bonuses and the mission they undergo. The average recorded salary of navy seals is $60000 per annum.
Things like ranks are also considered with a yearly and festive bonus so the salary changes with time and based on the variables listed above
Along with the salary, the navy seal also receives many other benefits like health insurance, home, education fund, travelling, tax-free, heavy discounts on car insurance, yearly vacations, and many more. The government provides all the facilities.
Once you enter into the Navy seal, you have to stay for 20 years before you can be eligible for retirement benefits. Although, you can decide to stay beyond 20 years since staying longer maximize their retirement benefits and you can decide to leave before that.
If you however stay for 20 years or more, the retirement benefits increase by 2.5% from your 20 years of stay
The majority of navy seals leave although some do stay. But then retiring as a navy seal comes with a long range of perks which include medical benefits, life insurance, education funds, and discount on other amenities such as car insurance.
Do you know that people who have serves under special forces get the lowest discount on the car insurance rate?
If you are just hearing about this for the first time you should check this post
Now that you know how long can navy seals hold their breath, let us look at how marines fare in this category
How Long Can Marine Hold their Breath Underwater?
They go through a series of intense training just like the navy seal but there are more specialized in water compared to the navy seal. That said, there is little information about how long a marine can hold their breath underwater but then, since the average among navy is 2-3 minutes marines should either be between the same range or more.
Before I continue with this. This technique doesn’t guarantee that you would be able to hold your breath for 4 minutes or even 3 minutes. This just maximizes how far you can hold base on your abilities.
You only get better by practice as the man who broke the current Guinness world record for the longest time underwater mentioned.
Since you’ve got the answer to “how long can navy seals hold their breath“, here is how you can hold your breath using the navy seal breath-holding technique
- inhale for 4 seconds (as the circle expands)
- hold your lungs full of air for 4 seconds (as the circle stays fully expanded)
- then exhale for 4 seconds (as the circle shrinks)
- hold your lungs empty for 4 seconds (as the circle is contracted)
How Long Can Freedivers Hold their Breath?
Are you surprised at how long can navy seals hold their breath? well here is that of a Freediver.
A Freediver is a human being and depending on the level of training a free diver has, he/she can hold their breath for 5-7 minutes or less. However, holding it for 2-4 minutes is normal among Navy seals.
A normal human being without practice can go as far as 2 minutes or less depending on how good you are.
However, the Guinness world record for the highest time spent underwater without an oxygen mask was broken by a creation guy called Budimir Šobat
He broke the record on 27 March 2021 after staying underwater for 24 minutes.
Since he is not a Marine or a Navy Seal, anyone can do it. It just requires practice.
He (Budmir), mentioned that he practised for 6 days a week to break the record after
How Long Can Humans Hold Their Breath?
Without training, most humans can’t hold their breath for more than 90 seconds. Max 2 minutes. However, with training the highest we have ever recorded based on the latest Guinness world record is 24 minutes.
In most of their early training, they are trained in a pool of 50 feet. But with the level of intensity faced during training and how extensive it is. They can deep as far as 100 feet or a little more since they are technically trained for that and are certified
Navy seals are known for not quitting especially after going through seal training.
However, a Navy seal can quit the Navy force or leave voluntarily by requesting through an individual’s chain of command.
If his request is granted if the person has met his service obligations or his contract while also meeting all other requirements related to his service branch.
Quitting the Navy doesn’t come with any sort of punishment etc but then the seal would not be entitled to retirement benefits unless he has stayed there for 20 years or more.
Final thoughts:
By now you should have gotten the answer to the question “how long can navy seals hold their breath”. You can check out some Navy seal books such as “can’t hurt me” if you plan on becoming one.
Becoming a Navy seal is hard and you would require a lot of stamina to go through the training. But then, you also need to have the drive to persevere without quitting.
If you feel you lack some drive or motivation, feel free to go through some biographies of successful people over here.