Suddenly, while surfing you are caught in a bigger wave than you had expected, you know you need to count on your breath-hold to carry you through. Learning to improve lung capacity is something that you can train yourself to do. Keeping muscles ultra-relaxed and quiet so that they don't waste oxygen is key. It is best to start working on breathing exercises on land before you test your abilities in the water. Surfer Today, shares a breath-hold exercise to work on: