Holding your breath? There's an app for that

True.

Not only does it exist, but Breath Hold is up to Version 1.7.

From the app's self-description: "Are you a water sports enthusiast? Do you wish you could hold your breath longer? The ability to hold your breath for long periods of time can come in handy whether you are a freediver, surfer, kayaker, or other water-sports enthusiast. One way to increase the maximum amount of time that you can hold your breath is through the use of breath hold tables. The Breath Hold app puts the power of breath hold table workouts conveniently on your iPhone/iPod Touch. At the very least, you will be able to impress your friends with how long you can hold your breath!"

Exhale.

$2.99.

I happened on the existence of this app via a parenthetical aside in a most interesting article in yesterday's New York Times about the increasingly popular extreme sport of freediving, "in which competitors see how deep they can go on a single breath without benefit of a breathing apparatus."

At Vertical Blue 2011, an annual freediving invitational that ends today, William Trubridge, a 30-year-old freediver and trainer from New Zealand, set a new world record by diving to a depth of 121 meters (nearly 400 feet, the equivalent of a 40-story-building), returning to the surface after holding his breath for 4 minutes 13 seconds.