I breathe too much

[goshdurnit]

New-ish diver here- 21 dives so far with my AOW cert (the last 15 dives were in Bora Bora and Rangiroa)

I’m trying to improve my breathing underwater - I can breathe out slowly 6-8 seconds but when I breathe in, it feels like I’m breathing all my possible air too fast in like 2 seconds, instead of 4+.

This means I often end up out of air faster than my buddies.

- Is there a tongue technique I can practice against the regulator?
- is there something I can practice in my pool with a snorkel?
- is there a video I can watch/ listen to of someone breathing “correctly” underwater that I can try to copy?

Maybe just more cardio would help…

 

[inquis]

10 seconds per cycle is still very good, assuming a 2 liter inhale.

That said, most new divers flap their arms to turn and are trimmed like a seahorse (substantially head-up). That trim means they must be negatively buoyant so their diagonal oriented kicks don't decrease their depth. They must also constantly kick so they don't increase their depth. All that consumes much more air than is used when thrust is better aligned with the direction you want to go. (Not saying that's you, only something to consider.)

 

[inquis]

is there a video I can watch/ listen to of someone breathing “correctly” underwater that I can try to copy

Many of the cave diving videos on YouTube will be illustrative. You can hear and see them breathing. A frog kick also promotes low air consumption, as it has a glide phase.

 

[jborg]

Generally, though, while breathing may feel like the main thing for a newer diver, it's usually not the right thing to focus on to begin with. Improved gas usage comes from efficient technique, comfort in the water, and being able to relax. Working on proper technique and being stable in the water with a minimum of movement, and diving more, will naturally give you lower gas usage regardless of your breathing pattern. In fact, renting a larger tank may well be a way to decrease gas usage, by way of worrying less about it and hence relaxing more. Trying to force lower gas usage just by breathing will likely just end up giving you a head ache.

 

[stepfen]

Welcome to scubaboard.
Believe it or not, thinking about gas consumption increases gas consumption, so stop thinking about it.

With so few dives it is totally normal to have other, much more important issues, that greatly affect your diving overall and as a result your gas consumption too. Some examples: comfort underwater, weighting and trim, equipment (streamlining and familiarity with it), fining techniques, speed/motionless underwater and several others. I would focus on improving these first, rather than counting things like inhalation/exhalation times etc. The factors above are much more important primarily to your safety, then to your comfort and lastly to your gas consumption.

Gas consumption should be the least of your worries right now. If it severely affects your diving, get larger tanks.

I know all these are easier said than done, but keep diving and things will improve over time. To get a rough estimate of the time we are talking about, assuming you dive relatively often and not once in a blue moon, expect anything from 100 to 200 dives (or even more) to get consistent results.

[EDIT]: Just to get an idea, I had a look in my logbook:
I started with yearly average SAC of 21lt/min in 2016 (26 dives). I brought it down to a yearly average of 13lt/min after ~260 dives over 5 years in 2020. Then I started drysuit diving (all previous dives were with wetsuit) and my average SAC increased a bit to about 15lt/min (see the jump in the SAC graph in the attached figure). Now (~150 more dives over the last 4 years) it is approaching an average of 13lt/min again, but now including some drysuit diving. I'm approaching 500 dives in total and my SAC keeps improving (!) while I have never ever measured inhalation/exhalation duration, although at some point I might have to - but not yet.
BTW sorry for the metric units but I think/hope you get the idea of what is going on

 

[DreadnoughtNH]

To the OP: why did you get into scuba diving?

Did you want your air consumption to be the envy of other divers right out the gates?
Did you want to collect all the certifications as fast as possible like a game of Pokemon?

Or maybe -- hopefully -- you did it to have FUN.

Here's a tip from a guy (+260#) who used to burn through 100cf tanks in 20 minutes in <50' of water:

Relax.

Stop counting.

You're going to be a gas hog for a while. Learn to laugh about it. I drew a picture of a pig on my fins.

Tell any new dive-buddies that you're new and that your gas consumption is high. Let them decide for themselves if they want to be your buddy.

If you get flak or irritation from buddies about your gas consumption, stop diving with them. Immediately. Anxiety increases air consumption. Don't dive with jerks.

Stay shallow for a while and learn to appreciate what's in the shallows. A lot of coolest stuff I've ever seen was in <25'.

Stop moving. If you're finning/moving your hands to stay at depth, you're overweighted.

Dive often. For me, there was no better way to improve other than dive more. With more dives, my technique improved, I started to need less lead, I streamlined, I listened, I asked questions. I still dive with a 100 on my back, but now I can make it last almost 2h.

If you're in the LA area, there are some great instructors and groups who can also help.

And remember, please remember, HAVE FUN.

 

[BRT]

To the OP: why did you get into scuba diving?

Did you want your air consumption to be the envy of other divers right out the gates?
Did you want to collect all the certifications as fast as possible like a game of Pokemon?

Or maybe -- hopefully -- you did it to have FUN.

Here's a tip from a guy (+260#) who used to burn through 100cf tanks in 20 minutes in <50' of water:

Relax.

Stop counting.

You're going to be a gas hog for a while. Learn to laugh about it. I drew a picture of a pig on my fins.

Tell any new dive-buddies that you're new and that your gas consumption is high. Let them decide for themselves if they want to be your buddy.

If you get flak or irritation from buddies about your gas consumption, stop diving with them. Immediately. Anxiety increases air consumption. Don't dive with jerks.

Stay shallow for a while and learn to appreciate what's in the shallows. A lot of coolest stuff I've ever seen was in <25'.

Stop moving. If you're finning/moving your hands to stay at depth, you're overweighted.

Dive often. For me, there was no better way to improve other than dive more. With more dives, my technique improved, I started to need less lead, I streamlined, I listened, I asked questions. I still dive with a 100 on my back, but now I can make it last almost 2h.

If you're in the LA area, there are some great instructors and groups who can also help.

And remember, please remember, HAVE FUN.

I agree with all of this. What will decrease your gas consumption is not moving. If your arms are moving it takes oxygen. If your legs are moving it takes oxygen. If you stop moving and immediately start to float or sink, work on your weighting. Start thinking ahead about where you want to be and move slowly that way instead of working to get there.

 

[Boarderguy]

I like to describe myself as having the gas consumption of a hyperventilating elephant. When I'm working hard at getting somewhere or doing something I burn through air. When I'm focused on everything else I do very good. Pictures, videos, looking at critters, etc all keep my breathing low. Using a scooter to get places reduces it even more.

Dive more, breathe easy, enjoy.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

New-ish diver here- 21 dives so far with my AOW cert (the last 15 dives were in Bora Bora and Rangiroa)

I’m trying to improve my breathing underwater - I can breathe out slowly 6-8 seconds but when I breathe in, it feels like I’m breathing all my possible air too fast in like 2 seconds, instead of 4+.

This means I often end up out of air faster than my buddies.

- Is there a tongue technique I can practice against the regulator?
- is there something I can practice in my pool with a snorkel?
- is there a video I can watch/ listen to of someone breathing “correctly” underwater that I can try to copy?

Maybe just more cardio would help…

Dive more. As much as possible. Also get in as good a shape as possible. Cardiovascular and strength fitness both. Improvements in SAC will come. Nothing is required from a magic technique. Through diving experience, you will learn to work less and relax more while diving. And stay warm!! Nothing blows up your SAC like being cold.

 

[Painter]

The best thing that I did to improve my air consumption was to take a buoyancy course. The course that I took wasn't part of any certification agency, and they combined the buoyancy training with learning to do a frog kick. We worked on it for four pool sessions and it wasn't easy, but when I took my next trip I found that I was much more confident and relaxed in the water. My air consumption dropped and I also needed less weight (which probably helped with the air consumption, too).