What's with the hands?

[Sas]

Do small kicks, most new divers move way too fast or have to continually kick as they are not neutral in the water to compensate for their buoyancy. Make sure that you are neutral and then you will only need to kick when you want to go forward.

 

[divad]

So I've noticed that many (experienced) divers tend to do this thing with the hands, where they're basically crossing their arms, with Lhand grasping right arm and vice versa. What's the point of this?

I mean, yeah, it looks cool and all, but is there a specific purpose to this pose?

On a secondary note, I just got certified. How much is it reasonable to expect my SAC to improve as time goes on? As an (embarassing) example, I just did an aquarium dive (actually my first dive after getting my c-card), where I was down to 25-30' feet about the whole time, and I chewed through 2500 PSI (i.e. from 3000 down to 500) in exactly 40 minutes. (I was a bit nervous at the start of this dive for some reason.)

As time goes by, how much longer would I expect to be able to go in these conditions -- 50 minutes? an hour?

Thanks.

Maybe you prefer mmmmm....I don't know......could it possibly be maybe...um... FOSSE HANDS!?

 

[SPG3K]

I read somewhere about a trick to control your SAC, and it worked wonders for me, I wish I could credit the original source, but I honestly cannot remember, so please don't be mad if you are reading this and you wrote it originally.

1: Breathe through diaphragm, which means when you breathe in your STOMACH should puff out, not your chest.

2: Inhale to a count of 5-8, slowly and deliberately
3: Pause for 2 count
4: Exhale for 5-8 count (can be reduced if using lungs to control buoyancy)

Once your body gets used to that, you can add a 2 count before breathing in again.

My first few dives, my sac was in the .7 range. I went to two sites since reading about the technique I described above and I pulled in a .4 and a .5 in a new place I had never been before.

You don't realize, sometimes, I think, how fast you are actually breathing underwater. I caught myself a few times at first (because I had been told NEVER NEVER NEVER HOLD YOUR BREATH) sucking the tank dry at a ridiculous interval.

The pattern of breathing I was using was totally abnormal from my regular non-thinking breathing pattern. I was breathing in and out rapidly and not pausing at all between breaths.

Anyways, that really helped my SAC rate.

 

[grazie42]

I read somewhere about a trick to control your SAC, and it worked wonders for me, I wish I could credit the original source, but I honestly cannot remember, so please don't be mad if you are reading this and you wrote it originally.

1: Breathe through diaphragm, which means when you breathe in your STOMACH should puff out, not your chest.

2: Inhale to a count of 5-8, slowly and deliberately
3: Pause for 2 count
4: Exhale for 5-8 count (can be reduced if using lungs to control buoyancy)

Once your body gets used to that, you can add a 2 count before breathing in again.

I´ve seen that in IANTD materials...it works for me too...

 

[goldenbear01]

another good reason to dive w/hands clasped in front of the diver's chest: to look less like shark food. <--note that the attack victim is swimming with his hands.

 

[pasley]

I read somewhere about a trick to control your SAC, and it worked wonders for me, I wish I could credit the original source, but I honestly cannot remember, so please don't be mad if you are reading this and you wrote it originally.

1: Breathe through diaphragm, which means when you breathe in your STOMACH should puff out, not your chest.

2: Inhale to a count of 5-8, slowly and deliberately
3: Pause for 2 count
4: Exhale for 5-8 count (can be reduced if using lungs to control buoyancy)

Once your body gets used to that, you can add a 2 count before breathing in again.
....

Potentially dangerous and unnecessary. Treating the symptom not the cause. A high SAC rate is attributed to:
1. Poor buoyancy-learn how to get neutral and reduce SAC
2. overweighting - be properly weighted and reduce SAC
3. there is a problem causing you to be anxious- resolve problem and reduce SAC
4. waiving hands around - usually caused because you are not neutral. Park the hands and improve SAC - After counseling a diver to quit waiving his hands around, he got 15 minutes more on the same dive site, same date.
5. physical conditioning.
6. Nerves/excitement
If you are thinking about breathing, that is a signal there is something wrong. Check yourself and resolve the issue.

But at the end of the day it is not a contest, you breathe what you breathe.