Any tips for better air consumption/regulation?

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ScubaSteve1978

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Location
Mississippi Gulf Coast - Gulf of Mexico
# of dives
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Quick question out there for you guys.

New diver, been diving for under a year.. my question is "Does anyone have any tips or tricks for better breathing techinques, air consumption?" I want to be able to enjoy my dives, but usually don't get to stay down that long because I'm an "AirHog" (so affectionally named by my diving buddies).
Now when I'm under doing training, I try to work on slow steady calm breathing but it doesn't seem to be helping. Any pointers from anyone who's been there greatly appreciated, or from anyone else also greatly appreciated.
 
I too am an air hog - cold water diving doesn't help me with that either. After 2 years & 81 dives, I am actually approaching more "normal" consumption levels. The advice I have seen most often here is don't worry about your consumption, just dive lots and enjoy the time you spend under. The consumption will drop over time as you gain experience / comfort, without you worrying about it. That has certainly been my experience, and I expect it to continue this summer.

And if it doesn't work, get bigger tanks :)
 
Get some 120's, stop worrying, enjoy your diving...... a couple larger tanks are not that expensive relative to all the time and money you put into diving.... I dive single tanks up to 149 cu-ft... I prefer to have the extra gas.
 
I did just score a couple of 100's, maybe I will be able to keep up with my son if he uses our 80's and I dive the 100's lol. Sipper that he is, his improvements mean it doesn't matter how much better I do, he STILL comes up with more air when we both dive our 80's.

Seriously, don't sweat it, just have fun. I do. :)
 
It's about being relaxed and comfortable with yourself, your gear, your buoyancy and trim. For new divers, I'd say try to be comfortable during the dive which means being comfortable with lots of little details that need to get worked out while you gain experience. Also, don't rush to get in the water and don't take that sense of urgency below with you when it's time to descend. Otherwise, it can sometimes stay with you the whole dive. Always before descending, I will make sure all my gear is set, then take a few deep breaths to calm myself (body and mind). That way I can separate the rush to set up and get in the water from the actual dive. Being comfortable will help your breathing... but some divers just breathe more air! Don't worry about how other divers breathe. Get your own diving under control and that will go a long way to breathing comfortably and using less air.
 
This is one of the most common questions asked by people, once they get through the "how do I control my buoyancy" phase of question-asking. :)

Attacking gas consumption by trying to change your breathing pattern consciously is not productive, and may even backfire. The problem with breathing is that you have to do as much of it as you have to do; trying to create a mismatch between your level of exertion and your breathing rate just results in bad things, discomfort and anxiety.

How much gas you need to run through your lungs in a given period of time is entirely set by the body's intense need to keep the arterial carbon dioxide level within a very tightly controlled range. CO2 is a product of metabolism, so the more you are metabolizing, the more CO2 you are making, and the more air you have to run through your lungs to get rid of it. So how can a diver control their metabolism? You can't turn the rheostat down, so all you can do is minimize the muscle you are using, so you aren't doing any more work than necessary.

The ideal diver can hang in the water for as long as he wants, until he wants to go somewhere or change his position. Then he makes a few efficient movements with his fins, creates the change he wants, and goes back to doing nothing. The new diver can almost never do this, because this degree of stability requires both control of posture, and a degree of adjustment of equipment. The posture involves keeping one's body long and flat from the shoulders to the knees, with the head up, and the knees bent to whatever degree is desired or comfortable, or balances the diver's weight. If a diver drops his head, he will tend to go head-down, and if he bends at the hips so that his knees drop beneath his body, he will tend to rotate head up (which is the usual thing seen with new divers). This is aggravated by gear setups that involve heavy weight belts, or lots of weight in integrated pockets set at waist level.

If the diver is in a position with head up and feet down, then what happens if he kicks? He heads up in the water column. Most of the time, that isn't desired -- the diver simply wants to continue forward along whatever structure he is observing. So how does he avoid moving steadily shallower? By keeping himself negative, so that the force causing him to sink is balancing the upward force being generated by his kick. Well, the net result here is that the diver is exerting a great deal of effort for no net displacement at all! He can't stop kicking, because he will sink, and he can't get neutral, because then he will rise. The answer is to fix the angle, so that any kicking he does propels him where he wants to go, and he can remain neutral as long as he wants to stay at the same depth.

The next step is to realize that sea life depends heavily on camouflage for survival, which means that moving rapidly underwater causes you to miss an awful lot of what is there. Moving slowly allows you to pick up on spots of color, changes of outline or small movements that betray the position of the critters you want to see. Moving slowly also reduces muscle activity and therefore gas consumption.

Only when you have become stable and begun to move with careful purpose, is it productive to address breathing pattern. At that point, you can work on slow and slightly deeper than usual respirations, more of the breathing pattern one might use during a meditation session. Too deep and too slow, and you will begin to see buoyancy swings during your breathing cycle. Too shallow and too rapid, and you are wasting most of the gas on the large airways (trachea and major bronchi) that don't participate in gas exchange.

Time spent balancing your equipment so that you can hover in a horizontal position is time well spent, and time spent developing a good, effective kick with no bicycling component to it is time well spent, too.
 
This is one of the most common questions asked by people, once they get through the "how do I control my buoyancy" phase of question-asking. :)

Attacking gas consumption by trying to change your breathing pattern consciously is not productive, and may even backfire. The problem with breathing is that you have to do as much of it as you have to do; trying to create a mismatch between your level of exertion and your breathing rate just results in bad things, discomfort and anxiety.

How much gas you need to run through your lungs in a given period of time is entirely set by the body's intense need to keep the arterial carbon dioxide level within a very tightly controlled range. CO2 is a product of metabolism, so the more you are metabolizing, the more CO2 you are making, and the more air you have to run through your lungs to get rid of it. So how can a diver control their metabolism? You can't turn the rheostat down, so all you can do is minimize the muscle you are using, so you aren't doing any more work than necessary.

The ideal diver can hang in the water for as long as he wants, until he wants to go somewhere or change his position. Then he makes a few efficient movements with his fins, creates the change he wants, and goes back to doing nothing. The new diver can almost never do this, because this degree of stability requires both control of posture, and a degree of adjustment of equipment. The posture involves keeping one's body long and flat from the shoulders to the knees, with the head up, and the knees bent to whatever degree is desired or comfortable, or balances the diver's weight. If a diver drops his head, he will tend to go head-down, and if he bends at the hips so that his knees drop beneath his body, he will tend to rotate head up (which is the usual thing seen with new divers). This is aggravated by gear setups that involve heavy weight belts, or lots of weight in integrated pockets set at waist level.

If the diver is in a position with head up and feet down, then what happens if he kicks? He heads up in the water column. Most of the time, that isn't desired -- the diver simply wants to continue forward along whatever structure he is observing. So how does he avoid moving steadily shallower? By keeping himself negative, so that the force causing him to sink is balancing the upward force being generated by his kick. Well, the net result here is that the diver is exerting a great deal of effort for no net displacement at all! He can't stop kicking, because he will sink, and he can't get neutral, because then he will rise. The answer is to fix the angle, so that any kicking he does propels him where he wants to go, and he can remain neutral as long as he wants to stay at the same depth.

The next step is to realize that sea life depends heavily on camouflage for survival, which means that moving rapidly underwater causes you to miss an awful lot of what is there. Moving slowly allows you to pick up on spots of color, changes of outline or small movements that betray the position of the critters you want to see. Moving slowly also reduces muscle activity and therefore gas consumption.

Only when you have become stable and begun to move with careful purpose, is it productive to address breathing pattern. At that point, you can work on slow and slightly deeper than usual respirations, more of the breathing pattern one might use during a meditation session. Too deep and too slow, and you will begin to see buoyancy swings during your breathing cycle. Too shallow and too rapid, and you are wasting most of the gas on the large airways (trachea and major bronchi) that don't participate in gas exchange.

Time spent balancing your equipment so that you can hover in a horizontal position is time well spent, and time spent developing a good, effective kick with no bicycling component to it is time well spent, too.

WOW, what a good answer. The only thing I could add is... stay warm, being cold will increase gas use.
 
I agree with the above.

From the "basics" of gearing up:

- make sure your weighting is correct (do not overweight);
- make sure you are warm (if you're cold, your body responds accordingly....hence more consumption);
- learn to swim efficiently (as pointed out above, move only when you need to). From an engineering standpoint, you want to present the smallest cross-section possible perpendicular to the direction you are moving (in aerodynamics, this is the primary determinent). So learn to swim with knees almost straight, not a "bicycle" kick, and your arms wrapped around your torso. Learn to change directions by leaning; want to go left, dip your left shoulder; want to go right, dip your right shoulder. Want to go "down", then bend slightly and point yourself down. Lose the habit of using your hands to "flutter" around or change directions (sometimes in tight spaces that may be required).

You also need to be aerobically fit, well hydrated, and in reasonable shape.

You should be able to do at least 30 minutes on a treadmill at a very brisk pace. If you can't, at first, work up to it over a month. Simply walking doesn't build aerobic capacity - you've got to get the blood pumping for an extended period.

Work on your buoyancy. Once at depth, you should get your buoyancy correct, and never hit your inflator again, for the most part (I admit to being an air tightwad at depth, and use my manual inflator until I am perfectly neutral).

Above all, be comfortable, relax, and enjoy the show. Learn to economize your efforts, and not make it a race to see as much as possible.

Your air consumption will get progressively better.

Work on the above, and you'll enjoy it more. I wouldn't really recommend buying a larger tank, though.

Good luck, and enjoy!
 
Some really awesome information from you guys, I trulyappreciate it.
The next course of study that I'm going to be taking after completing myadvanced open water, is going to be the peak performance buoyancy course,because I do want to learn all the nuisances of streamling my gear/weight andbody to get the most out of every dive. I also have noticed, that every time Idive I get supper excited and it takes me several minutes to get into a calmerzone after getting into the water (working on this with every dive).

 

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