Breath control / Air consumption rate

[The Logic Theorist]

So, as a fairly new diver, I'm still guzzling air like it was going out of style. I would like to start working on this, and would appreciate any tips or even drills I can do to reduce the amount of air I use on any given dive.

What I know so far:

Neutral bouyancy is key, as having to constantly fin to keep off the bottom requires a lot of exertion.

Big hand movements are bad for the same reason.

I've been working on using breathing to make minor bouyancy adjustments as well, for instance sucking in a big breath to move up a few feet and clear an obstacle.

 

[Blackwood]

Gas consumption improves with comfort. As a new diver, you aren't entirely comfortable (at least not subconsciously). Dive often... it will improve.

Yes, you want to be neutral the whole dive. No, you don't want to kick up. In fact, you should be positioned in such a way that kicking moves you horizontally, not vertically. Being flat in the water will help control your ascents and descents.

Also, fine tune your weighting. As a new diver, it's likely that you are using more weight than you need. The more weight you have, the more air you must drag around with you (pun intended). Also, being overweighted makes your altitude changes less sensitive.

 

[Kingpatzer]

My consumption rate really dropped when I stopped worrying about my consumption rate and started worrying about my diving.

Focus on trim and bouyancy.

When you suck a big breath to move up a few feet, don't hold that breath -- breath in, then out slowly . . . you'll still move up and you wont' risk lung damage!

The other thing is just breathing slowly, moderately deeply, and easily all the time. Don't worry about your breathing, but really try to just exhale completely and slowly.

Lastly, relax and dive easy dives. Tool around at 15' looking a the fish and get used to being in the water. Just being relaxed will help a lot.

 

[ClayJar]

Trim and buoyancy are critical, of course. (When I fixed my trim, my air consumption *immediately* dropped by a quarter.) If you're Speed Racer in fins, slow yourself down and look at all the little stuff; it's relaxing, and certainly less strenuous.

Perhaps most importantly: Don't try to breathe less! If you try to breathe less, at best, it won't do a bit of good. More likely, you'll give yourself a vicious CO₂-retention headache. At worst, the CO₂ retention could contribute to bad things like narcosis.

Concentrate on your state of being, both physically (trim and buoyancy) and mentally (relaxed and in no hurry), and you can watch your air consumption decrease as time passes and you improve in skills and experience. Air consumption makes an interesting benchmark for your progress, but it is not something you work on directly.


Oh, and regarding using breath control for fine buoyancy and position changes, if you're managing that already, you're ahead of most newer divers... and some not-so-new ones.

 

[TSandM]

Relaxation and efficiency are the keys.

Muscle activity requires more oxygen and generates more CO2, so the less you have to do, the less gas you will use. You're right -- Being neutral starts it. Being horizontal is also important, because if you are tipped feet down, every kick will drive you toward the surface. To avoid ascending, you have to stay somewhat negative. Therefore, a lot of your effort is simply being applied to staying at the same depth, rather than propelling you forward. Achieving a horizontal position requires some adaptation in body posture, and also often some redistribution of weight, depending on where you are diving and how much lead you are carrying. Putting large amounts of weight in integrated pockets or on a belt often leads to an obligatory feet-down position. So does flexing at the hip joint -- Your body should be flat from the shoulders to the knees.

Sculling with the hands is often good information about buoyancy and balance issues. If you are pushing your hands down, you may be compensating for being negative. Similarly if you are pulling up, you may be too positive. Sculling repeatedly with one hand may indicate that your tank is off-center or you are otherwise unbalanced from side to side.

A good way to learn not to use the hands is to clasp them in front or under you. This is what NWGratefulDiver had me do when I was new, and it broke the habit pretty quickly.

Using an efficient kick helps reduce effort and gas consumption. Again, Bob taught me to try kicking just from my ankles, rather than a whole-leg flutter kick. This was surprisingly effective at moving me through the water at a leisurely pace that allowed looking around and enjoying what was down there to see. If you are in a flat, horizontal posture with the knees a little bent, you can scull with your ankles very easily.

Getting enough practice to where your buoyancy smooths out helps, too. In the beginning, if you are porpoising up and down, you are putting air in the BC and venting, and inhaling and exhaling to control your depth, which wastes a fair amount of gas. Once you polish this skill, you add gas on descent and vent it on ascent, and use your breath for fine changes (going over a coral head, for example) during the dive.

It's great that you are thinking about these things. The better you get at this diving thing, the more fun it is!

 

[MeiLing]

As a new diver, I think a lot tend to overbreathe as they tend to take the "Always breathe" to much to heart. Yes, you should never be holding your breath! However, you don't have to breathe like a runaway train to achieve that.

Take long, slow, comfortable inhales and exhales. Not so deep though that you feel forced to blow off the whole breath immediately. Find how deep is good for you.

Of course though, you need to get all the other things that folks have told you into play first. And breathing deeply relaxes you as well.

Good luck!

 

[Web Monkey]

So, as a fairly new diver, I'm still guzzling air like it was going out of style. I would like to start working on this, and would appreciate any tips or even drills I can do to reduce the amount of air I use on any given dive.

Whatever you do, don't try to "breathe differently". Just breathe normally. You can't use less air by breathing less any more than your car would use less gas if you crimped the fuel line.

You need what you need. The trick to better air consumption is to need less.

You can do this by:

• Being weighted properly - too much weight means too much air in your BC which causes extra, unnecessary drag, which uses more air.
• Being horizontal - being non-horizontal causes unnecessary drag, which uses more air.
• Being neat and tidy - having hoses and computers and doodads sticking out and dangling all over causes unnecessary drag, which uses more air.
• Being relaxed - if you're stressed out, you breathe more. Getting more practice diving will usually help this a lot.
• Being warm - if you're cold, your body uses energy to warm itself, which requires more air.

The short answer is "be lazy." The closer you can get to expending the same energy as watching television while laying on the couch, the better your consumption rate will be.

That said, there are limits. A 90 pound teenage girl will use less air than a 225 pound guy any day of the week, no matter what. It takes oxygen to maintain life and bigger people require more than small people.

Also, air consumption isn't a contest. If after all this, you find that you're still using more air than your buddies, you can always just get a bigger tank.

Terry

 

[The Logic Theorist]

Achieving a horizontal position requires some adaptation in body posture, and also often some redistribution of weight, depending on where you are diving and how much lead you are carrying. Putting large amounts of weight in integrated pockets or on a belt often leads to an obligatory feet-down position. So does flexing at the hip joint -- Your body should be flat from the shoulders to the knees.

Ok, question one: I'm looking at buying a BC that's one of the "hybrid" style, its not a full jacket and is supposed to push the air more towards your back, but it does have integrated weight pockets. Where -should- the weight be?

Sculling with the hands is often good information about buoyancy and balance issues. If you are pushing your hands down, you may be compensating for being negative. Similarly if you are pulling up, you may be too positive. Sculling repeatedly with one hand may indicate that your tank is off-center or you are otherwise unbalanced from side to side.

A good way to learn not to use the hands is to clasp them in front or under you. This is what NWGratefulDiver had me do when I was new, and it broke the habit pretty quickly.

I usually end up pushing with my hands to turn more than anything else. I do try to keep them clasped when I'm going in a straight line, but when I need to alter my course to the left or right, or make a full turn, I'm still not really sure how to do that.

Getting enough practice to where your buoyancy smooths out helps, too. In the beginning, if you are porpoising up and down, you are putting air in the BC and venting, and inhaling and exhaling to control your depth, which wastes a fair amount of gas. Once you polish this skill, you add gas on descent and vent it on ascent, and use your breath for fine changes (going over a coral head, for example) during the dive.

When I'm comfortable in my gear and everything is going ok I've been doing fairly well with my buoyancy. I don't typically end up bouncing up and down over a large span of depth during a dive. On the other hand, a dive I did recently I was fairly overweighted due to using an LP tank (which was also larger than I was used to) and I could not seem to get neutral.

 

[Teamcasa]

Ahh yes, air control and trim. Watching new divers move from flailing to flying is great.
It all, as others said and more will say, boils down to practice. Dive with an experienced diver, learn from them.
As TSandM said, “A good way to learn not to use the hands is to clasp them in front or under you.”. Excellent advice. She also learned from a skilled mentor.

Air control will also come with practice. I was on a dive recently with a husband and wife team that prided themselves on being the last on the boat. Five minutes later, the husband asked for Advil, he had a terrible headache. The headache was a CO2 induced pain as a result of his trying to take shallow breaths, skipped breathing all in a effort to stay down longer. Crazy. Just breathe normally and don’t try to set speed records. You air control will reduce as your experience increases.

TSandM also mentioned fining from the ankles. More good info. Personally, I like a long, slow hip fin as well. When videotaping, ankle fining helps me stay put or move slightly.

Practice does NOT make perfect. Practice makes permanent, so practice the correct techniques.

Dave

 

[Blackwood]

A good way to learn not to use the hands is to clasp them in front or under you. This is what NWGratefulDiver had me do when I was new, and it broke the habit pretty quickly.

Alternately, hold a light. If it bounces around wildly, your hands aren't steady.