Breathing rate help ?

[50BarBill]

I’m a new diver, and I’m getting around 30min dives out of a 15L when averaging around 14m on dives. Is there any kind of exercises I can do to improve this ? Or is it just experience thing ?
Thanks guys.

 

[Blackcrusader]

I’m a new diver, and I’m getting around 30min dives out of a 15L when averaging around 14m on dives. Is there any kind of exercises I can do to improve this ? Or is it just experience thing ?
Thanks guys.

Diving conditions can affect gas consumption. Cold water can be an issue. Are you in a dry suit? Also I see you only have a few dives. On a very good slow dive with little or no current I can get a 90 minute dive on an AL80 with average depth 14m and finishing with 50 bar starting with 210 bar. It's rare to get such a perfect dive.

It's also a very slow dive speed and almost no movement. But that's in south east asia in warm water. It takes a lot of diving to get to know yourself and how to get really relaxed on dives. BTW I am a large chap 300 pounds 6 foot 1 tall. But I am old and wise in the ways of being good on gas after 40 years of diving.

When I was new to diving I really had no idea what my gas consumption was like.

 

[Blackcrusader]

My buddy took this video of me in Indonesia on a manta dive in Lombok. I am just floating but as I am not moving I noticed in this 17 second clip I have also not exhaled. I tend to breathe every 20 seconds or so when like this on dives.

Maybe have someone video you as you dive so you can see yourself and watch your bubble trails. In the second video a DM took a video of me diving and you can see my breathing compared to the other divers behind me.

 

[Blackcrusader]

Mastering buoyancy is also critical. Trim also important.

 

[NothingClever]

Refrain from arm and hand swimming.

Focus on cardiovascular fitness to ensure efficient perfusion (absorption) of O2.

Relax your breathing.

Look more, swim less.

Use a frog kick, much more efficient propulsion.

Read the bazillions of threads and posts here on ScubaBoard that examine this topic.

Have fun during your 30 minutes and don’t worry about ending before others, just tune into yourself and enjoy the experience. You’ll get where you want to be with time. Everybody else went through the same experience you’re going through.

 

[inquis]

Many new divers are angled feet-down rather than horizontal. Every kick wants to move them upward, so they naturally compensate by being a bit negatively buoyant. Unfortunately, they then have to constantly kick to avoid sinking, with a corresponding hit to their gas usage.

When angled flat, they can kick softer (for a given speed) or not at all if they're stationary. Air consumption goes down.

Have a buddy angle their arm to match the angle of your tank to see if this might be the case for you. If so, then shifting some lead higher (e.g., into trim pockets) will help balance you.

Avoiding excess weight also helps. New divers are often anxious and do not exhale fully. As they grow more comfortable, they can often shed some lead.

 

[FishWatcher747]

Instead of focusing on your breathing or your breathing rate which is more of a brainstem function, aspire to be able to hover without movement.

To hover requires you to think of how to do it. As @inquis stated you need to adjust your weight distribution to match your center of buoyancy with your center of mass. For most wetsuit divers this means getting weight over your lungs like in trim pockets and away from your waist.

 

[50BarBill]

My buddy took this video of me in Indonesia on a manta dive in Lombok. I am just floating but as I am not moving I noticed in this 17 second clip I have also not exhaled. I tend to breathe every 20 seconds or so when like this on dives.

Maybe have someone video you as you dive so you can see yourself and watch your bubble trails. In the second video a DM took a video of me diving and you can see my breathing compared to the other divers behind me.

I am in a drysuit yes. I want to work on my trim to have that lay down L posture to frog kick, but i feel like naturally my legs want to be straight out ? Also to note I am 6ft 4 and 90kg so that may be a factor.
Thanks for all the info

 

[LI-er]

Big people have big lungs. No getting around physiology.

That much said, when you're diving, every so often stop moving, completely.

See where your body wants to go and what you're doing to compensate. Every movement takes energy and the more energy you expend the more you're going to breathe.

Do what is necessary so that when you stop moving, you stop moving.

 

[Reefy]

The better your trim, buoyancy, and finning technique, the better your air consumption will inevitably be.

Every bit of excessive movement- be it hand-swimming, erroneous finning, constantly having to reach up to dump air from your BCD, etc- requires energy, which in turn means you will breathe quicker. If you can, try to focus on only making deliberate movements. Work on developing a good frog kick, and treat every dive as an opportunity to consciously monitor and practice both your finning, horizontal trim, and buoyancy.

Above the surface, any sort of routine cardiovascular exercise should help over time.

Like any other skill, practice makes perfect. Not to mention, as you spend more time in the water, you will also inherently become more comfortable, which in turn will help your breathing rate as well. Good luck!