Breathing Techniques and Air Consumption

[jmasin]

There is however a handy device you CAN use to control your breathing rate. It's called your brain. It is exceedingly good at delivering the right amount of 02 that your body needs by AUTOMATICALLY adjusting your ventilation rate to match your consumption needs. It does this WITHOUT requiring you to think about it. In fact, it's SO GOOD at doing this that the only sure-fire way to **** it up is by trying to override it!

Classic!

Why waste time thinking about breathing when I can be looking at stuff, trying to steady myself to take a photo, wishing that darn fish would turn around and face the camera so I don't get yet one more photo of a fish's butt (do fish have butts?) etc...

So much better stuff to think about... I'll let my body manage my involuntary functions

 

[Mike Boswell]

I don't agree that you need to swim slowly and avoid using muscles. To me, streamlining and relaxation are more important.

I usually swim along at a pretty good clip, covering a lot of ground. I enjoy the speed and the exercise. I work at breathing slowly and deeply, and over the course of a dive I can maintain a pretty satisfactory RMV.

 

[Herk_Man]

Is it bad if I confuse discourse with intercourse? :blinking:

 

[Mike Boswell]

Is it bad if I confuse discourse with intercourse? :blinking:

Of course!

 

[DCBC]

Hello all. First time post here, long time lurker and diver.

I wanted to start a thread on breathing techniques as it relates to air consumption and buoyancy control.

Thanks for your first post. Don't try to save air! If you relax and wear appropriate thermal protection your consumption will naturally decrease. Trying to save air will cause a heightened carbon dioxide level which can cause problems with narcosis, etc. Make sure you ventilate properly (blow-off the CO2).

Remember you're diving to have fun! Pay attention to your gas management, record your SAR at the end of each dive and use it in dive planning. Be content and enjoy.

Wayne

 

[nitrousbuzz]

"Thanks for your first post. Don't try to save air! If you relax and wear appropriate thermal protection your consumption will naturally decrease. Trying to save air will cause a heightened carbon dioxide level which can cause problems with narcosis, etc. Make sure you ventilate properly (blow-off the CO2).
'


I have found that deep slow breathing vastly improved my air consumption without ever holding my breath or ever feeling short of air. Blowing off the CO2 is key, and the deep breathing helps me enter a state of total relaxation. I've been diving for 20 years, 15 since discovering deep breathing and think this is one of the best tips I ever recieved. I literally went from being the first up to last up in the space of one dive trip.

I'm going to try to breath more with my diaphram as suggested by other posters, that seems like it would allow for an easier more powerful exhale which I view as the key.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I'm always amazed at how many people mistake "discourse" for "argument" here on SB, but I guess it's the world overall in which we live.

@RJP: I think that mistaking discourse for argument can be attributed more to the medium than to "the world overall in which we live." In Internet forums, the only communication we have is words on a page. When we lack information from body language and voice inflection, misunderstandings are bound to occur. Moreover, the element of anonymity in an Internet forum almost certainly emboldens people, possibly contributing to more aggressive behavior. I'm not sure if this explanation applies here, though.

From a strict neuromechanical "learning" perspective there is no such thing as a "complementary recommendation" because any such thing quite literally inhibits the brain's ability to effectively recognize and imprint the proper muscle memory and proprioception necessary to incorporate a skill at a level where it can be executed without conscious thought and concentration. By definition, what you are recommending is not "complementary" techniques but rather "contrary" techniques.

I agree that teaching a good technique at the wrong time can hinder learning. Your position is that "breathing awareness" will prevent muscle-memory development in diving. As long as the diver has already acquired a certain level of proficiency in buoyancy control, I see no reason why he should not allocate some mental bandwidth to becoming aware of how the breathing cycle can affect buoyancy. The requisite muscle-memory already exists, and the incremental addition of breath synchronization is a minor one.

I will ask that you try to refrain from the pedantic tone that has become a hallmark of your participation. I'm not sure if you think it is clever or if you are doing it just to ham it up for the audience here. You appear to have a certain amount of wisdom to share. It's a shame that the information is obscured at times by thinly-veiled condescension.

 

[claymore]

As a new diver I am still working on my air consumption and buoyancy. After a minor heart attack almost 3 years ago I have been going to the gym and doing cardio exercise three times a week I have found that after I started working on slow deep breathing when I am working out that my ability to push the limits of my body are much higher and my heart rate would drop five to ten points when I was breathing properly and not using short breaths.

I know that the long slow breathing technique is helping my air consumption by creating better gas exchange and a much more relaxed attitude in the water