Breathing techniques for large but fit prople

[japan-diver]

Dale the OP is not what I would call a "new" diver although not as experienced as some of us. 4-5 breaths per minute is quite easy to maintain- most people are closer to 5 than 4 but still quite doable. This is done without skip breathing slow and even inhale and exhale. I teach this breathing technique to hundreds of divers a year varying from OW to Trimix and instructors. Most will easily get down to around 5 breaths per minute- those who are the most relaxed and good at biofeedback will be able to drop a bit slower. There will be a lower limit for everyone and it will differ but with work and proper breathing anyone can drop their SAC rate quite a bit. Getting very efficient in the water will allow you to control your breathing rate also. This is not something that happens overnight or with just a couple dives but it is possible.

 

[danvolker]

I'm a big guy, 6 ft 1, 190 pounds but in very good shape, running daily, don't smoke etc. I've got big lungs and nothing I can do about that and always breathe to fully fill them. I find it very hard to inhale less than all the way. As a result I need about 3kg even with only a rash vest because I can be so positive on my inhale.

The other side to being an athlete, is what all the muscle mass can do if it is getting tensed/contracted.
I am a cyclist, typically 30 miles per day, fast ( cat 3 level)..I weigh 210.... I do strength or power cycling for fun , not long stead distance miles like some.
With the larger muscles, and the metabolic potential you should have, accidentally contracting ANY muscle not essential for propulsion is going to eat oxygen. Also, when you are swimming/finning, with big muscle power you have to concentrate on NOT using your power. You need to attempt to use only the smallest fraction of power, and really go for perfect efficiency in the kick stroke. When you do this, you should be more efficient than the smokers that might have beat your sac rate before. They have typically learned they only have a small amount of power they are even able to apply, and they stay in their efficient "band of power"....many are good at this, but your 5% of available power should be more efficient than their 15% of available power( and their 100% power should be less than 1 third of yours).

Changing speed by even such a small amount as a half a mile per hour, can make enormous differences in power output required, and air consumption. Reading the currents and staying close to the bottom or protected by structure will also be a holy grail difference, to someone swimming out in the open.

---------- Post Merged at 12:10 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 11:43 AM ----------

Dale the OP is not what I would call a "new" diver although not as experienced as some of us. 4-5 breaths per minute is quite easy to maintain- most people are closer to 5 than 4 but still quite doable. This is done without skip breathing slow and even inhale and exhale. I teach this breathing technique to hundreds of divers a year varying from OW to Trimix and instructors. Most will easily get down to around 5 breaths per minute- those who are the most relaxed and good at biofeedback will be able to drop a bit slower. There will be a lower limit for everyone and it will differ but with work and proper breathing anyone can drop their SAC rate quite a bit. Getting very efficient in the water will allow you to control your breathing rate also. This is not something that happens overnight or with just a couple dives but it is possible.

I think this is getting down to what the "work rate" is going to need to be on the dive. If I am getting stuck hanging out with Sandra on a macro dive, where we move about 20 feet in an hour, sure, 3 breaths a minute could be functional if it was needed....but this would require purposeful relaxation and great care in any muscle contractions used for propulsion or anything. 4 or 5 breaths per minute would be easier to do without being ridiculous, but this still will not allow many types of behaviors I will want to engage in on a typical video shoot type dive I would do on goliath groupers or sharks, or even big mile long clouds of baitfish....you end up HAVING to use some power, and some speed, so whenever you have a "mission requirement" that overrides the absolute relaxation state, then sac rate will have to be higher.

I also am not a fan of just floating over a reef, even with a 3 mph current, and not swimming. I like to go where the action is, and that normally means kicking to some place. Normally that will be easy, deliberate and low blood oxygen depleting workload type speed...but this will change if something really cool shows up.

When doing ascent and stops, then the 3 to 5 breath per minute deal can work fine, though it is probably better for offgassing to have a heart rate cleaning you out a little faster than you would get from 50 to 70 heart beats per minute...so breathing should probably be planned to be faster than this if the dive profile was extreme, and you really need to consider offgassing efficiency. For recreational profiles, I would not be worrying about my off gassing efficiency

Once you start using a scooter, you get back to being able to plan ultra low relaxation breathing rates all over again.

 

[knotical]

Since CO2 levels make us breathe, decrease the levels by focusing on somewhat more complete exhalations than usual. Emptier lungs upon exhalation means less dead air space, less re-breathing of CO2-rich gas.

 

[IWantToBeAFish]

An interesting point regarding musculature contraction. I have a very muscular build and now I think about it, also have a particularly tended diving pose. I certainly have plenty of room for relaxation in that regard.

 

[tracydr]

I highly recommend yoga for learning efficient and proper breathing techniques. Plus, most fit men tend to be far from flexible. Yoga will help you reach your valves, loosen up the muscles in your legs and prevent cramps.
Yoga is an incredibly good exercise and especially good at teaching proper breathing. It's also good for strengthening core muscles, which will help to prevent lifting injuries and improve trim.
As a doctor, I often recommend it to patients with low back injuries, as well as respiratory issues.

 

[TSandM]

I think making a strong conscious effort to change your natural breathing pattern is counterproductive. First off, the volume you need to breathe in a minute is set by your CO2 production, and any effort to lower your breathing volume below that will just cause high CO2, which is undesirable at all times, but particularly when diving.

But your CO2 production is something you can change. CO2 is the result of metabolism, and a major determinant of that is muscle activity. The key to lower gas consumption underwater is efficiency. Efficiency means that you move only when you intend to move, and that every movement you make results in what you wanted to accomplish. Efficiency requires neutral buoyancy and horizontal trim, because if you are not neutral, you are kicking to remain at the same depth -- kicking like crazy to avoid changing anything is wasted effort and unnecessary CO2. If you are not horizontal, every kick is trying to push you off your desired depth, which means you have to use your buoyancy to compensate -- again, wasted effort. Waving your hands is a poor way to propel yourself underwater (they have so much less "bite" on the water than your fins do) and hand usage to try to manage poor buoyancy is really wasted effort.

I would offer that an excellent exercise to work on lowering your gas consumption is simple, motionless hovering. If you can't hover for a minute without moving anything (but perhaps an occasional fin tip), then you are moving to make up for unbalanced equipment or poor body posture -- both can be fixed! Once you can hover in a horizontal position as long as you like, then you can consciously CHOOSE to move. (In addition, the hovering practice will make you learn, whether you do it consciously or not, to control your breathing.)

 

[ShootinSquid]

I'm 6'2" 230 Lbs. I used to suck air like nobody's business. When I was in Largo, my AOW instructor told me to do 4 sec in- 4 sec out. I found it a very easy and appealing breathing style which evacuates the CO2 and allows better buoyancy control. It also allowed me to control my air usage.

If that doesn't work.... get a 120 and "deal with it" )

Just my $.02

 

[Dr Dog]

I find it very hard to inhale less than all the way. As a result I need about 3kg even with only a rash vest because I can be so positive on my inhale.

My breathing style is currently inhale for 1 - 2 seconds, exhale for 7 - 8.

Really appreciate thoughts, advice, comments etc.

If you are breathing out for 8 secs and breathing for 1-2 then your lungs are nowhere close to being full. This will result in negative buoyancy also, as you are breathing out of the bottom of your lungs

 

[tdtaylor]

I too am in the 230 range, over 6 feet and over 50. Fairly athletic- 30 miles on my road bike is not a problem. I have a very large chest cavity- 40 inches. Quite a while back, my AOW instructor spent a few minutes working on my breathing on shore- what a difference. I had been an serious athlete when I was younger, but really never focussed on breath control to this extent. I now typically breath in about a 12 second cycle, and if not task loaded in warm water air consumption at 0.4 is not a problem. Obviously, buoyancy and trim have a lot to do with it. [As a side note, when I bike, and my heart rate increases more than I like, I will partake in some deep breathing- it often will lower my heart rate by 5-10 beats per minute].

I recently got a new drysuit. Wow, the first time out I tripled my typical air consumption- felt like an idiot. My weight is off, trim is off, fussing in the water. Taking this weekend to spend some time at the dock and really get it dialed in. TSandM is absolutely right above about getting all these issues worked out.

I have also found that in cold water (40 degrees F), multi-tasking, deep, drysuit, my air consumption is often double to .80 or a little higher. I believe over time, as the tasks become second nature, this will improve.

And I will probably never match my slender, in-shape daughter who is half my weight and like a fish in the water ;-)