How do I improve my air consumption?

[MXGratefulDiver]

Actually, Faber's MP72's work really well for smaller folk for exactly the same reason. Not only are they small in size and weight, but they're superbly negative (-7.8 lbs full, -5.5 lbs empty) which means you get to wear less weights on your belt or BCD.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[divebuddydale]

When I first started diving, I thought you had to conastantly breathe. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.. with no pause. If you monitor your surface breathing, you will notice that you pause between the inhale and the exhale for about a second or two. Underwater, there was no pause, I was almost in a hyperventaltion state, try conciously noticing your breathing pattern, and make sure you pause (this is not holding your breath, it is a natural ryhthm). Also, when you start focussing on your breath pattern, it will relax you more, and you will no breathe so heavily, therefore you get more time per tank. After a littlewhile you will no longer have to focus on your breathing, it will become natural for you.


DALE


NOTE: I do not condone breathhold practicing

 

[oversea]

I am the same height and weight as you. What thickness suit do you dive with? Your going to laugh, but when I did my OW dives, I needed 40 pounds!!!! I was however wearing a 7 mil hood, gloves, 5 mil henderson suit and a 7 mil core warmer, but 40 lbs, that rediculous.

 

[Aquabella]

NWGratefulDiver once bubbled...
Most new divers are just so excited they zip around like a baby harbor seal ... wanting to see it all at once.

ah, yup, that'd be me, according to by buddy anyway. I need to slow down he says.

My air consumtion is pretty good though because I tend to do the pause breathing thing naturally.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I agree with NWGratefulDiver on the Faber 71.2's. My wife uses them exclusively and it has improved her air consumption. It has also let me take a lot of weight of her weightbelt and this seems to reduce some of the strain on her as well underwater.

I also agree with the references to over weighting. I think many OW instructors aggravate this problem by taking the fast track to surviving open water check dives and over weight divers who have trouble getting down. It would be far better to spend some time with them to address the true problems such as unconsciously waving their hands and feet around, not fully dumping the BC etc.

What makes it worse is that the student dutifully records the excess lead "required" in the log book and perpetuates the problem through out their early diving career. It actually gets worse if they have a new wet suit that loses a few more pounds of bouyancy after a dozen or so more dives.

All this excess weight makes learning proper bouyancy control very difficult and the new diver often compensate by using their hands and fins to maintain position in the water column, reinforcing the orginal problem and creating a diver who can't relax underwater due to poor bouyancy control and has horrible air consumption.

When I certified in 1985 we did a buoyancy check at the dive site and determined the proper weight for each diver by weighting them so that when still in the water in full gear with a tank with 500 psi, they floated at eye level in the water with full lungs and an empty BC. This allowed them to descend soley by exhaling and left them neutral with full lungs at about 15 ft. If there was a problem decending during the subsequent check dives every body knew it was the diver's technique and not a weight problem.

 

[NJDiver_34]

I used to be concerned with my breathing also. One of the best things I have learned to do is not to think about breathing! The more you think about it the more your breathing gets screwy.
Just have fun and look at the fishys and you will find the more dives you do the more comfortable you'll get.

 

[cornfed]

chrpai once bubbled...
If you zeroed it in before the dive and it never went below 60, why are you recording 70 just because some dive master told you to?

I talked to a guy once that did this regularly. He would add extra to the first dive when planning the second. He liked the safety factor -- kind of like diving nitrox with air tables.

Cornfed

 

[cornfed]

People have suggested everthing from different tanks to yoga, but they left of running shoes.

Cornfed

 

[Allen42]

One of the things I did to help develop a "deep, slow rythm" was to mentally count while breathing in and out.

Suck in...one....two...three...five and out...one...two...three...four...five.

The "and out" and the "and in" parts causes a little 1-2 second delay between breaths. I usually count in and out somewhere between 5-7 "seconds". It helped tremendously. Now I pretty much have my desired breathing cycle without counting, but sometimes find myself still counting after exertion, etc.

Stay calm, and slow. If you find yourself panting from exertion, calm down, take a couple large breaths to get the CO2 out and reoxygenated, and then slow the breathing back down.

Good luck!

 

[Marcos]

I strongly feel your physical conditioning, particularly your aerobic conditioning has a lot to do with your air consumption. I just finished my advanced open water certification and I am a new diver, but my air consumption is great. I run or ride a bike 5 times a week and watch what I eat. My dive buddy for my training is about the same age and size of me, but was using twice the air I was. He constantly expressed frustration when we did underwater air checks and he saw I had double the air left that he had. He asked me if I to cardiovascular work outs when our dive was over and I said yes 5 times a week. When I asked him if he does he said no never. My breathing is probably slower and more controlled and my body is utilizing the oxygen more efficiently because I'm in shape. Hey if air consumption during diving is really a concern of yours it should be great modivation to start working out.