How do you breathe under water? Any Advice?

[lespaulsf]

I usually avoid to say to my student to focus on deep breaths because I have seen that if they do that they tend to fully inflate their lungs more than breathing naturally and hence they go up and down as they get an extra lift of at least 2 kgs at full lungs and -2kg at empty lungs.

This is what happens to me. Once I think I have my breathing down okay and my neutral buoyancy going okay during a dive and will go up and down. I then seem to have to try and fight it by breathing in or adjusting my BC. I think what I really need is someone to just spend some time with me to help me with the stuff.

I'm sorry, but I disagree with this. It IS about weight distribution, but trim pockets are a place to put some weight up higher on the diver's body, which is where most people need to put it to balance in a horizontal position. Without them, or if they are located too low on the BC, you have to find another way to move weight upward. Camband weight pockets can be useful, or a tank weight, even wrapped around the tank neck. One of the biggest advantages of a backplate is that it moves 5 lbs up onto your back.

I don't own a BC yet so should I get a jacket style or back inflate? Also what are Camband weight pockets?

 

[Interceptor121]

Just focus on moving steadily and slowly and remember to exhale properly, every now and then stop, think and look at the reef whilst you are level, then look at your fins. Are they moving? If they are relax and inflate your BC a little. Don't try to contrast the up and downs with your lungs and fins that makes things much worst
I was taking one of my students on a day boat and I bumped into this guy on a 15 lt tanks doing 40-45 minutes dive. In the next dive every few minutes I would turn and indicate him to look at his legs. They were moving to keep him neutral, he then stopped and used the BC
He did a 60 minutes dive...

 

[lespaulsf]

Hmm so you say not to move my legs. Well currenlty if I stop and try to stay still I will move into a vertical position. One of the guys I dive with stay that some peoples body make up just puts them like this natural. LIke I stated I'm a skinny guy 5'10 150lbs.

 

[Teamcasa]

Hmm so you say not to move my legs. Well currenlty if I stop and try to stay still I will move into a vertical position. One of the guys I dive with stay that some peoples body make up just puts them like this natural. LIke I stated I'm a skinny guy 5'10 150lbs.

Your body size has nothing to do with it. Balancing and getting your trim right is physics. If you have your weights distributed to match your body, exposure suit and gear configutration, with just a little practice, horizontal positioning will be a snap.

 

[Interceptor121]

Hmm so you say not to move my legs. Well currenlty if I stop and try to stay still I will move into a vertical position. One of the guys I dive with stay that some peoples body make up just puts them like this natural. LIke I stated I'm a skinny guy 5'10 150lbs.

That is typical when your weight is not distributed properly however for the purpose of the exercise is actually fine. Do you find yourself finning in your vertical position to stay level?

 

[lespaulsf]

That is typical when your weight is not distributed properly however for the purpose of the exercise is actually fine. Do you find yourself finning in your vertical position to stay level?

Yep how did you know. If I stay perfectly still I seem to sink. Maybe I'm just over weighted. Duh I might have figured out some of my problem. :loopy:

So if I'm a little over weighted then I need to maybe take off a few pounds. Currently like time I dove a few weeks ago I had a full 3mm suit with gloves, and used 12 lbs. I also got a new dive light that most likely weighs 1lb. So maybe I need to drop down to 10 lbs and see how that goes. I'm just nervous that if I don't have enough weight I will either go to the service or can't stop for a safety stop.

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

You're breathing wrong.

Breathe in slowly and deeply ... take 3 or 4 seconds to breathe in. Breathe out about twice as slowly as you breathe in.

You're getting plenty of oxygen ... keep in mind that it's not the lack of oxygen that is causing you to want to take the next breath ... it's the buildup of carbon dioxide (the waste product created as oxygen gets metabolised in your body). Breathing out slowly helps rid your body of that carbon dioxide ... making you feel less "starved" for that next breath. Breathing out quickly doesn't allow your body sufficient time to remove the CO2 that's being collected in your lungs, and over time you feel more and more like you "can't get enough air". Slow that exhale down and watch what happens to your gas consumption rate.

Also keep in mind that new divers typically have a high consumption rate. That's generally because you're working hard. Try slowing down, minimizing your movements through the water, adjusting your weighting (do a weight check periodically, new divers tend to carry more lead than they really need), and working on your trim (swimming horizontally reduces the need to push a lot of heavy water out of your way as you dive). The less hard you work, the less CO2 you will produce ... and this will also impact your need to breathe so hard.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Bob, this is the advice I always hear. But then I also hear that you need to use your breath to control buoyancy. If you are just breathing the way you suggest, not only does this seem to shy away from using your breathe to control buoyancy (if you are taking in air for 4 seconds then letting it out for 8 seconds, this is fairly mechanical and not using your breathe strategically), but also intaking this much air gives a fair bit of variation to your bouyancy.

So my question is:
a.) How are you supposed to maintain neutral buoyancy and breathe 'correctly' when your lungs are constantly altering your bouyancy?
b.) How can you control bouyancy with breath, when the general "rule" is to always breathe deep and exhale slowly?

I always see these two issues discussed apart and never together, and it seems like they contradict each other. Thanks!

 

[lespaulsf]

Hi Coldwater Canuck I posted the original question and must say your questions have me asking the same thing. I guess this is why I might be having problems. If I take to deep of a breath I will float upwards quite a bit and if I let out all the air i will sink it seems.

 

[Teamcasa]

So my question is:
a.) How are you supposed to maintain neutral buoyancy and breathe 'correctly' when your lungs are constantly altering your bouyancy?
b.) How can you control bouyancy with breath, when the general "rule" is to always breathe deep and exhale slowly?

I always see these two issues discussed apart and never together, and it seems like they contradict each other. Thanks!

When slowly inhaling, you will start to rise but it won't happen instantly, by the time you begin to rise, you are exhaling, as you begin to fall you will be inhaling again. Maybe that's hard to explain but it is all about the momentum.

As for using your breath for buoyancy, you can and indeed should learn to manage the momentum by inhaling slower, more fully and exhaling longer and more completely. Easy peasy.

 

[NJ to FLA]

I think your breathing "skills" will come once you get more comfortable in the water. Buoyancy is the first thing you should you should work on and then everything else will come SO easily.