I'm an Air Hog

[spectrum]

I recently completed my Open Water Diver certification. In the confined water dives and the open water dives, I was one of the first to run low on air.
I am a big guy. 6'1" and 260 pounds. I am down 25 pounds and still losing. As I continue to lose weight and get in better shape, will this help with air consumption? What else can I do? My instructors said that air consumption can also improve with dive experience. They said your skills increase and you become more comfortable and relaxed underwater.
Any suggestions or comments?

You and your instructor are spot on here. So what can you actively do to make it all come together? As always, dive, dive and then dive some more. Give in to the obsession and get some concentrated experience.

Get your configuration right in terms of weight and trim. If you are overweighted or not balanced for good trim you will still be an air hag at 100 dives.

Be sure to do a good weight check and repeat it from time to time at the end of dives:
Remember to set your weight so that you bob vertically at eye level at the end of your dive with an empty BC, an average breath, your feet still (crossed) and about 500 PSI in your cylinder. A deep breath should get your mask out of the water and a deep exhale should sink your mask. Do all of this while breathing from your regulator. The end of the dive is the defining moment for your weight requirement and you want just enough to let you stay down in the shallows with a light cylinder.

If you can relax and hang pretty much like a skydiver in free fall then you probably have a good working trim situation.

Take it easy when you are diving, this sport borders on being anaerobic. No thrashing, or racing (unless you see something cool!) in general slow graceful kicks as you breathe deep and slow.

Last but not least when you can't go scuba diving go skin-diving. Breathing through the dead volume of the snorkel will develop a great sustained oral breathing style, deep and slow. You will tone your legs (making them virtually cramp proof) and learn to steer with your fin tips helping you to avoid arm thrashing, a big air waster and suit flusher that costs you thermal energy, hence air.

Dive Safe,
Pete

 

[Bubble Junky]

Look into finding a good instructor that can offer you some sort of buoyancy course (talk to your currewnt instructor). When I teach the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy course, my students always feel like they've benefitted, and their air consumption nearly always shows a noticeable improvement. Also you said you've lost some weight (and are continuting to do so), so it would also be a good idea to keep performing 'buoyancy checks' before and after dives periodically. As you lose weight, you should require less lead to get down.

 

[jbd]

brshooter,

My response is going to come off as rude, blunt, arrogant, obnoxious and might even seem downright unfriendly But it really isn't meant to be that way. Its meant to go straight to the point so you know where to focus your efforts towards imnprovemnt.

You said, "I'm an air hog."

I say, Of course you are, because you move too much. You move too fast. You move when you should be still. You are wasting air through your BC because you don't have good buoyancy control. So don't move so much. Don't move so fast. Don't move unless you really need to. Don't waste so much air through your BC.

These points have all been addressed by the previous respondents, but lets look at them again.

Too much movement--hands and arms are moving all over the place. Feet and legs move all over the place in large grandiose sweeps. Body is rotating and turning all over the place to see things and keep track of where you are. All of this takes energy which requires the body to burn oxygen which = air hog.

Moving too fast--whats the rush?? Where's the house fire?? Speed takes lots of energy which requires the body to burn oxygen which = air hog.

Moving when you should or could be still. Un-necessary movement requires energy which requires the body to burn oxygen which = air hog.

Wasting air through the BC--this is because you are not properly weighted and it allows Boyles law to play havoc with you. You end up adding air then dumping air then adding again then dumping again etc, etc, which = air hog.

The first thing you need to do, literally before anything else is get your weighting correct. Once this is correct you will find it easier to get your trim correct which will benefit you by reducing drag. This will also help you master buoyancy control which will make you the master of Boyles law instead of a slave to it. Less air wasted through the BC means there is more air for you to breathe

Second thing--don't move unless you have to move i.e. be still. The creatures in the water don't move unless they have to move. Movement is kept to a minimum. Requires less energy which means less oxygen consumption which means the tank will last you longer.

Third--- move only what you need to move, which typically means only your legs and or your feet. Keep the hands tucked close to your body and still or adopt the clasped out front but still position for the hands. Even with moving the legs or feet, keep that motion as small as is reasonable. Just enough to make the move you want to make. Learn to turn just your head or roll slightly to the side to see. Less motion means less energy expended which means less oxygen required which makes the tank last longer.

Fourth--Slow down. Move slowly. Move gently. This requires less energy, which requires less oxygen which means the tank will last longer.

What I teach my students and what I do when I am diving on my own is focus on becoming one with the water. When you are one with the water, you are not fighting with the water. You expend less energy, which requires less oxygen, which means..... -------------you won't be an air hog anymore

 

[scubak]

Good post!!!! JBD!!!
K

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Good advice!!! But, hurry and get your official Air Hog card while you still can. LOL

 

[RonFrank]

BRShooter,

You are a guy, and at your size while not huge you are bigger than a lot of folks. This means bigger lungs, more veins, more everything, and you will never have the SAC rate of a 100 lbs woman.

However, your air consumption will get better, and there are lots of options. I dive with a good buddy who is 6'6" more or less, and is likely 250lbs. His air consumption did improve over time, however he breaths an AL100 about the same speed as I breath an AL80.

This is nothing to be worried or ashamed about. If you can not reach your NDL with an AL80 after a lot of dives, than plan on diving bigger tanks. This may not always be an option, but in that case, you can only do your best. Do NOT drain your tank to empty to add Bottom Time. If you are getting low on air, just surface safely, and make sure to leave air for a solid safety stop.

I'm not a big fan of air hogs for buddies, but I'm less a fan of buddies who may put my life or the life of another at risk because they are worried about self image due to air consumption.

 

[brshooter]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Some great information shared.
Definately going to get back to the water so I can work on weighting and trim. I was also looking at a Peak Perfomance Buoyancy class from my LDS in mid September. I am hoping it will help develop my skills in buoyancy and being streamlined.

Bill

 

[diver 85]

I agree with Frank, especially on weight. The first 5 dives I did in Coz after my certification I was way over wt...by 11 pounds...I had to buddy breathe with the DM once and go up early the others. After I got the weight situatued, no problems.

hmmmm.... that big of an improvement in what 18 maybe 19 dives(24-5 from what I can gather), can't wait till you hit dive 800 or so....you'll be a diving compressor down stairs, sign on your back will read: "I make air"......keep up the improvements........

 

[MeiLing]

Everything that everyone has said is great and are the things you need to work on first. However, one of the things that a lot of newbies do is over-breathe. Yes, you should always breathe but not like a runaway train. Long slow, deep inhales and exhales with only a slight pause between the in and out.

Don't hold your breath in between your inhale and exhale for more than 2-3 seconds. That's skip breathing and it is dangerous. :no

Here is a link to a website that talks about breathing and sports, including SCUBA diving:

http://www.viewzone.com/breathing.html

Give it a read and good luck!

 

[RonFrank]

I was also looking at a Peak Perfomance Buoyancy class from my LDS in mid September. I am hoping it will help develop my skills in buoyancy and being streamlined.

The Peak Performance class would be worthwhile, but there is nothing taught that is going to instantly improve your trim, weighting, and buoyancy skills. Like many sports getting buoyancy down is a combination of knowledge, and experience. The knowledge is basic. The experience can only be gained by diving on a regular basis. The best reason to take classes in many cases is to get you in the water hopefully with a good instructor who you can learn from both by their observing you, but also by observing how they dive. Diving with good divers is one of the best ways to become a better diver.

There are some gear configurations that can help trim. For example most find that a back inflate BC or wing helps attain, and maintain a horizontal position while UW. Work on hovering. You should be able to just stop moving, and hold a position without sinking, or floating up. Work on being what I call a *still* diver. Good divers are not jerking around UW, or even constantly kicking unless swimming into current. Good divers are still with arms tucked away, or out in front. Arching your back also helps maintain good horz trim.