lung capacity?air consumption?

[kjpwong]

g'day all,
just wondering if the larger your lung capacity is, do you generally consume more air as a result? it kinda makes sense but forgive me if this sounds silly, but dont people encourage more exercise to improve performance/bottom time? but exercise increases your lung capaity which theoredicly make you consume more air each time..........
thanks in advance....
cheers
kenny

 

[dolbersen]

Increasing your fitness level will increase the efficiency of each breath: there'll be greater gas exchange and your body will take in more O2. Further, once you get your breathing pattern down you'll be able to take much longer inhale/exhale cycles. Longer = more bottom time, no?

There's another benefit to increased lung volume: your primary BC (your lungs) have more dynamic range now. You won't have to fiddle with your BC nearly as much to temporarily change your depth.

 

[drm]

The size of you lungs is not related to the amount of air you consume. The more fit you are, the more oxygen your lungs and body will use from each breath, making your system more efficient. The more efficient your body is with respect to breathing, the less air you will use during a dive. Basically, your body is going further on a single breath, meaning you don't have to breath as often.

Dave
www.divingindepth.com

 

[pasley]

What they said. Exercise makes your body more efficent and you will use less air.

 

[kjpwong]

thanks heaps...
i have been a long time swimmer and i consider myself pretty fit, after a body check 2 weeks ago including my peak flow the doc. said my lungs are 25% larger than people my age (16). but i havent quite got the scuba breathing pattern yet. should i do long, slow and deep breaths and the whole 'tummy-breathing' thing i was taught?
thanks again
kenny

 

[Charlie99]

but exercise increases your lung capaity which theoredicly make you consume more air each time.....

My personal observation is that fitness level doesn't affect my resting/easy swimming SAC. It does make a big difference in what happens when swimming fast or swimming against a current. When I've been exercising regularly and am in good shape, my SAC doesn't go up as fast with increased workload. Not much different than on land, where if you are in shape you can do a higher level of physical activity without panting and gasping.

 

[dkktsunami]

thanks heaps...
i have been a long time swimmer and i consider myself pretty fit, after a body check 2 weeks ago including my peak flow the doc. said my lungs are 25% larger than people my age (16). but i havent quite got the scuba breathing pattern yet. should i do long, slow and deep breaths and the whole 'tummy-breathing' thing i was taught?
thanks again
kenny

Yoga breathing is definitely a help. For one thing it promotes relaxation, as well as thorough gas exchange. Even though you have a large lung capacity you should be able to slow your rate of breathing considerably thereby reducing gas consumption. Practice in bed before you go to sleep - in this circumstance it's easily possible to breathe only twice a minute, or less, indefinitely. Also practice while jogging - breathe in through mouth (to simulate regulator) for two paces, then exhale streched over six paces. Then try to extend exhale to eight paces. Find a pattern that works. The one glitch with this is that when done to full capacity in the water you will probably yo - yo. You may have to back off some on the depth, or fullness, of the inhale. Dave

 

[morris0352]

I haven't had too many dives but my air consumption is great for someone as new as I am. I work out A LOT which helps but I was talking to this dive instructor a few months ago about SAC and she was telling me that the best way to control your air consumption is to to take several tiny breaths in and several tiny breaths out....(ie. in, in, in, in, in, out, out, out, out, out=1 full breath) And that forces you to breath slower and my bottom time has skyrocketed since I started this.

Just something to think about
Kyle

 

[ajames54]

g'day all,
just wondering if the larger your lung capacity is, do you generally consume more air as a result? it kinda makes sense but forgive me if this sounds silly, but dont people encourage more exercise to improve performance/bottom time? but exercise increases your lung capaity which theoredicly make you consume more air each time..........
thanks in advance....
cheers
kenny

I suffered from pretty severe childhood asthma at the age of 18 I was tested and told I had lung capacity almost two times the average persons. My wife runs marathons and her breath cycles are twice what mine are.. When I started diving I used a lot of air, over time, with concentration and a good breathing coach I am now one of the most conservative breathers (at least I'm usually the last out of air).. It was great the first time the DM signaled low air

 

[OBXDIVEGUY]

I've been a swimmer all my life. When I swam in college, my lung capacity was rated at 140%, much larger than the average joe. As a sprinter, I was extremely efficient with my air. Doing the 50 and 100 on one breath would do that. Unfortunately in SCUBA, lung size does matter. Sure, your air exchange is more effiecient, but you still need more air in your lungs than everyone else. Basically all effieciency means, is that you can function better while there are lower O2 levels in your lungs. ie. at one point in my training, I could hold my breath u/w for nearly 5 minutes. It stinks cuz my lung capacity turns me into a hoover.