Tips for a heavy breather

[MeiLing]

This is where I got the 3 second timeframe from you.

Don't get me wrong, I am not against divers controlling their breathing and/or practicing breathing techniques ( I do it myself). I just think it is premature to have a new diver do anything but breath naturally. If there is a pause, then there is a pause. But to put in someone's mind to focus on that pause I think (and again just my opinion) may have them concentrating on something that can do more harm than good at this stage of their experience.

So if they've never concentrated on how they breathe naturally, then I guess, in your opinion, it's just wrong that someone puts it into words what a natural breathing is. Better that they just have absolutely no idea!

 

[merxlin]

Not what I am saying at all. But if indeed what you described was "natural" breathing, we wouldn't need to say anything at all about how to do it. Yes, for many people (not all) there is a natural pause between breaths. When very relaxed that pause is typically longer than under duress due to stress, exercise, or even altitude. Diving will typically speed up the breathing rate, at least initially and for the inexperienced. But when you use an example that tells someone that there should be a pause, and specifically a timeframe for that pause, they will have a tendency to try and make that happen. In some situations, especially for a new diver, that may not be natural for them and they may hold their breath knowingly or unknowingly while trying to get that pause in there. "Don't hold your breath" is not contradictory to "breath naturally".

Again, breath-work is great for divers, especially if done in combination with exercise of some sort so you can apply them while doing physical activity, versus passive training. I think the techniques you posted are very beneficial. And if the OP had said I have 25, 30, 50 or whatever amount of dives and asked about his air consumption, maybe these would be good techniques for him (after trim and buoyancy control). But he said he was new to diving, and there are so many other factors that can be affecting his air consumption, that suggesting he change his breathing pattern while diving I believe is premature.

PS- I was a hoover and tried improperly to apply some of these techniques. I suffered CO2 headaches, and still have trouble trying to unlearn bad technique, occassionally slipping back into those old patterns.

 

[MeiLing]

Not what I am saying at all. But if indeed what you described was "natural" breathing, we wouldn't need to say anything at all about how to do it. Yes, for many people (not all) there is a natural pause between breaths. When very relaxed that pause is typically longer than under duress due to stress, exercise, or even altitude. Diving will typically speed up the breathing rate, at least initially and for the inexperienced. But when you use an example that tells someone that there should be a pause, and specifically a timeframe for that pause, they will have a tendency to try and make that happen. In some situations, especially for a new diver, that may not be natural for them and they may hold their breath knowingly or unknowingly while trying to get that pause in there. "Don't hold your breath" is not contradictory to "breath naturally".

Again, breath-work is great for divers, especially if done in combination with exercise of some sort so you can apply them while doing physical activity, versus passive training. I think the techniques you posted are very beneficial. And if the OP had said I have 25, 30, 50 or whatever amount of dives and asked about his air consumption, maybe these would be good techniques for him (after trim and buoyancy control). But he said he was new to diving, and there are so many other factors that can be affecting his air consumption, that suggesting he change his breathing pattern while diving I believe is premature.

PS- I was a hoover and tried improperly to apply some of these techniques. I suffered CO2 headaches, and still have trouble trying to unlearn bad technique, occassionally slipping back into those old patterns.

If you had read the article on the website I listed, you might have discovered that the appropriate way to breathe, diaphragmatic breathing, is not necessarily the way everyone breathes. According to the article, most of us are not breathing properly in the first place, hence the need to practice doing so appropriately.

Indeed, if you had even read the OP’s original post, you’d have discovered that he is already trying to alter his breathing. In which case, IMHO, knowing how to do it properly, in the first place, and what skip breathing is would certainly be useful so that he can forgo the CO2 headaches and bad habits that you gained on your through your experimentation.

I was also an air hog and also learned through my own experimentation. However, I was also mindful of how my body felt while doing so. So I adjusted what I did until I found what worked and created the most comfortable feel. Very quickly, I become better on air, with no CO2 headache, than my instructor, who had thousands of dives. Recently, I found the website and realized the Tai Chi breathe exercise was what I was doing all along while I dive. It is also a technique I employed when I was younger to fall asleep when I was over-tired or in pain.

If you had also read the article, you’d have found that diaphragmatic breathing is the only way to get air into the lower third of your lungs, which is where two-thirds of the blood supply is. Breathing diaphragmatically increases the efficiency of your lungs, thereby enhancing the ability to metabolize oxygen. Appropriate for any situation be it stress, exertion, altitude, etc!

Sorry, I didn’t use the word “naturally” for your sake, so further reading would not be required for you, but I feel, in this case, that the adjective is vague and inappropriate! As for repeating what advice others had given on trim and buoyancy control, I had nothing to add to those posts that hadn’t already been said.


Have a nice day!

 

[merxlin]

I am not an adversary here MeiLing. I did read the article. Great technique, although I would have liked them to explain how you keep your airway open during that pause, versus someone actually holding their breath for the 2-3 second pause. The only thing we disagree on is whether changing breathing technique is appropriate for a new diver who is already multitasking several new concepts and efforts, and may not be weighted and trimmed out properly. I'm glad it works for you, and hope it works for all you educated with your posts.

 

[MeiLing]

I would have liked them to explain how you keep your airway open during that pause, versus someone actually holding their breath for the 2-3 second pause.

Actually, I think, according to what I've read, your airway is always open unless you're swallowing or drowning. I think that's why it's so easy to choke on things. I don't think that there's a reponse between inhalation and exhalation that closes the airway. But I'm not a doctor.

 

[LavaSurfer]

I always wonder when someone says they suck a lot of air if they have really calculated their breathing rate. I have tracked mine from my first dive when my RMV was 0.72 (HOOVER) to my now average of 0.45 (Respectable). I weight 220 and am 6'3". I can get one hour on a dive and have an average depth around 45 feet and come up with 600 psi.

Whats your RMV?
If you don't know, how can you know if you're a hoover?
Air consumption needs to be measured and the best measurement is RMV.

Scooter

 

[MeiLing]

Merxlin,

I personally think that spending a small amount of time in OW class teaching diaphragmatic breathing might alleviate some of the problems created by the "always breathe" tagline. I think it is rather taken for granted that everyone knows how to breathe just because they are already doing so. More discussion on trim and proper weighting and how it affects air consumption, as well. In addition, how one's size affects consumption. I don't think it would be a bad idea either to spend a few minutes on the bottom in the deep end of the pool doing some deep breathing. I think the vagueness of the current teaching on breathing tends to create air hogs and that then lends to later experimentation without any knowledge of what is appropriate.

Whether we like it our not, our competative nature takes over in this sport and air consumption becomes one of the first things newbies glom onto as a measure of how well they're doing. Alls well and good, if you're average. But if you're consuming more than others, then I think that diver feels great pressure to make a change and they usually start experimenting with altering their breathing, for better or worse, as we both did.

 

[merxlin]

Merxlin,

I personally think that spending a small amount of time in OW class teaching diaphragmatic breathing might alleviate some of the problems created by the "always breathe" tagline. I think it is rather taken for granted that everyone knows how to breathe just because they are already doing so. More discussion on trim and proper weighting and how it affects air consumption, as well. In addition, how one's size affects consumption. I don't think it would be a bad idea either to spend a few minutes on the bottom in the deep end of the pool doing some deep breathing. I think the vagueness of the current teaching on breathing tends to create air hogs and that then lends to later experimentation without any knowledge of what is appropriate.

Whether we like it our not, our competative nature takes over in this sport and air consumption becomes one of the first things newbies glom onto as a measure of how well they're doing. Alls well and good, if you're average. But if you're consuming more than others, then I think that diver feels great pressure to make a change and they usually start experimenting with altering their breathing, for better or worse, as we both did.

I couldn't agree more.