Your number one tip to increase your time underwater.

[ccx2]

Think about Baseball.

 

[Lee Taylor]

These are self taught things that work for me. May not work for others.

Don't use your thigh muscles. OR, more realistically, use your thighs as little as possible. Its your largest muscle (or close to it)

Lay on your stomach, on the bottom. Use your purge button to completely satisfy your lungs. Stay there, in one spot, until your breathing becomes normal.

 

[Doc Harry]

Never let your concentration wander from your breathing. Always concentrate on breathing in a relaxed fashion.

 

[Zaixon]

1. Tip - Proper weighting. I suggest reassessing your weighting if you have not done so since your open water class. Many folks continue to dive what they wore in Open Water and they may have been overweighted even then. To accurately reassess, at the end of your next dive after your safety stop with about 500 psi in your tank, begin removing weight (actually works best if your dive bud helps you remove weight). The goal is to be neutrally bouyant with minimal air in your BCD or wing at 15' with about 500 psi in your tank. Proper weighting means you are not wasting as much air by adding and dumping air from your BCD with minor depth changes. Also, if you are properly weighted you will be able to hold a more horizontal position underwater and experience less resistance when moving through the water. Folks who are overweighted move through the water in a more upright position (weight pulls torso down and air added to the BCD to compensate for being overweighted seeks out the highest point in the BCD).

^^ This you'd be surprised how much proper weighting effects your air. Made a big difference for me

 

[Rainer]

Never let your concentration wander from your breathing. Always concentrate on breathing in a relaxed fashion.

Strange, I almost never concentrate on my breathing rate. I'd go so far as to way it wasn't until I got enough experience where it became second nature did I see marked improvement in my gas consumption. My issues as a new diver didn't have to do with paying attention to it, they had to do with other factors that were keeping it high. Once those were addressed, it naturally fell.

 

[blue steal]

Convince your buddy you need to frequently practice using their octo.

Like it.
Well I think most people have covered it. Slow down.

 

[Bob DBF]

Don't do anything!!! The more you do underwater the more air you will use.

The advise given above is good, and will help, but if you are adjusting buoyancy all the time you may not be breathing the air you use.

My personal style of diving uses air, it is an underwater version of a bird dog following it's nose. I take the advice from neilsent-bring more air.


Bob
---------------------------
I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.

 

[Banyan]

1. Tip - Proper weighting. I suggest reassessing your weighting if you have not done so since your open water class. Many folks continue to dive what they wore in Open Water and they may have been overweighted even then. To accurately reassess, at the end of your next dive after your safety stop with about 500 psi in your tank, begin removing weight (actually works best if your dive bud helps you remove weight). The goal is to be neutrally bouyant with minimal air in your BCD or wing at 15' with about 500 psi in your tank. Proper weighting means you are not wasting as much air by adding and dumping air from your BCD with minor depth changes. Also, if you are properly weighted you will be able to hold a more horizontal position underwater and experience less resistance when moving through the water. Folks who are overweighted move through the water in a more upright position (weight pulls torso down and air added to the BCD to compensate for being overweighted seeks out the highest point in the BCD).

+1 on this. Proper weighting is part of virtuous cycle with relaxation. For example, if you are overweighted you'll constantly kick to keep from sinking (or floating if underweighted), and if you are used to kicking all the time you may never realize that you're overweighted. Also, chill out. if you relax, you'll be able to cover at least the same distance as someone sprinting around like a mad person, and you'll see more.

 

[mattoau]

Before you descend make sure you are relaxed and at rest. You may have just exerted yourself by walking and/or swimming to the descent point. Two extra minutes at the surface could easily give you many more underwater.

If there is a descent/ascent line then use it, even in the mildest current.

Aside from that relax, slow down and foucs on your breathing, as has previously been mentioned.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

I suggest taking up snuba instead.