Air Consumption

[gfaith]

Dan are you diving with a computer? Averaging 27m for 43 minutes would be a deco dive. Maybe you meant the bottom depth was between 25m and 28.8 for 43 minutes.

 

[Dan Bower]

Dan are you diving with a computer? Averaging 27m for 43 minutes would be a deco dive. Maybe you meant the bottom depth was between 25m and 28.8 for 43 minutes.

ye i did sorry if that came across wrong

 

[KevinNM]

yet again great advice thanks ill sure be having one hell of a dive in the morning putting a lot of this into practice

It's harder to do than you might think. But it's nice when you get it.

 

[Dan Bower]

It's harder to do than you might think. But it's nice when you get it.

ye im noticing how hard its being to get even close to right but like people have said the ocean is not going anywhere

 

[KenGordon]

well im gonna keep all this in mind for my next dive friday morning should help me lots thanks

Do not try to breath less or differently to being on the surface. Be more relaxed, comfortable and efficient, gas consumption will follow from that.

Breathing while diving is most important to get rid of CO2. You have much much more o2 than you need. Failure to get rid of co2 leads to all sorts of nasty issues, if you have headaches or get easily narked then co2 is likely to blame.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Ken just hit the nail on the head IMHO. All through the dive courses students are admonished..."NEVER hold your breath... NEVER stop breathing" That often creates some confusion and new divers who actually wind up hyperventilating. You need to breath NORMALLY. Pay attention to how you and others breath above water and it can give you clues about what is NORMAL breathing. I have noticed that people who have been involved in sports that required efficient breathing seem to have a better gas consumption even before they dial in bouyancy, trim and weight.

Sometimes people get a bit too caught up in how much gas they need. Some people just have bigger lungs and need more naturally. Have a good idea of how much you will need for the dive so you can put a safe dive plan together. There are larger tanks out there. You may need to have one temporarily or perhaps permanently. Most important is that you enjoy your diving.

Now I am going to say something controversial. If you are doing fairly shallow easy dives taking on another task can distract you from stressing about breathing. A small point and shoot camera can serve well. Some people for various reasons will say you shouldn't have a camera as a new diver until you have dialed in your other skills. They are concerned about task loading and so one which is valid and why I say to try this on "basic easy dives". My personal experience is that the camera forced me to naturally develop better trim, be quieter in the water and not silt. A different "task" you could take on is trying to be still and move slowly enough for the fish to let you approach closer or for the fish to approach you. Lots of bubbles scare fish, too much movement scares fish. The other "benefit" is that you will learn more about the fish and their behavior.

As others have said.. relax and enjoy your diving and don't focus too much on your breathing.. it will come!

 

[Dan Bower]

Ken just hit the nail on the head IMHO. All through the dive courses students are admonished..."NEVER hold your breath... NEVER stop breathing" That often creates some confusion and new divers who actually wind up hyperventilating. You need to breath NORMALLY. Pay attention to how you and others breath above water and it can give you clues about what is NORMAL breathing. I have noticed that people who have been involved in sports that required efficient breathing seem to have a better gas consumption even before they dial in bouyancy, trim and weight.

Sometimes people get a bit too caught up in how much gas they need. Some people just have bigger lungs and need more naturally. Have a good idea of how much you will need for the dive so you can put a safe dive plan together. There are larger tanks out there. You may need to have one temporarily or perhaps permanently. Most important is that you enjoy your diving.

Now I am going to say something controversial. If you are doing fairly shallow easy dives taking on another task can distract you from stressing about breathing. A small point and shoot camera can serve well. Some people for various reasons will say you shouldn't have a camera as a new diver until you have dialed in your other skills. They are concerned about task loading and so one which is valid and why I say to try this on "basic easy dives". My personal experience is that the camera forced me to naturally develop better trim, be quieter in the water and not silt. A different "task" you could take on is trying to be still and move slowly enough for the fish to let you approach closer or for the fish to approach you. Lots of bubbles scare fish, too much movement scares fish. The other "benefit" is that you will learn more about the fish and their behavior.

As others have said.. relax and enjoy your diving and don't focus too much on your breathing.. it will come!

Thanks for the advice all appreciated

 

[Diver0001]

If you CAN'T stay horizontal while being perfectly still, then that means you have to constantly fin or swim with your hands just to keep yourself horizontal. And that means you're burning extra air.

For the benefit of the OP I just want to address what we mean by "perfectly still".

When you drive a car in a "perfectly straight" line down the road, you never hold the steering wheel "perfectly still". You are always making small adjustments left and right to keep the car going in a straight line. This is necessary because the car is not a perfect machine and the road is never perfectly flat. You are driving in a straight line through a dynamic system.

Likewise, in diving, you never remain "perfectly still" for long periods of time. The environment is far too dynamic to allow for that. So even when you *look* like you are perfectly still, you are always making small adjustments to remain in that balanced state.

This could be important information for the OP because if you have the impression that your goal is to remain perfectly balanced without ever moving a muscle, then you will get frustrated. Achieving "perfectly still" is something that is a process of making smaller and smaller adjustments over time until you get to a point that you are making the smallest adjustments possible and they are so "automated" in your mind that you don't even think about them, just like when you drive "straight" in a car.

I'm saying this because I've seen students get very frustrated watching me. One student nearly threw in the towel in a drysuit course because she said that I look like a "statue hung on a string" and she could not do that. She was trying to remain "perfectly still", but didn't understand what it meant until I explained it. Hence this post.

R..

 

[Dan Bower]

For the benefit of the OP I just want to address what we mean by "perfectly still".

When you drive a car in a "perfectly straight" line down the road, you never hold the steering wheel "perfectly still". You are always making small adjustments left and right to keep the car going in a straight line. This is necessary because the car is not a perfect machine and the road is never perfectly flat. You are driving in a straight line through a dynamic system.

Likewise, in diving, you never remain "perfectly still" for long periods of time. The environment is far too dynamic to allow for that. So even when you *look* like you are perfectly still, you are always making small adjustments to remain in that balanced state.

This could be important information for the OP because if you have the impression that your goal is to remain perfectly balanced without ever moving a muscle, then you will get frustrated. Achieving "perfectly still" is something that is a process of making smaller and smaller adjustments over time until you get to a point that you are making the smallest adjustments possible and they are so "automated" in your mind that you don't even think about them, just like when you drive "straight" in a car.

I'm saying this because I've seen students get very frustrated watching me. One student nearly threw in the towel in a drysuit course because she said that I look like a "statue hung on a string" and she could not do that. She was trying to remain "perfectly still", but didn't understand what it meant until I explained it. Hence this post.

R..

perfect way to get the point across i was trying small adjustments in my last dive that have just got back from everything seemed that little better but only time will tell

 

[Bob DBF]

I honestly don't know if my consumption has improved. My dives vary a lot in how fast/slow I go--how much area I cover, etc. All advice given is good of course. If you do all these things right over time, keep in mind that some people just consume more/less air than others based on physiology--lung size, etc. As long as it works for the type of diving you do, it's OK.

I am in agreement, one can do whatever is possible to reduce their air usage but basic needs are determined by physiology. There is no way I can match my daughters air usage when diving together, I just bring a bigger tank. Granted I could use much less air by hanging motionless in one spot, done it, but I would rather swim around and explore a larger area which will increase my (or anyone's ) air consumption. Use as many of the tips you have been given in this thread because they help, decide how you enjoy diving, and if need be just get a larger tank.



Bob