InTheDrink
Contributor
1. Buoyancy. If your buoyancy is off you'll burn more air
2. Don't fight it. The water is there supporting you. I see lots of divers swimming when I'm going just as fast pointing in the right direction and the right angle.
3. What works really well for me is music. Some nice relaxing song, replay in your mind. It works great for exhalation and is more fun than counting to 4. I'm just listening to Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah - 'and every breath we drew was Hallelujah' - can't get more appropriate than that.
4. Dive as much as possible. I'm always crap when I've been away for a while. 2 or 3 dives in I'm waterbaby. Play with the water. ****** around. Once you don't find being underwater as a threat your breathing will not only slow down it will likely slow to a lot more than when on land when having to dealing with the very unsupportive air and talking to idiots like me
Play with technique too, particularly finning. I've a long way to go but most of my finnin action happens around my ankle and this seems to use a lot less energy and hence a lot less breathing.
It is nothing of nothingness, but as a fairly unfit heavy drinker and smoker I can manage 90+ minutes on a single tank on a 30m dive and 17-19m avg (no idea what SAC this translates to) and it's all down to wanting to be there and relaxing.
And of course, singing my songs
Best of luck. It's lovely when it 'happens'. Please note that I am a novice too and what works for me is just ad-hoc personal trial and error (more of the latter than the former) so this is definitely not prescriptive. But once you feel cosy it'll all come together - especially if you are concious of it.
J
2. Don't fight it. The water is there supporting you. I see lots of divers swimming when I'm going just as fast pointing in the right direction and the right angle.
3. What works really well for me is music. Some nice relaxing song, replay in your mind. It works great for exhalation and is more fun than counting to 4. I'm just listening to Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah - 'and every breath we drew was Hallelujah' - can't get more appropriate than that.
4. Dive as much as possible. I'm always crap when I've been away for a while. 2 or 3 dives in I'm waterbaby. Play with the water. ****** around. Once you don't find being underwater as a threat your breathing will not only slow down it will likely slow to a lot more than when on land when having to dealing with the very unsupportive air and talking to idiots like me
Play with technique too, particularly finning. I've a long way to go but most of my finnin action happens around my ankle and this seems to use a lot less energy and hence a lot less breathing. It is nothing of nothingness, but as a fairly unfit heavy drinker and smoker I can manage 90+ minutes on a single tank on a 30m dive and 17-19m avg (no idea what SAC this translates to) and it's all down to wanting to be there and relaxing.
And of course, singing my songs
Best of luck. It's lovely when it 'happens'. Please note that I am a novice too and what works for me is just ad-hoc personal trial and error (more of the latter than the former) so this is definitely not prescriptive. But once you feel cosy it'll all come together - especially if you are concious of it.
J
