I'm a hoover and I'm always the first to run out of air

[Kryssa]

Thats my problem, I do pilates daily, lost 40 pounds, in great shape, and still have a fairly high SAC. I've just learned to accept it, and be really happy sometimes when I see my SAC at .69, as thats rare and generally a really smooth dive.

Oh this makes me kind of sad... I've been working out for better cardiovascular heath to decrease my air consumption. I usually get 30-45 min on an 80. I was hoping to see a big increase on my trip in March because before Christmas, I never worked out. Now I'm doing 3-4 days a week in the gym on the treadmill or elliptical.

Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[NCadiver]

As everybody has said your new so relax and have fun, and ask your friends to get small cylinders

 

[Diogenesdemar]

You can buy lots of really cool new gear from all of the very nice willing sellers who will reply to you, . . . or you can endlessly futz and obsess with your configuration until you as fine-tuned as a new Lamborghini, . . . or you can try some simple Yoga and deep rhythmic breathing exercises.

The first two will probably help you lose weight (mostly by lightening your wallet) and/or answer that nagging question you might have of of what to do with all your unnecessary free time, . . . and may, or may not, actually help you improve a little bit. The last one will work immediately, cheaply, and with significant and lasting results.

 

[eelnoraa]

Gosh, this is the 2nd time in 2 days I see recommendations to new diver like try double setup because OP's higher than average SAC and trim issue, might as well add a stage bottle and maybe switch to rebreather. I know many of you guys are highly expereinced tech diver, but keep it real for someone with 0-24 dives.

I think what OP really need is to just go diving. By the time he/her hit 50 dives, I bet SAC will improve. In the mean time, don't feel bad about high SAC and short dive time. After all, this is recreation diving. We do it for fun. If you buddy mind, find someone else.

 

[ktkt]

Oh this makes me kind of sad... I've been working out for better cardiovascular heath to decrease my air consumption. I usually get 30-45 min on an 80. I was hoping to see a big increase on my trip in March because before Christmas, I never worked out. Now I'm doing 3-4 days a week in the gym on the treadmill or elliptical.

Anyone have any experience with this?

Kryssa, I'm sure the workouts are helping, but here's another point. If you're going somewhere warm for your trip, simply wearing less weight and not being chilled will do wonders for your SAC. I find that bouyancy is way easier without having to deal with a 7mm wetsuit (or a drysuit), and that makes a big difference.

 

[TSandM]

There are two factors that go into fitness and gas consumption. One is that increased muscle mass increases basal metabolic rate, and therefore CO2 production. That means the ultimate bottom SAC rate you can reach goes down.

But more importantly, the more fit you are, the less WORK your muscle have to do to produce the same amount of force/effort. Since the production of CO2 increases dramatically with muscle activity, the less you have to do, the better off you are. I believe this completely overwhelms the small increase in BMR that comes with increased fitness.

 

[markmud]

From Herman, post #7:
"Being new is a lot of it, better SAC will come in time. Proper weighting is improtant as well as learining to be neutral. If you stop swimming, do you drop or do you just hover there, at least for a minute or 2? If not then you are not actually neutral and need some work on buoyancy."

"And you need at least an L frame in Alaska.

(old 586 here )"


Concur,

An N-frame is minimum if you are using it as a back-up in brownie country (I came, I saw, I believe!!! They are humongous!).

markm

 

[markmud]

Oh this makes me kind of sad... I've been working out for better cardiovascular heath to decrease my air consumption. I usually get 30-45 min on an 80. I was hoping to see a big increase on my trip in March because before Christmas, I never worked out. Now I'm doing 3-4 days a week in the gym on the treadmill or elliptical.

Anyone have any experience with this?

Hello Kryssa,

Cross training of any type does help your diving. For me, the crosstraining has not helped my SAC. It has helped me to control my bouancy better and to avoid being winded when working hard in currents, or when keeping up with Olympic level divemasters who swim at supersonic speeds.

When I am in good condition, I have a much greater ability to use my lungs as my BC. Breath-out and then breath "low" when wanting to descend, Breath-in and breath "high" when wanting to ascend. I don't hold my breath at all. I hope I am writing this in such a way to make it understandable.

markm

(Caveat Emptor: My opinion is that of a non-professional diver who only has about 100 dives--throw salt liberally.)

 

[markmud]

In descending order of priority:

Accept that your air consumption is largely dictated by your physiology (muscle mass, lung volume etc).

Accept that increasing experience allows relaxation and enables some reduction to air consumption.

Accept that worrying about air consumption causes stress which increases air consumption.

Work on your fundamental core skills; weighting, buoyancy, trim and propulsion to reduce physical demands.

Get a bigger tank.

Work to increase your cardio-vascular fitness.

Ask your buddy to be tolerant and accept those limitations. Pay them back with tolerance over their own shortfalls.

Hello J-Frame,

Devon Diver is right-on. His post deserves being read again.

I was originally sold a BC that was not right for me. I was always struggling to trim myself correctly and it was uncomfortable. I now have a "jacket style" BC that fits me correctly and is easily trimmed-out. I am more relaxed, I use less air with less effort, and I am more comfortable.

I still have trouble making an AL80 last longer than an hour. It is work--especially when I blow so much air equallizing my ears (it is a 2 foot, by 2 foot process).

My wife does not cross trian, she is not in great cardio-vascular condition; however, SHE DOES NOT USE ANY AIR! Literally, she makes the pros onboard the boat look like rookies!!!!! She always has at least 1400 PSI when she comes aboard, and in many cases she has as much as 1800 to 1900 PSI (after a 50 to 60 minute dive to 60 to 80 feet). She is not a small gal (she is not big or fat either, she is in control of her caloric intake).

Go figure!

markm

PS: Please read "Caveat emptor" from my previous post.

 

[nimoh]

I agree with everyone that says air consumption will improve with practice.

In the meantime, here are some things to try that will help alleviate some of the guilt you are feeling about ending your buddy's dive early.

1. When on the surface, manually inflate your BC (yes, this isn't much but every little bit helps)

2. Stay a little higher than your buddy until there is something good to see. It is easy to stay in close contact with your buddy and still be 5-10 feet higher than them.

3. I know some are saying this isn't a great suggestion for a new diver, but a small stage bottle shouldn't overwhelm you. Maybe think about carrying a 40cf stage bottle, especially to resorts where you probably won't have the option of getting a bigger tank. You will need to take the valve off to fly with it, but most resorts will be happy to give it an inspection, put the valve on, and fill it for you.

4. If your buddy is comfortable with this, breathe off of there alternate air source for a few minutes while descending. If you have 30 minutes of air and your buddy has 60 minutes of air, if you breathe your buddies are for 10 minutes, then you both can have a 40 minute dive and your buddy will still have 10 minutes of air left. Keep in mind that this example is overly simplified and assumes that your emergency reserve is not included in the 30 minutes -- It only serves to show the math.