Where the hell have i been?

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Location
Bridgwater, United Kingdom
Hey guys, brand new to the forums, and brand new to scuba diving!
Im a 41 year old guy from the uk, obsessed with bodybuilding, run my own supplement store online.
last month i went with my wife and kids to the maldives, (vilamendhoo) and for the first time in my life, tried scuba diving with a little program called discover scuba!
both myself and the wife tried it.

amazing!!!
Never had the chance to do anything like this before, to be honest, never thought about it, because funds have never allowed it, but since business took off, ive started doing things i never normally would, scuba diving was fantastic.

i took to it like fish to a water, that first breath underwater was great, all the little tasks to learn a doddle, and had bouyancy sorted with my breathing straight away.
was desperate to just get stuck in and get out to depth, but the instructor didnt want us any deeper than 18metres, so that was our limit, and of course, i was my wifes buddie and do understand the importance of being there for ur buddie!

but anyways, massively hit by the bug.
got back to the uk and even without my ow card, ive bought all the kit, lol.
good kit too, researched the hell out of it, bought the best bcd,regulator,fins,mask,bottle etc etc..
leads me to this forum too, because after research, your the best there is, lol!

anyways, since coming back, ive looked around the uk to find somewhere to do my open water, i live in south west uk, somerset, so plenty of clubs down the road, but after reviewing prices, and temperatures probably had a say in my decision,ive decided to travel over to malta next week to do my OW with buddhies!
going over alone, will spend the 3 or 4 days getting the ow, and then see where we are at for adding extras!

a friend of mine did his divemaster in india, and so would be awesome to travel about together diving.
i cant believe i havent ever tried scuba before, i just fell in love with it immediately, unexplainable freedom!

anyways, i do have one slight problem.
im a big chap, about 250lb, my body demands so much oxygen. i understand that nerves or erratic breathing may bring about fast air loss, but i feel so relaxed down there, trying to slow my breathing down so that i can stay down longer.
in the maldives, my wife still had 120bar on her air when we came up, i had just entered the red, so im using air fast!!! any tips for that, or is it something i have to accept due to my size?

anyways, looking forward to getting involved in this community guys.
lewi
 
Welcome to SCUBAboard!

Simple solution, use two tanks.
 
Congratulations! Welcome to our insanity.

To get your air consumption down, I recommend 3 approaches:

1. Relax! Fin slow, don't use your hands for anything but holding a light or a camera. NEVER rush; the lazier you are, the less air you'll use.

2. Dive, dive, dive, and dive some more. The more you dive, the more you'll relax, the better your trim, the less lead you need, the less air you use. Dive from shore, dive from boats, practice in pools, dive cold water, warm water, in current, in still water. Get your AOW once you have some experience. Pretty soon you'll approach your dives with a calm assurance, thereby using less air....or I should say making better use of the air you use

3. Work on getting more fit, (I should talk! :wink:). It is true though, the better your cardio fitness, the more efficiently your body will use your air. The stronger your musculature, the less effort you need to expend.
 

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