Tips / Hints / Suggestions for Lowering SAC?

[Daylonious]

Hey all -

First, some background:

Recently I did my Adv Nitrox and Deco certification (Last August). At one point in the class we calculated our equivalent surface air consumption rate (so we could plan deco dives and estimate how much gas we needed to bring with us). I could be wrong, but I believe we did this by swimming normally at 50 feet for about 5 minutes, then taking before and after pressure readings. We did this 3 times, then took the average of how much PSI I sucked down in the time period. I believe my instructor was about a .4 or less cubic feet per minute.

He was shocked when I came out to be roughly a .8-.9. Now i'm about 6'2 and 240 - am I just destined to be a gas hog the rest of my life? I wasn't finning strenously or working hard against a current or anything.

What can I do to lower my consumption rate? I live in Dallas, so it's hard to get wet regularly. In a good year I probably get 2-3 dive trips in. Usually one or two weekends at Lake Travis and a week somewhere warm.

What non-diving activities can I do to help? I was thinking Yoga? Running? Some sort of cardio program?

Less krispy kremes? ;-) - say screw it and buy a DPV?

Thanks in advance!

D.

 

[kidspot]

More diving

 

[friscuba]

Dive more, worry less.

I used to make a steel 95 last 28 minutes on air at 35 feet or less. These days I get an hour or more at 40 feet on an aluminum 80, AND have roughly 1500-2000 lbs left.


Took a lot of diving to get there. I'm 6'1 and have run between 210 and 250 pounds, weight has had some effect, frequency of diving more yet.

Don't get discouraged. Reduced air consumption seems to kick in magically at some point. For me it was at 30 dives, then again when I started diving a coulple of times a week, then again around 100-120 dives when a DM friend of mine said I use my hands too much. I still notice a change to the negative when I stop diving for a bit, a week of diving daily and it's back.

Have fun,

 

[CIBDiving]

Well, You're never going to beat an 'equal' who's only 5' and 100 lbs for SAC.
I'm 6'5 and 260, I can match a lot of smaller divers but I have a buddy who is ~ 5' 7 ~ 150 and I keep trying to find out where he has those Gills growing! - he can beat me by 30% or more!
Streamlining your rig and good trim will help so will a good cardio program.
Did you swim at his pace or yours? The effiency of your kick can make a big difference.

The best thing you can do was already mentioned - DIVE MORE!

 

[CameronMartz]

What can I do to lower my consumption rate? I live in Dallas, so it's hard to get wet regularly. In a good year I probably get 2-3 dive trips in. Usually one or two weekends at Lake Travis and a week somewhere warm.

What non-diving activities can I do to help? I was thinking Yoga? Running? Some sort of cardio program?

I've been asked this frequently enough that I have placed an article on my website about it. Check out "Breathing Heavy..." at http://www.divefitness.com/html/articles.html.

Cameron

 

[wedivebc]

I am 6'3 230lbs and when diving in my home waters usually average about .6cf/min which I feel is OK for cold water usually deep with doubles. My deco RMV is usually around .5cf/min
I recently came back from Similan Islands and was surprised on my fist couple of dives my RMV was up around .7-.8 cf/min. I guess the current and the excitement of seeing all the new fish species got me breathing hard. I wasn't untill a few dives later that I settled down and actually got it to .4cf/min or so.
The best method I know to slow consumption is to inhale and exhale completely. That insures you get all the CO2 out of your lungs which wards off the air-hunger we feel when we breath. Use your belly, not your diaphragm when you inhale and just relax and not worry about it.

 

[Whatgoesdown]

First, get rid of all unnecessary weight from the belt. Can be tricky when calculating for multiple tanks being low and possibly buoyant! Streamline everything and cut down on all extraneous movements. Avoid over-exertion especially at the surface. Watch people who are really good at what they are doing and you should notice a real economy of movement. Set your regulator to breathe with the minimum of effort. When you tackle breathing focus on a long slow exhale, you can afford to breathe out more than you would normally, it helps with the gas exchange. Don't skip breathe though, at best it'll give you a lousy headache and won't save you any air.

Practice!

 

[kalvyn]

I can only echo what's been said already:

• RELAX and don't worry about it!
• Slow down
• Move less
• DON'T WORRY and RELAX

I know that when I first started diving, I probably held myslef back for 6 months at least by my constant obsessing about air comsumption. I tracked it every single dive, and got very frustrated when it wouldn't change. I had all sorts of crazy ideas about how to breath, none of which helped at all.

Once I just stopped thinking about it and just went diving, my SAC started to drop! It just comes with experience; breathing underwater is not natural, and it takes time to get and feel relaxed whilst diving.

Just looking at my dive log (electronic, SUUNTO Dive Manager): I did a dive on 2/16/04 (first entry) and my RMV was .58. I had well over 100 dives at that time, by the way. I did a dive yesterday (last entry) and my SAC was .41. I'm actually shocked it was that low, as I had almost had to abort the dive due to a free-flowing reg. I was rather pissed at the start of the dive, and somewhat winded too. The only difference between the first and last entries in my SUNTOO log is time underwater, and using the XALER diving method.

Jimmie

 

[freediver]

Yes, without a doubt more diving will help. I'll also say that learning some yoga breathing techniques could help. Learn to utilize your diaphragm. You'll realize this when you take a deep breath, your stomach should come out NOT your chest.
Oh yeah and do more freediving!

 

[pdoege]

The trick for cave diving is to move slowly.

I used to really beat myself up, breath hold, pull and glide, etc. to try to get a good SAC.

I went diving with an old mossback and he just slowly, really slowly, swam the system.

We weren't going anywhere fast, but we were not using any air at all.

I basically cut my speed in half and more than doubled my range.

I would suggest trying to do everything at half speed. See how you do.

Peter