I need advice on...breathing.

[bourj]

Never thought I would need advice on the most fundamental of human activities, but oh well.

I'm a fairly new diver (25 dives, with AOW, Nitrox, Drysuit certs), and I seem to be the heaviest breather by far on dives. Recently, I just finished three dives at Bonne Terre Mines; on the first two, I had to ascend about 5 mins earlier than everyone else. On the third dive, they actually put me on a guide's alternate reg for the last 9-10 minutes of the dive, and I even had a larger tank of air than my buddy (100 vs 80).

According to my computer (Pro Plus 2.1), my SAC rates for my most recent dives (not including the one on the alternate) have been the following:

1.24 (Air, 29 mins @ 53ft max)
1.118 (Air, 32 mins @ 43ft max)
1.401 (Nitrox 28%, 19 mins @118ft max)
1.447 (Nitrox 28%, 21 mins @ 122ft max)
0.964 (Nitrox 32%, 25 mins @ 76ft max)
1.11 (Nitrox 32%, 25 mins @ 74ft max)

So I'm just trying to get some advice on how to improve my breathing. I'm sure 10 years of smoking didn't help my lung capacity (I've been quit for about 5 years). I'm about 5'9"-5'10", 175 lbs. I was diving heavy (about 32 lbs added), but dropped down to 28 lbs on my last two dives, which helped my buoyancy (but didn't help my SAC rate, which I thought might happen).

I work out a decent amount (about 40 mins cardio 4x week, plus weights 2x), and a guide at Bonne Terre said that runners who dive tend to breathe heavier, and that my cardio work may be contributing to my SAC rate. He recommended trying to do 7 seconds in, 7 seconds out while diving.

That's all the info I can think of (I'm sure it's more than you needed!), but any advice on how to help me improve my air consumption (and not be the guy surfacing early all the time) would be hugely appreciated. Thanks for looking!

 

[Nemrod]

I work out a decent amount (about 40 mins cardio 4x week, plus weights 2x), and a guide at Bonne Terre said that runners who dive tend to breathe heavier, and that my cardio work may be contributing to my SAC rate.

Baloney, fitness only helps. Your dive guide does not know what he or she is talking about. I work out every day. I have run marathons, triathlons, open water swimming races, cycling and my air consumption is on par with dead people.

But, when a very fit person switches gears from putzing along to a full out effort, yes, that fit person can burn a lot of air because compared to the average, over weight, out of shape modern human, it is like having a supercharger instead of a two barrel carburator.

But that is not what is going on here. First, you may not be as fit as you think you are and yes the smoking history does not help. Second, you are overweighted, third, I doubt you are trimmed out, fourth, you were uncomfortable (whether you know it or not).

Get your weight on BMI, continue working out (great!!!!) and work on getting your ballast (lead) down.

And here is the big one, after observing divers for over forty years, learn to be still in the water. By this I mean, put your arms down by your side, fin only when you need to go.This is what burns air, divers who are constantly, subconsciously waving arms and bicycling their legs.

I have had people tell me they are not bicycling and arm waving, then I show them with a video, they are and I suspect you are and in part because of the huge ballast load you are carrying has you out of trim.

Learn to be still.

Here is the second big one, do not pant. I hear people advise divers to breath"normally" and this is incorrect. Breath efficiently instead. Do not pant. Most people pant normally. Learn to breath, smoothly using more of your tidal volume, , give the air and the oxegen it contains a long enough residence time to actually interact and exchange gases with the alveoli.

N

 

[iluvtheocean]

if it hasn't been mentioned before --- SLOW DOWN. slower you go, the less you exert yourself and get to see more details.
Yoga helps too i've heard.

 

[runez]

Tips that helped me improve my SAC when I started out:

1) Take long, deep and slow breaths. Are you taking shallow breaths?

2) Frog kick helps - kick and glide. If done properly, it can save energy and reduce gas consumption.

3) Minimise movement underwater. Try to move only your legs for propulsion. Keep your arms still.

4) Good buoyancy and trim helps with (3) as well.

5) How did you feel underwater? Stressed, excited or relaxed? The former 2 tends to increase the SAC.

All in, your SAC should improve with more dives as you get more comfortable and proficient in the water. Don't worry too much about it and happy diving!

 

[crosshairs]

What conditions are you diving that requires 28 Lbs of lead?......that seems awfully heavy to me....I dive 10lbs in salt with an AL80 and a 3MM full suit and 6 Lbs in fresh with a steel HP 100 and a full 7MM

all that lead is NOT helping your SAC and in fact is probably hurting

 

[j yaeger]

What conditions are you diving that requires 28 Lbs of lead?......that seems awfully heavy to me....I dive 10lbs in salt with an AL80 and a 3MM full suit and 6 Lbs in fresh with a steel HP 100 and a full 7MM

all that lead is NOT helping your SAC and in fact is probably hurting

op is cold water in a drysuit-makes a big difference

 

[beaverdivers]

I believe that you might be over thinking it, thus trying too hard. I would recommend using a bigger cylinder or better yet a 40 cuft pony bottle. Bottom line is bottom time. The more time you are u/w, the more comfortable you will get and your SAC will improve.

Relax and just have FUN!

As far as the 7 seconds inhale/exhale, I think a slow 3 seconds inhale/exhale works for most divers.

 

[underH2Oman]

Your SAC seems to fluctuate a lot. The biggest factor to affect SAC is work load. You must have been working harder on the dives with the higher rates than the ones with lower rates. There are factors that can affect work load beyond just fining, such as current, drag, buoyancy. If you are working to stay stationary it is current or buoyancy, Drag if you are not positioned properly or are trying to push too much through the water.

How is your buoyancy? If you stop fining during the dive can you just cross your arms and legs and hover or are you sinking toward the bottom or floating toward the surface? If sinking or floating your buoyancy needs some tweeking.
I noticed that you are wearing 28-32 pounds of lead You might need that depending on the thermals in your dry suit. Do a weight check pre and post dive to make sure it is the correct amount as too much adds to the drag when you inflate to become neutral and too little makes safety stops more challenging. Remember that as you use your air you will become more buoyant at the end of a dive.

Hope this helps a little

Enjoy your dives and do not worry about being the first one out. Just keep diving..

 

[crosshairs]

op is cold water in a drysuit-makes a big difference

I missed the dry suit part, but still 28 Lbs seems really heavy to me....I dive wet but even in cold water(~50f), I wear 6 lbs with a steel 100...

OP said he was in good shape, so I'm ruling out the possibility that he is a doughboy...my last student needed 36 lbs...but he was pretty round....

does the dry suit require that much more weight? or is 50f not cold...

 

[kmurray719]

I missed the dry suit part, but still 28 Lbs seems really heavy to me....I dive wet but even in cold water(~50f), I wear 6 lbs with a steel 100...

OP said he was in good shape, so I'm ruling out the possibility that he is a doughboy...my last student needed 36 lbs...but he was pretty round....

does the dry suit require that much more weight? or is 50f not cold...

A drysuit can easily require that much weight, depending on your undergarment and how much air you want in your suit...I dive 10lb with a 7 mil and steel tank, 24 lbs with my drysuit and undergarment, and 28 lbs with my drysuit, undergarment and another layer under it (below 45 degrees).