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New to the board and new to diving. My wife and I will be doing our Open Water class the first two weeks in October. Looking forward to the challenge.
I work as a paramedic and am a volunteer fire fighter--someone mentioned that first time divers sometimes suck down a lot of air there first times in the water. That may be so, but I've been in burning buildings with the roof coming down on my head while wearing SCBA so I think I might be all right. This true?
Anybody around here from my area? The Quad Cities are on the border of Iowa and Illinois with the Mississippi separating us sort of in the middle where Iowa bulges out a bit.
Just wanted to introduce myself and I look forward to hanging out, asking questions and learning.
Air consumption on SCUBA has many variables, it will depend on your size, your depth, level of exertion, and buoyancy control just to name a few. Your OW course should cover them in more detail.
I agree with Scubanoob, your open water dive course should cover most point on breathing. This said, there are some less known techniques to reduce your air consumption and to be more relaxed. For example belly breathing, babies and infants do it naturally but as adults leading stressful lives we often forget to breath properly and we end up shallow breathing using only the top portion of your lungs. Some techniques to help with that include yoga, certain forms of meditation and/or just plain belly breathing can help you use the lower portion of your lungs, you can practice this by putting your hand on your stomach and pushing against your hand as you inhale, at first it will feel unnatural but as you practices more and more, it will become natural and easier to achieve. Another way is to slow down your breathing by counting up to 4 while inhaling and exhaling so 4 counts in and 4 counts out. You obviously can't do this the whole time withouth ruining your dive, but whenever you think about it do it. Just remember, never, never hold your breath under any circumstances as this may lead to lung overexpansion.... Please note that the above suggestions should not replace a complete scuba diving course by a certified instructor in teaching status from a recognized agency.
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Enjoy your OW classes! 
