Controlling and reducing air consumption

[Neilwood]

Biggest thing I can say is RELAX.

If I haven't been in for a while I find the first dive tends to start with a high SAC rate but it improves as I settle back in. The second & third dives improve even further.

 

[SNS-Mike]

Stop sculling. You can't do that until, as @scrane pointed out, you get your trim and buoyancy under control.

Apologies, but as a new diver, I'm not sure what sculling is. In golf, it's when you errantly hit the top of a golf ball. That makes me think it's when you're head is up too high. Is that right?

 

[txgoose]

Caveat, I am a newb learning along with you.

My thoughts:

• relax, relax, relax.
• dive a LOT. This winter mine has all been pool time, but if you can get it right in the shallows, it only gets easier as you descend.
• allow yourself to screw up in the pool while striving to do it well. Example, you can keep yourself off the bottom by inflating and deflating your BC by pressing the two buttons over and over again. IMO, you need to allow yourself to hit bottom as many times as it takes while practicing breath control to adjust your position in the water. Slowly you find yourself breathing a bit deeper when needed (to raise yourself) and exhaling a bit deeper when needed. Soon you realize that you aren't touching the inflator and you aren't bouncing off the bottom. I found that I felt silly messing up in the pool where my instructor was so graceful. But what I also found out was it is massively empowering as the skills improve and the screw ups get further and further apart. Somewhere along the way, the self doubt is slowly replaced by a nagging feeling that with a bit more practice I might be becoming passable as a diver.
• work on your fining technique. This can help keep your hands quiet.
• BUT I am still constantly, gently sculling with my feet. Some of this is because of currents made by the pool returns but a lot of this is my own lack of trim/skill. I want to see how I do as the open water season begins this weekend, but I may well need additional guidance/instruction.
• relax, relax, relax. Another thing that feels empowering is doing 90 minutes in the pool and having a lot of psi left in the tank.

 

[Caveeagle]

Just dive, and it will natural improve

Not if you are perpetuating bad habits.

 

[txgoose]

Apologies, but as a new diver, I'm not sure what sculling is. In golf, it's when you errantly hit the top of a golf ball. That makes me think it's when you're head is up too high. Is that right?

It is generally when you are waving your hands in an effort to keep your body in the position you're going for. Newer divers also tend to turn using their hands. It is inefficient compared to ones legs, and therefore causes you to burn more air. For me, it has taken a conscious effort to try and stop sculling.

 

[uncfnp]

Ultimately its your rate and depth of breathing. Good bouyancy and trim, avoiding sculling and relaxation all aid in avoiding over breathing. But it can also take a bit of breath control. And by this I do not mean holding your breath or skip breathing. Instead it is simply avoidence of overbreathing with slow controlled inhalations, a brief rest period, then exhalation with another brief pause if it feels comfortable. At first this may take a conscious effort on your part but over time it will come more naturally. Some refer to this as yoga breaths and indeed yoga can aid in this. Its about getting the most from every breath.

I have seen divers with perfect trim and buoyancy but nonstop bubbles coming from their regulator. These divers are always some of the first back on the boat.

 

[Compressor]

Others have given great suggestions. I will add this: Have fun. Smile at what you see and just enjoy the dive. This will help you do better with air consumption.

 

[shurite7]

EirDiver606 has a good point - dive. I have found over the years there are lots of small things that can help, many have already been listed. The one factor that makes a significant difference is the dive, dive, dive and dive more.

A couple of small factors to emphasize are:
1. focus on your breathing to slow it down by taking longer deeper breaths and exhale slightly slower than normal
2. maintain good trim by staying horizontal
3. establish excellent buoyancy. This one takes time and effort. Start working on it now, rather than later.

In the mean time, work on buoyancy and dive, dive, dive.

 

[drrich2]

Instead it is simply avoidence of overbreathing with slow controlled inhalations, a brief rest period, then exhalation with another brief pause if it feels comfortable.

This I've been working on more recently; slow inhalations. Since my reg. gives me gas at what feels like a very mild pressure, making the inhalation slow has taken conscious attention. Be aware that in most of us, respiration is driven by the need to clear CO2 build-up from the body, rather than oxygen depletion, so when others recommended you relax, don't scull and establish good trim, those things help cut down CO2 generation.

I've seen recommendations to aim for breathing using the diaphragm (think belly goes out & comes in, to draw air deeper into the lungs) as opposed to relying on rise & fall of your chest; not sure how much difference that makes, but I've seen the recommendation more than once.

Richard.

 

[Streydog]

Everyone has given great advice. It wasn't too long ago that I had read through all the threads I could find on this site seeking the same information. Weighting, on your safety stops can you just hang without sinking? At any point in your dive can you just stop and hang? I found I was compensating for bad buoyancy by swimming. The other thing that helped me was just to keep diving. I remember while I was exhaling I was already thinking about inhaling, now I breathe more like uncfnp describes. I have listened to my breathing while watching old Gopro videos and I was taking twice the number of breathes per minute than I do now. Keep at it and you will be surprised at the progress you will make.