Fully exhale when diving? Breath control?

[bubblesmd]

I’m really practicing my air consumption since I seem to go through air quickly. I’m new at about 6 dives.

Are you supposed to fully empty your lungs each time? I seem to inhale 100% lung capacity and then empty to 50% before my next breath. I guess when I empty to 0% I feel like I’m sinking...

Also, are your underwater breaths the same as your on land breaths? I feel like the way I breath underwater is way different than on land.

 

[Eyegore]

Perhaps it's best to relax and breathe normally?

 

[Mike Klieb]

Perhaps it's best to relax and breathe normally?

+1 on this I am still a new diver as well about 23 dives I find that I go through less gas when I just relax and breath.

 

[KatieMac]

I don't really think about it anymore. But now that I have thought about it, I can best describe it like this. I use 50% of my lungs at any given time. I use the middle 1/2 when I want to stay at the same depth. I use the fuller half when I want to ascend and the emptier half when I want to descend.

 

[Bob DBF]

Also, are your underwater breaths the same as your on land breaths? I feel like the way I breath underwater is way different than on land

No, I breathe differently underwater. I breathe more deeply, more like when I am working on land. It is important to get a good air exchange underwater to prevent a buildup of CO2. You will get some vertical movement when breathing, but it should average out. Over time you will find what works for you, without forcing an unnatural pattern.

Do not obsess about your air consumption, just get a bigger tank if it bothers you. Over time your air consumption will go down, for many reasons, none of which you can affect by consciously breathing differently, without unintended concequences.

My air consumption would be regarded as on the high side, some is physiological, some by how I perfer to dive, and so on. If I need more air for a dive I grab a bigger tank. I can have a great SAC rate, but I have to stay in one place barely moving, which is not my style.


Bob

 

[outofofficebrb]

Imagine yourself right before you fall asleep or when you are relaxed and reading an enjoyable book. The breathing that you do then is deeper, slower breathing and you notice your abdomen rising and falling more. That is how I breathe when I'm underwater.

 

[Degenerate]

At only 6 dives you're pretty much expected to have a poor air consumption.
More experience with diving will get it down as you will get more comfortable and relaxed while diving which will decrease your consumption.
So just get out and dive as much as you can, and you'll find that your consumption will get lower as your experience grows.
Finning techniques can make a big difference as well, someone who is doing a constant flutter kick during a dive will typically go through more gas than someone who is gliding along with frog kicks.

 

[outofofficebrb]

At only 6 dives you're pretty much expected to have a poor air consumption.
More experience with diving will get it down as you will get more comfortable and relaxed while diving which will decrease your consumption.
So just get out and dive as much as you can, and you'll find that your consumption will get lower as your experience grows.
Finning techniques can make a big difference as well, someone who is doing a constant flutter kick during a dive will typically go through more gas than someone who is gliding along with frog kicks.

Agree. As you dive more, you will become more relaxed, you will need to use less weights, and you will notice your buoyancy getting better as a result of your reduction in weights which in turn also affects how much air you consume. It will come slowly. I love that you are so conscious and aware of it, though. Frog kick definitely helps with my air. Stiff fins, too.

 

[TMHeimer]

I'm almost always relaxed while diving and THINK I breathe "normally". Maybe I breathe "deeper" than on land. Don't know, never gave it too much thought.

 

[dmaziuk]

This is a good exercise just in general, don't do it on scuba:

I feel like the way I breath underwater is way different than on land.

How (de-)tuned is your regulator? It is different: you have compressed air blown into you, but there's opening and closing pressure on the regulator that may be less than optimal for you.