Air Conservation - I suck air, what can I do?

[Guba]

And right along with proper weighting is proper trim, which also reduces drag. Getting through the water should require little effort if one is trimmed to slip through efficiently and not plow through.

 

[SkipperJohn]

jgleason, one of the biggest determinants of gas consumption is efficiency in the water. This begins with proper weighting, and distributing your weights so that they encourage, instead of impeding, a horizontal attitude in the water. Beyond that, you can develop finning techniques that don't require constant motion. You can move more slowly, which helps find the camouflaged creatures in the water, and also uses less gas. You can perfect your buoyancy control, so that you aren't using either gas in your BC or in your lungs to control your depth.

Lots of people can tell you these things. But I'll offer that either my husband or I will meet you for a dive or two and help you. My husband is a newly anointed PADI instructor -- I'm just an avid diver with a few advanced certs. But both of us enjoy mentoring.

I'm offering Peter in my stead, because I'm beached for the next 5 weeks as a result of an injury, but if we can't rendezvous before I'm good to go again, I'd be happy to meet up with you for a day of diving and some coaching.

I've been reading these forums since I started my OW studies... TSandM is one of the people who impressed me early on and continues to influence me. This invitation would have me jumping for joy!
Sorry to hear about your injury, I hope you heal quickly and completely.

Sorry for the hijack... Back to the originally scheduled programming.

 

[psychocabbage]

I have about thirty dives under my belt from the Carribean to repeatedly diving Maui and Hood Canal in Washington State. The common theme to all of my dives is that I suck down air. What can I do to conserve air?

I am 46 and in reasonable shape (run 4 to 7 miles regularly) and am height weight proportionate. I go on dive boats and see all shapes of bodies and all ages and skill sets pile into the water. The only thing guaranteed is that I will be out of water first.

I noticed on yesterday's dive off of Molikini that my dive master did not breath as often as I do. I have a steady in and out of respiration. I swear, others take a breath, hold it, then exhale.

IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE WHO FIGURED OUT A WAY TO OVER COME THIS CURSE?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Most people wont understand it like I will..
See, I spent most of my early adult life as an athelete. I was trying to become a professional BMX Racer. BMX, in the bicycle world, is more like a dragster.. only there are jumps between the start and finish line. So... we go all out for about 45 seconds. Now the body is an airpump right? So to get the most of it, we learned and conditioned ourselves to breathe more than most.

Now I am 38, I started diving at 36 (have a little over 60 dives) and have cut my sac rate down considerably. I started Hot Yoga (Bikram style) to help condition my body to relax and slow down my breathing. I know I am not the first up anymore. I am not DM low but I can now be fairly sure that I am coming up midpack with the group now..

Because you run, you breathe faster than most people that dont partake in any exercise for prolonged periods..

 

[PToone]

I read through most of these posts and didn't see the thing that was hurting me the most. That was to exhale FULLY...dump your lungs.

I also suffered from poor consumption of air and what helped me most was to pay attention to my lungs and the air I was hiding. When I exhaled and wanted to take another breath I pushed through it and continued to exhale. It may sound silly but a lot of people do not fully exhale and it not only screws up their consumption of air but their buoyancy.

good luck

 

[PToone]

Oh, here's a good example. This was before I really started to work on my breathing...

Listen to my breathing...horrible. (embarrassing) Short, quick exhalations which also meant short quick gulps of inhaling air...
YouTube - Kevin (Air Filler-Co-captain) Crabbin'

I was too concerned with following this DM and keeping up both in speed and staying near his depth. (He wasn't going particularly fast, he was just going faster and deeper than my current skill level should have had me at.) It wasn't a relaxing dive and I was worried the whole time at how long I could stay under and if my buddy would be mad if we surfaced early.

Get a good buddy, relax, have an enjoyable slow-paced dive.

 

[CrackedConch]

Relax.

And in addition to all the buoyancy tips you've already recieved about developing good buoyancy skills, proper weighting, etc. I would also add-- make sure you are wrapped in enough neoprene.

You didn't mention whether you were ever cold, but diving in cold water can make you breathe heavier. Especially true if you get that "hoo hoo hoo" shock when you first jump in. It can take a while to get acclimated and get your breathing calmed down.

And while I'm watching TV, I sometimes practice breathing slow, deep inhales and exhales. Paying attention to your breathing as already mentioned helps too.

Relax.

 

[SouthSideScubaSteve]

Like TSandM & Guba said, get your weighting and trim dialed in and everything becomes easier... For me, getting my weight distributed correctly was like a revelation!!

Suddenly I had no problems staying neutral (I realized I really hadn't been before), my hands were still and I finally relaxed... My SAC dropped nearly 40%!! I did my longest dive up to that point and came up with almost twice as much air left in the tank compared to all of my previous dives ... It was really fun not being the one to call a dive!!!

 

[ShakaZulu]

Here you go....

Ingersoll Rand 2545E10-FP - 10-HP 120-Gallon Two-Stage (230V 3-Phase)(FP)

PS. Dive more.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

I can be really relaxed, but I'll never equal the gas consumption rate of my petite and younger wife. I'm 6'-1", 180 lbs., and wish I was back around 160 lbs. but I'll get over it.

It's amazing though what a little corrective work under the hood resulted in for me though. I never would have predicted such a marked change.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ma...ures-dcs-pfo-migraine-aura-4.html#post4346310

I agree with the larger back gas supply - it helps get one through the initial 'alienness' of the liquid environment, leaving some gas to spare when everything clicks into place. At least that's how it worked for me on the factors I could take action on.

Have fun!

 

[Matt S.]

By the time I get into the water, I am usually huffing from walking a hundred yards with a hundred pounds of gear on. Before I submerge, I float and REST until my breathing slows down.

I also strongly agree with getting a bigger tank. If you've already bought a stack of 80s, well, ok, deal with it. But if you don't own your own tanks yet, there is no reason not to buy the biggest tank that you can comfortably carry.

If you are diving in cold water, you need ballast anyway. Would you rather carry it in lead, or in steel plus extra air?