Air Usage / Capacity
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FWIW...0.56 and 0.38 are really good rates for a newbie.
JTB
Registered
I'm with you on the "1st one up thing". I'm wondering if anyone knows of things one can do on a "day to day" basis to help. Breathing excercises or something. Thoughts?
NavyDoll
Contributor
I've been diving since December 2002... and I agree with everyone who has said "the more you dive... the better your air consumption will get"! I don't know about breathing exercises to improve air usage.. but I've noticed that the more running and cardiovascular exercise I do... the better my SAC rate!! I'm to the point that my dive buddies are wondering where I'm hiding my gills 
anyway.. that's just my 2cents.. hope it helps..
keep diving
NavyDoll
anyway.. that's just my 2cents.. hope it helps..
keep diving
NavyDoll
bedazzle410
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I feel that yodas advice as long as you are properly weighted will save you alot of air.
I know this topic is a couple of days old but I think that my input could be useufull to someone. I have to agree with navydoll, cardiovascular exercise is really good to lower both your heart rate and your breathing. Plus exercise will not only help you with your breathing and pulse but it will help you swim longer and faster. I am new to diving, actually I am not even certified yet but I am a Health Promotion Coordinator in the Coast Guard.
CA Diver
Contributor
Weight is important. I've been diving for about 16 months with 94 dives. I began with 24 lbs in addition to my hp 100cf steel tank. When (on dive 11) I attempted to reduce my weight ot 20 lbs, the surge tossed me around so much it put me right onto the reef and out of the water. Dove the same location last week for 71 minutes with 17 lbs. Relax, do not rush the weight reduction. Dive, dive, dive. The more you dive the better your air consumption will be.
One thing that really helped me relax and reduce air consumption was doing safety stops at 15 feet in warm water. Just relax and hang out for 5 to 8 minutes.
The High pressure steel 100 is a great tank.
One thing that really helped me relax and reduce air consumption was doing safety stops at 15 feet in warm water. Just relax and hang out for 5 to 8 minutes.
The High pressure steel 100 is a great tank.
CA Diver:
Ahh yes, hp 100 is da kine tank.
OP
10X
Guest
I've been reading all of your posts with enthusiasm. I've come to the conclusion that, possibly, a good portion of my problem is weighting, coupled with lack of experience and owning ALL of my own gear.
I own my own mask/fins/booties/snorkel/BCD/regulator, but no wetsuit yet. That's next and I've been consulting with my LDS about this.
Prior to going to Hawaii, all of my dives were in fresh water, using a 2 piece 7mm wetsuit. So going to saltwater was a new experience for me, as far as diving is concerned. I've snorkeled saltwater for at least 12 years prior to becoming certified.
In Oahu, it took a couple of tries to weight me correctly, starting at 22lbs, then 20, then 18. 20 seemed about right. I was wearing a one piece 3mm shorty. We then moved on to Maui.
In Maui I was provided with a farmer john 5mm. This, of cource, changed everything. Not thinking about being in a 5mm, I opted for 20 lbs. Three dives later I settled on 24.
Perhaps all this jockeying around caused me to increase air use. Down deep it doesn't seem to be much of a problem, as long as I'm weighted enough to get down. I watch carefully that I stay off the bottom, however, coming up is another matter entirely.
As weights were taken off, to give me the lightest weight possible, I found that I would have trouble going up. I became too buoyant and had trouble at the 15' safety stop. Many times I had to hang onto the ascent rope to stay in place. I even wrapped my legs around it once because my body wanted to turn upside down and float to the surface. I missed one stop entirely because I popped to the surface as I got shallower. When I was weighted a little heavier, I was able to maintain the stop without any aid.
It appears that having my own wetsuit will help with this, since I will then be able to obtain a consistent, known weight, that I will be able to use on all dives, rather then frogging around with different rental gear.
Obviously, with only 22 dives, my buoyancy still needs a lot of work. Watching the dive masters certainly gave me an idea of what I should strive for. They were so relaxed and fluid I was envious.
Right now, because I breath deeply (I do this on land too), I find it difficult to maintain a depth. One breath makes me rise significantly and an exaggerated exhale can make me strike bottom. I'm trying to breath slower and more shallow. Periodically, I NEED to take that deep breath, though. So, for now, I maintain a few feet off the bottom and try to watch my computer so I don't get too shallow. Remember, getting too shallow, especially above 30 feet, makes me want to float.
Cardio wise, I'm not great but I can hold my own. My wife and I work out 3x weekly at the YMCA. I use one cardio machine (30 minutes each time) and 9 weight machines.
Thanks for all of your advice, and I will continue to work on weighting and buoyancy throughout Michigan's short diving season this summer. My next saltwater stop will be a cruise to Tahiti, 2/11/05. I've been in contact with TopDive already. I want to see a Manta.
I own my own mask/fins/booties/snorkel/BCD/regulator, but no wetsuit yet. That's next and I've been consulting with my LDS about this.
Prior to going to Hawaii, all of my dives were in fresh water, using a 2 piece 7mm wetsuit. So going to saltwater was a new experience for me, as far as diving is concerned. I've snorkeled saltwater for at least 12 years prior to becoming certified.
In Oahu, it took a couple of tries to weight me correctly, starting at 22lbs, then 20, then 18. 20 seemed about right. I was wearing a one piece 3mm shorty. We then moved on to Maui.
In Maui I was provided with a farmer john 5mm. This, of cource, changed everything. Not thinking about being in a 5mm, I opted for 20 lbs. Three dives later I settled on 24.
Perhaps all this jockeying around caused me to increase air use. Down deep it doesn't seem to be much of a problem, as long as I'm weighted enough to get down. I watch carefully that I stay off the bottom, however, coming up is another matter entirely.
As weights were taken off, to give me the lightest weight possible, I found that I would have trouble going up. I became too buoyant and had trouble at the 15' safety stop. Many times I had to hang onto the ascent rope to stay in place. I even wrapped my legs around it once because my body wanted to turn upside down and float to the surface. I missed one stop entirely because I popped to the surface as I got shallower. When I was weighted a little heavier, I was able to maintain the stop without any aid.
It appears that having my own wetsuit will help with this, since I will then be able to obtain a consistent, known weight, that I will be able to use on all dives, rather then frogging around with different rental gear.
Obviously, with only 22 dives, my buoyancy still needs a lot of work. Watching the dive masters certainly gave me an idea of what I should strive for. They were so relaxed and fluid I was envious.
Right now, because I breath deeply (I do this on land too), I find it difficult to maintain a depth. One breath makes me rise significantly and an exaggerated exhale can make me strike bottom. I'm trying to breath slower and more shallow. Periodically, I NEED to take that deep breath, though. So, for now, I maintain a few feet off the bottom and try to watch my computer so I don't get too shallow. Remember, getting too shallow, especially above 30 feet, makes me want to float.
Cardio wise, I'm not great but I can hold my own. My wife and I work out 3x weekly at the YMCA. I use one cardio machine (30 minutes each time) and 9 weight machines.
Thanks for all of your advice, and I will continue to work on weighting and buoyancy throughout Michigan's short diving season this summer. My next saltwater stop will be a cruise to Tahiti, 2/11/05. I've been in contact with TopDive already. I want to see a Manta.
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