harryw7370
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I have benn diving on and off for 2 years and have logged 60 dives. What I am interested in is the best form of breathing to conserve air.
Breathing Techniques
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King_Neptune
Founder
Hello Harry,
I am not exactly sure what you mean by FORM of breathing but from experience what I have seen is one huge mistake divers will make is getting so caught up in the moment that they dont make a conscious effort to maintain a controlled rate of breathing. Ive logged 1000's of dives and everytime I find myself surrounded by seemingly millions of squid mating and laying eggs everywhere or dozens of sharks circling overhead I have to make a point of reminding myself of my air intake.
As with any safe dive, the number one thing to remember is to always remain calm and keep a constant and controlled rate of breathing. After some time you will find that for the most part you will find yourself diving longer and using less air.
When things get exciting it is not hard at all to suck down half a tank of air in no time, especially when all those mermaids show up ... hehe ... but then again maybe I should just cut back on my deep bottom times!
I am not exactly sure what you mean by FORM of breathing but from experience what I have seen is one huge mistake divers will make is getting so caught up in the moment that they dont make a conscious effort to maintain a controlled rate of breathing. Ive logged 1000's of dives and everytime I find myself surrounded by seemingly millions of squid mating and laying eggs everywhere or dozens of sharks circling overhead I have to make a point of reminding myself of my air intake.
As with any safe dive, the number one thing to remember is to always remain calm and keep a constant and controlled rate of breathing. After some time you will find that for the most part you will find yourself diving longer and using less air.
When things get exciting it is not hard at all to suck down half a tank of air in no time, especially when all those mermaids show up ... hehe ... but then again maybe I should just cut back on my deep bottom times!
One thing to remember is that normal breathing promotes a calm state in most of us. "Full" breathing is used to help one relax in yoga etc. It helps if you get excited to mentally remember to breathe slower and deeper. Also make sure you exhale normally. Excitement, as well as improper buoyancy control can lead to one holding more air in their lungs. This does not allow for the needed air to cycle which can build up CO2 and actually cause you to use more air. It can also give you a tremendous headache and increases the suceptibility to Nitogen Narcossis on those deeper dives. Have Fun!
I was taught to use the 6-3-6 method.
Inhale slowly for 6 seconds.
Pause for 3 seconds.
Exhale for 6 seconds.
The instructor that taught me this wrote an article on the subject. If you would like it, send me an e-mail and I'll get it to you.
Inhale slowly for 6 seconds.
Pause for 3 seconds.
Exhale for 6 seconds.
The instructor that taught me this wrote an article on the subject. If you would like it, send me an e-mail and I'll get it to you.
I think every diver, aventualy, develops his own rithm of breathing. I, for example use usualy a very small capacity of my lungs, breath slowly, and actualy, most of my breathing is for bouyancy control, small inhales and exhales to fine tune my positin in the water. I reached a state, in which I can use a 7 litter (I think It's al50) for well over an hour (in shalow dives) and still come out with 50 bar. Regarding the fact that i am quite a big fellow (Over 1.90 meter tall, over 100 killos weight) I think it's an exelent air consumption rate.
BTW-I became so aware of my breathing, that I can tell the time of the dive by looking on my pressure gauge and tell the pressure buy looking at my watch.
BTW-I became so aware of my breathing, that I can tell the time of the dive by looking on my pressure gauge and tell the pressure buy looking at my watch.
Lost Yooper
Guest
6-3-6
You know, I haven't heard of that before, but it's exactly what I do.
Breathing style certainly has a lot to do with air consumption, but so do other factors as well. Keeping warm, maintaining a horizontal position while swimming, having a very streamlined gear configuration, kicking techniques, BC/dry suit inflation techniques, and being free of psychological stressors all play a part in air consumption.
Ever since I started diving, I kept an eye on my air consumtion rate. As I learned more about stuff, it steadily got better. The biggest decreases to my air consumption were the introduction of a dry suit and then a harness and wing BC. The dry suit kept me 100% warmer, and the harness/wings made me more streamlined. Most divers get better as they figure this stuff out for themselves.
Good luck.
Mike
You know, I haven't heard of that before, but it's exactly what I do.
Breathing style certainly has a lot to do with air consumption, but so do other factors as well. Keeping warm, maintaining a horizontal position while swimming, having a very streamlined gear configuration, kicking techniques, BC/dry suit inflation techniques, and being free of psychological stressors all play a part in air consumption.
Ever since I started diving, I kept an eye on my air consumtion rate. As I learned more about stuff, it steadily got better. The biggest decreases to my air consumption were the introduction of a dry suit and then a harness and wing BC. The dry suit kept me 100% warmer, and the harness/wings made me more streamlined. Most divers get better as they figure this stuff out for themselves.
Good luck.
Mike
that the best breathing techinque is to ensure that the number of times one inhales should be equal to the number of times one exhales.
or at least that is what my fortune cookie says
or at least that is what my fortune cookie says
Get into shape. Weight yourself correctly.Breath when required.
Ron
Ron
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Fix your weighting, fix your trim, fix your fitness and fix your swimming technique and your breathing will fix itself.
Trying to do breaathing techniques is putting the cart before the horse and all you'll end up doing is learning to skip breathe.
Roak
Trying to do breaathing techniques is putting the cart before the horse and all you'll end up doing is learning to skip breathe.
Roak
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