How do I improve my air consumption?

[neve]

well I used to be a terrible airhog when I started.... once I even came close to running out of air during my safety stop (yeah stupid rookie mistake!!). But since my 9th or 10th dive, I have became more comfortable underwater, and my buoyancy improved.... My current average is 700psi left at the end of every dive (I don't go beyond recreational limits, btw).

I have also learned to control my breathing more effectively... I don't know how to explain it, it's like taking 'medium' breaths, not too long and not too short. ok I'm not making any sense. Maybe the dive gurus on this board can give better tips! but I agree, practice makes perfect. so the only way to better your skills is to dive more!!

In my last 3 dives, I used BP/wing setup and my air consumption improved even more! I ended up with 900-1000psi left in the tank. even my instructor was very impressed.

 

[Paco]

Some say breath deeply, but also be sure to swim slowly, relax and like everyone says, dive, dive dive. Also, don't worry about your consumption. Just be sure to surface when it's time.

 

[k4sdi]

Try this,,

Take a full tank to the local pool, gear up, get in, and sit on the bottom till you only have 500 psi left. Yea, you WILL get bored. Yea, you WILL get all wrinkly. You might even almost fall asleep. (I almost did)

Try it, it worked for me!

Mark

 

[Walter]

There are some effective techniques.

1. Slow down

2. If you aren't in shape, get in shape.

3. Slow down.

4. If you smoke, stop.

5. Slow down.

6. If you are diving in current from an anchored/moored boat, use tag/current lines when available and don't kick at all when using them.

7. Slow down.

8. Stop using the flutter kick. When using the scissor, or frog kicks you'll be gliding most of the time and therefore resting and using less air.

9. Breathe deeply and slowly.

In case I forgot to mention it - 10. Slow down.

 

[MikeS]

Don’t worry, with experience your air consumption will improve, but rather than worrying about breathing, focus on good buoyancy control. As every diver learns early on, breathing, more specifically the amount of air in your lungs effects buoyancy, and is used to for fine-tuning. Every new diver I have observed, including myself, dramatically overcompensates at first. I think this is because any changes to buoyancy as a result of breathing do not occur simultaneously, so it takes experience to anticipate the effects and not over compensate. Using air to overcompensate for buoyancy quickly uses up air!

With that said, some people use more air than others and always will. I have one dive buddy that is an air miser, I will never be able to match his air consumption rate, sometime I wonder if he is breathing at all. Of course he is 60 pounds lighter and I suspect that has an effect.

For me, getting to the point where I was no longer the first one to run out of air was one of my biggest diving accomplishments! Hang in there and don’t worry about it, it will take care of itself! And there is always the option of larger capacity tanks, I love the HP-120s.

Mike

 

[exnewwavedivers]

Aside from the tips given by other posters, here's something for you to think about.

Air consumption cannot be compared between individuals. But you can optimize your air consumption by keeping your energy level down to a minimal. That means move slowly in a very relaxed manner. You do not exert effort unless needed and normally, the only effort you exert during the dive is when you move your hand to adjust for buoyancy or check your gauges and when you kick your fins.

About kicking fins, do not kick continuously unless you're going slightly against current (if it's strong, why go against it in the first place?)

Kick your fins once or twice, feel yourself gliding. When you stop moving and you want to go forward a little bit, kick once or twice again. The rest of the time, your fins acts as a stabilizer.

The rest of your body not exerting any effort at all should make your feel like you're hanging on air.

About breathing techniques... breathe continuously. A previous post mentioned something about not breathing too deep or too shallow, I don't agree with that though. You would do that only from time to time to fine tune your buoyancy.

Next, pick up more dives. Each dive should have a purpose. Aside from exploring, you should make it a point to improve one skill at a time. The better diver you are, the more fun you get.

ENJOY!

 

[Surge]

Hello Everyone.

I was just wondering if my Weight, Size, and Maybe Lung Capacity is the Reason why I consume my air faster then the others I Dive with.

I'm 6'4" and about 210 lbs. Naturally I use more air then everybody else. And I am usually the first one up in my group when I go on a dive.

What can I do to stay down, and come up with the rest of the group?

I've tried breathing techniques, and such, but to no avail.

Any help is Greatly Appreciated!

 

[Big-t-2538]

dive more often (you'll probably hear that from a lot of people).

Get comfortable in the water. The more you are around it and in it...the more comfortable you are going to be and the less air you will use.

For reference, I'm 6'0" 245 and use less air than a lot of people...

 

[Diver0001]

Surge once bubbled...
Hello Everyone.

I was just wondering if my Weight, Size, and Maybe Lung Capacity is the Reason why I consume my air faster then the others I Dive with.

I'm 6'4" and about 210 lbs. Naturally I use more air then everybody else. And I am usually the first one up in my group when I go on a dive.

What can I do to stay down, and come up with the rest of the group?

I've tried breathing techniques, and such, but to no avail.

Any help is Greatly Appreciated!

The only thing that works is diving a lot.

High air consumption doesn't relate to breathing techniques. The only thing you need to know about breathing is deep and slow. nothing else matters.

High air consumption, however, does relate well to bad buoyancy control, carrying too much lead, high levels of physical exertion (poor condition, poor fin technique, badly streamlined gear, stress) etc etc.

There are a few things you can do:

First do a thorough buoyancy check at the *end* of a dive. Make sure you're not carrying a single gram of weight you don't need.

Second, breathe deeply and slowly. When you exhale, concentrate on releasing tension in your shoulders and back. This will do two things (a) relaxes you and reduces physical exertion and (b) by relaxing you'll notice that you can remove even more weight from your kit.

Third, use your safety stops to learn how to hang motionless a metre above the bottom. Good buoyancy control is essential to good air consumption.

Fourth, when you first get in the water take the time on the surface to catch your breath and relax before you descend. The first few minutes of a dive are when many divers typically use a lot of air. If you're on a boat, make sure you get in the water first so you can hang and relax while the others are getting ready.

Fifth, watch your fin technique. slow easy and long strides are better than "bicycling". Also learn to frog-kick. Not only will this help your air consumption but you'll kick up less dirt from the bottom.

Six, decent cardio-vascular fitness will help your air consumption. There's always room for improvement.

And finally, if you use more air than your buddies, use a bigger tank. There's no shame in that. My regular buddy uses a 12litre tank and I use a 15 for most of our diving and our pressure is about the same at any given point in the dive.

Other people will probably think of more suggestions but this gives you a starting point.

Cheers,
R..

 

[runvus4]

What sort of breathing techniques have you tried? Breathing deeply and slowly, with a slight pause between breaths works well for me...

It might not be breath techniques entirely though, if you are exherting yourself, you will have to comsume more air. It may be your swimming/finning techniques, your trim, how streamlined your setup is and if you are properly weighted.