How many of you here practice apnea

[RJP]

Now the problem is I'd like to be able to get better bottom times because at 20 metres (about 60'), I only get about an hour of gas before I hit the magical 500 PSI mark and need to surface.

Slowing/skipping breathing is a "supply" solution, but gas consumption is a "demand" problem. Here's my "to do" list for decreasing the amount of gas your body consumes.

• Dive more
• Slow down
• Get more comfortable in the water
• Slow down
• Get your weighting dialed in
• Slow down
• Get into horizontal trim
• Slow down some more
• Stop paddling with your hands
• Slow down even more
• Adopt more efficient kicking style
• Did I mention slowing down?
• You're still moving too fast. Slow down just a bit more

 

[rick00001967]

as some have already said.....if you are getting an hour at 60 feet, i'd say thats pretty damn good.

 

[knotical]

Apnea - absolutely not on scuba. But most folks find they can decrease air consumption by exhaling more fully, thus purging more CO2 from our "dead air" spaces.

 

[mizzie]

I'm really new, but is an hour at 20 meters really that short?

That's what I was thinking. I don't have a computer yet, so I'm just looking at the RDP, but the no deco time at 60 feet is 55 minutes. For me, it would be irrelevant if I hit 500psi at 60 minutes, I'd already be at the surface.

 

[fnfalman]

Ok, so I only have 20 odd sea dives and countless freshwater swimming pool sessions but I am very sure that I'm comfortable in the water. Buoyancy and trim's fine. I'm in the bottom feeding and gliding category. I know where every piece of equipment is since they're all mine and I problem solve underwater instead of thinking about surfacing when equipment get tangled.

Now the problem is I'd like to be able to get better bottom times because at 20 metres (about 60'), I only get about an hour of gas before I hit the magical 500 PSI mark and need to surface.

I noticed that I breathe pretty often when diving but it's not due to discomfort, unease or any overexertion. Will apnea help?

I've been dabbling in apnea/free diving for about over a year.

How it helps me lower air consumption rate is that it gives me a better peace of mind than before.

I don't use it for skip breathing or holding breath or hyperventilating while on SCUBA. That's a recipe for disaster. About the only thing that's translatable is I'm breathing with my diaphram like I would in apnea diving.

 

[cocoajoe]

Assuming square profile, diving air, you would be in deco in 60 minutes. Or am I wrong?

 

[danvolker]

Ok, so I only have 20 odd sea dives and countless freshwater swimming pool sessions but I am very sure that I'm comfortable in the water. Buoyancy and trim's fine. I'm in the bottom feeding and gliding category. I know where every piece of equipment is since they're all mine and I problem solve underwater instead of thinking about surfacing when equipment get tangled.

Now the problem is I'd like to be able to get better bottom times because at 20 metres (about 60'), I only get about an hour of gas before I hit the magical 500 PSI mark and need to surface.

I noticed that I breathe pretty often when diving but it's not due to discomfort, unease or any overexertion. Will apnea help?

The apnea part wont help the bottom time on scuba, as static apnea training is more about cheating your CO 2 mechanism for needing to breathe..althouth the lower heart rate part of apnea training would help...

Freediving it self would be very important for your goals, as it would teach you to swim flat horizontal when going from A to B, and to have ideal weighting, and to have OPTIMAL PROPULSION ( most scuba divers have poor or mediocre propulsion skills at best---get good skills in this, and your ability to stretch an tank out will amaze everyone.

Get good freediving fins also, they will drastically enhance efficiency in the water for scuba ( or breath hold).
Make sure your weighting is perfect....just enough to be neutral with an empty tank...and when underwater, be sure you are swimming at dead neutral buoyancy ( not negative like most new divers).

Learn how to slow your heart rate down--bio feed back with a heart rate monitor could help a great deal--learn how to relax, and how to slow your heart--when you do, your breathing will have slowed way down.

When your scuba dive begins, the first thing you should do when you reach the bottom, is to spend 30 seconds to a minute on slowing everything way down, totally relaxing, and then try to maintain this state for the entire dive--it could double the bottom time many new divers experience.

 

[kelemvor]

Assuming square profile, diving air, you would be in deco in 60 minutes. Or am I wrong?

His profile says he has a nitrox card.

 

[Nick A]

Assuming square profile, diving air, you would be in deco in 60 minutes. Or am I wrong?

Yes, according to PADI tables 60' for 55mins the ndl

 

[rmh84]

Sounds like youre doing fine! Personally - I used to be able to eat up a bottle of air around the 45 min mark on a similar dive (I am assuming you're diving nitrox rather then getting beyond deco limits). Now, with 50 more dives under my belt, working on my boyancy, and just being more relaxed I come back with 1000psi after a 60 min dive. IMO - don't mess around with your breathing at depth. The most I do is when "playing" with my boyancy control taking slightly deeper breaths or exhailing more fully to move up and down in the water column.