I need advice on...breathing.

[Freewillow]

The less you will think about it and the more you will dive, the better it will be. As simple as that.

 

[divewench1]

When I first started to dive, I was always first on the surface, but after a short while I became known as the 'human pony bottle'. I use yoga breathing techniques for regulating my breathing; breathe in long and slow, approx 5 seconds, pause, breathe out for a longer time (maybe 7 seconds). This soon becomes normal breathing, and even when exerting through strong current my breathing does not change.

I also used to orally inflate my BC on the boat before rolling off, it's amazing how much you can save by using your lungs to fill the bag rather than the tank. This can also be done during a dive, to adjust your buoyancy.

And, has been said already, relax and keep your arms as still as possible for streamlining.

 

[t4e]

Apparently you cannot read, I said OVERWEIGHTED, not overweight. Do not adjust my words. Your lack of attention is not my problem. If it is not helpful, do not read it. As to BMI, that is an unknown for the OP at the time of my post you find issue with, and, yes, I do think BMI is an excellent guide, though not the last word. I will stay with what I said.

N

i was going to appologize for missreading the overweighted, but your rude tone doesn't deserve it
i still call BMI total BS for anyone unless they are grossly overweight or obese, which we know the OP is not

 

[Diver0001]

Never thought I would need advice on the most fundamental of human activities, but oh well.

I'm a fairly new diver (25 dives, with AOW, Nitrox, Drysuit certs), and I seem to be the heaviest breather by far on dives. Recently, I just finished three dives at Bonne Terre Mines; on the first two, I had to ascend about 5 mins earlier than everyone else. On the third dive, they actually put me on a guide's alternate reg for the last 9-10 minutes of the dive, and I even had a larger tank of air than my buddy (100 vs 80).

According to my computer (Pro Plus 2.1), my SAC rates for my most recent dives (not including the one on the alternate) have been the following:

1.24 (Air, 29 mins @ 53ft max)
1.118 (Air, 32 mins @ 43ft max)
1.401 (Nitrox 28%, 19 mins @118ft max)
1.447 (Nitrox 28%, 21 mins @ 122ft max)
0.964 (Nitrox 32%, 25 mins @ 76ft max)
1.11 (Nitrox 32%, 25 mins @ 74ft max)

So I'm just trying to get some advice on how to improve my breathing. I'm sure 10 years of smoking didn't help my lung capacity (I've been quit for about 5 years). I'm about 5'9"-5'10", 175 lbs. I was diving heavy (about 32 lbs added), but dropped down to 28 lbs on my last two dives, which helped my buoyancy (but didn't help my SAC rate, which I thought might happen).

I work out a decent amount (about 40 mins cardio 4x week, plus weights 2x), and a guide at Bonne Terre said that runners who dive tend to breathe heavier, and that my cardio work may be contributing to my SAC rate. He recommended trying to do 7 seconds in, 7 seconds out while diving.

That's all the info I can think of (I'm sure it's more than you needed!), but any advice on how to help me improve my air consumption (and not be the guy surfacing early all the time) would be hugely appreciated. Thanks for looking!

Try to remind me about this question in a couple of days. I have some recent video where you can hear my breathing. Sometimes seeing/hearing an example can make the coin drop. I'll try to get a good 2 minute clip and give you a commentary on what you're hearing so you can take whatever you can from that. I'm afraid I don't have time to do it this weekend though.

R..

 

[Nemrod]

i was going to appologize for missreading the overweighted, but your rude tone doesn't deserve it
i still call BMI total BS for anyone unless they are grossly overweight or obese, which we know the OP is not

Your tone was rude, you got what you gave and now you are on ignore.

Have a nice life.

N

 

[muteki]

I have around 60 dives under my belt, and my SAC greatly improved in the last 20-30 dives. For me it was all about comfort level, trim and buoyancy. The stress of not having perfect buoyancy makes me breathe heavier. Another small factor is the reg I'm using. Ever since I breathed from my first high-quality reg, I've noticed the difference. I hate diving with regs I can't tune! So once I have a good reg, am perfectly horizontal and frog-kicking, my SAC is great. I challenged myself to breathe as little as the DM on the last dives I did, and came up with almost as much air left, even beat him once. It'll come in time.

 

[ntmainstrm]

I too am a buffalo breather and a former smoker.

Everyone seems to have great suggestions but I will add mine.

Find a dive shop with a nice warm pool and rent some time if possible alone. Use minimal gear and try to get weighting and trim perfect. Practice not moving anything and just breath very deep and very slow. Hover in one place adjusting buoyancy with only breathing. Relax every muscle and just zone out.
It just gets better all the time,
Lee