SKIP BREATHING is this nonsense?

[packeteer]

The size of my knife is competitive with my SAC. I'm very concerned with my SAC because it's ridiculously high, but there doesn't seem to be a lot I can do about it. This weekend I did a dive with a guy from SB who had nine lifetime dives and I used more than double the air he did.

fwiw, my sac is about 32L a min. as an example, i sucked a 12 Litre tank dry in 40 minute dive on the weekend, max depth was 12 meters, average was about 7.

 

[packeteer]

the real question is, should i buy a 15 or 18 litre tank? my buddies must be getting sick of me calling dives when they havent even used half a tank

 

[ajduplessis]

the real question is, should i buy a 15 or 18 litre tank? my buddies must be getting sick of me calling dives when they havent even used half a tank

Dive more.......diving a lot should help lowering your SAC. You could also join your gym's yoga class. Yoga will help with your breathing and improve your SAC. If you don't belong to a gym, start cycling/joking.

The quick fix to your "problem" would be to get a 18L!!!

 

[porgyhunter]

the real question is, should i buy a 15 or 18 litre tank? my buddies must be getting sick of me calling dives when they havent even used half a tank

What the hell.....TRY SKIP BREATHING

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I think there is some variation in breathing "rythm" in general. For example, I have to really concentrate on not skip breathing when I dive, because I "skip breathe" on the surface

I have a long natural "pause" at the end of every exhalation (I'd guess 5 seconds or so as I sit at my keyboard?? A bit longer when completely relaxed). I do pause for a long moment at the end of each exhalation when diving too... but constantly remind myself not to get carried away with it. The pause only disappears under heavy exertion (running hard on the surface, or swimming hard when diving).

As others have stated, I don't believe I'm "skip breathing".... I'm breathing like I normally do, but I do focus on breathing "deeper" (much fuller inhale and exhale) when diving.



Best wishes.

 

[DandyDon]

the real question is, should i buy a 15 or 18 litre tank? my buddies must be getting sick of me calling dives when they havent even used half a tank

Dive more.......diving a lot should help lowering your SAC. You could also join your gym's yoga class. Yoga will help with your breathing and improve your SAC. If you don't belong to a gym, start cycling/joking.

The quick fix to your "problem" would be to get a 18L!!!

All good ideas! Dive more to get more practice, more relaxed, burning less air; stay or get in shape; and if you're going to buy a tank - get the big one.

There are other possibilities, tho. My home bud had hell with mouthpieces until he got a Seacure, heated it in water, fit it to his mouth - and his air usage got better. Neither of us are good, we both dive 100 cf tanks when possible so we can finish with the divers on 80 cf tanks, but he was worse before he got the mouthpiece.

I think there is some variation in breathing "rythm" in general. For example, I have to really concentrate on not skip breathing when I dive, because I "skip breathe" on the surface

I have a long natural "pause" at the end of every exhalation (I'd guess 5 seconds or so as I sit at my keyboard?? A bit longer when completely relaxed). I do pause for a long moment at the end of each exhalation when diving too... but constantly remind myself not to get carried away with it. The pause only disappears under heavy exertion (running hard on the surface, or swimming hard when diving).

As others have stated, I don't believe I'm "skip breathing".... I'm breathing like I normally do, but I do focus on breathing "deeper" (much fuller inhale and exhale) when diving.



Best wishes.

Yeah, our lungs are not very efficient at extracting O2 from air really so a pause after exhaling gives some catchup time. A pause after inhaling might be ok as long as the throat is kept open. I do a bit of both while working at a slow rhythm, but I am careful to keep my throat open.

 

[DaleC]

This weekend I did a dive with a guy from SB who had nine lifetime dives and I used more than double the air he did.

Lynne had some good advice but really, unless it impedes your dive, who cares. It's not a competition. I for one, am not impressed by SAC rates. Obsessing over ones SAC is just another way to intellectualize what should be a simple physical experience. But then again, I see diving as a means to an end and not an end in itself.
People who like to set up artificial hurdles just so they can jump over them probably find their SAC rates endlessly entertainng. I like to look at fish.

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

Bad Idea CO2 is only one of the many reasons not to skip breath. The only time that you should ever have to skip a breath is when you have to buddy breath in case if equipment failure.

 

[Zippsy]

I like to look at fish.

How novel.

 

[Gilldiver]

The US Navy EDO divers who I dove with in the 70's would breath in, do a slow count to 5 or 10, breath out. To me that is skip breathing.