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#3731
Air Hoover wants to put it on low
webbinator - 10/13/2008 11:09 PM
Category: Training
Replies: 15

I have a problem with my air consumption. I am a big guy, but I know guys who are a lot bigger who consume less air than me. I have tried relaxing, slowing my breathing, etc., but I am not satisfied with my air consumption. Does anyone have some hints? Ken
#622
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Matt65 - 10/13/2008 11:21 PM
I don’t have any suggestions for you reguarding your air consumption, in fact I have the exact same problem as you. However, I am a new diver and I am told that as I become more relaxed and comfortable with diving, my sac rate should improve dramatically. That having been said tho, you have alot of loged dives, and you are still having difficulities with your sac rate? If you do get any good suggestions on improvement, is there any chance you can pass them allong to me? Iappriciate your time, take care, dive often, and dive safe!
#8046
Rich-D-Fish - 10/13/2008 11:54 PM
I’ve gotten the same advice from two divers I respect....ride a bike. Works the legs and the lungs. I paced my air consumption against a buddy. Before the bike I would finish a 3400psi fill 500psi before him. After riding a bike a few times each week I noticed that I would finish even with him. Of course I am assuming my buddy is consistent. But in theory it worked for me.
#3091
divemaiden - 10/14/2008 5:49 AM
ScubaRich suggested riding a bike. He’s got the right idea, but since riding a bike isn’t for everyone (it positively kills my backside), any form of regular exercise that gets the lungs working will help. If you want something low-impact, try yoga. It’s actually a real workout, with emphasis on breath control. You don’t just sit there with your legs crossed chanting "ohm". (If you’re interested, e-mail me about it. I have more advice about yoga and finding the right instructor.)
#481
Aqua_Nut_Angel - 10/14/2008 8:09 AM
A few things I did to improve my dive time. I made weight and weight placement adjustments to zero me out as much as I could and I worked on mastering buoyancy. You’ll be surprised at how much your breathing rate will improve if you get these simple adjustments right. I went from not enough air for the dive to plenty of air left.
#2955
OcalaJim - 10/14/2008 11:16 AM
I used to be a hoover, too. I did the same thing Aque_Nut_Angel did reduced my weights. I ended up going to lp steel 95’s with an OMS wing instead of my recreational bc and now I carry no extra weight at all. I can stay down for over an hour at 50-60 feet and still have about 1000psi left over
#6072
scubaclay - 10/14/2008 12:29 PM
Ken, The more you dive the better your Air Consumption will get. You can’t force your self to relax, it comes with comfort in the water. Keep diving. Clay
#2322
iScuba - 10/14/2008 4:30 PM
I’m not endorsing this product, but only mentioning it because I came across it the other day. You could look up Expand-A-Lung. It’s a breathing resistance exerciser. Supposedly it trains you to breathe better. Athletes use it to train. They say it’s used by freedivers to increase their breath hold time by up to 20%. Check it out, might be worth it to you.
#1001
h2ofria - 10/14/2008 10:17 PM
I to am a heavy breather. I run several times a week and bike on the off days. I just ran a matathon last weekend so I have the aerobic and endurance things down. None of it has seemed to make a difference. I think the advice about controlling bouyancy and learning relaxed breathing techniques are probably the best bet.
#3731
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webbinator - 10/14/2008 11:59 PM
It all sounds like good advice so far. This is the only "sport" that I know of where you have to watch your air consumption. I am not in bad shape overall. My friend showed me some deep breathing that she said will work and I have started swimming 1/2 mile 3-4 times per week. Ken
#20
Bruscke - 10/15/2008 6:18 PM
Another solution is to get certified on a rebreather. A used Drager Ray (semi-closed) can be had for about $900 US. (Albeit the Ray is an entry-level rebreather, it’s a bargain at that price.) Course is a few hundred more; and you have to take Basic Nitrox as a pre-req. Rebreather diving changes the equation of air consumption completely. Depth hardly matters at all. Your "air consumption" also doesn’t matter much. No dry-mouth. Those are the big pluses. But no free lunch. Lot’s more dive prep. Lot’s more keeping track of things. Lot’s more mistakes to make. If you aren’t meticulous, you should stick to regular "open circuit" scuba. Cost per hour underwater is somewhat higher. Regards, Mark
#3936
seawolfdiving - 10/15/2008 10:42 PM
May I suggest that you switch to a surface supplied air system... No, not really, I’m just kidding, of course.

It looks like everyone else has hit the important points: Keep aerobically fit, make sure that you are properly weighted and streamlined as you dive, learn to relax, breathing exercises, rebreathers are certainly an option. All of these things should help you.

I would add dive often. Even if you are in great shape, you may tend to consume a bit more gas if you have been out of the water for a while. I know that if I go more than a few weeks without diving, my consumption rate goes up for the first few dives.

Also, don’t be too concerned if you are not using your breathing gas at the same rate as your buddies. The truth is that everyone is a bit different. Even very experienced divers, who dive together regularly, will often come up different on their gas usage.
Good Luck & Safe Diving

Ron sends
#18
nxoby36 - 10/16/2008 12:16 AM
Hoover here are a couple of procedures that I recommend to my students 1) once you have submerged take off your mask , open your eyes look around and take a few breaths before you replace your mask 2) after you have reached your planed depth help your self acquire a steady breathing rhythm , you can do this by inhaling for a four count and then exhaling for a four count ( this is a close approximation to how you breath when on the surface ) do this count as you breath for several cycles , hopefully this steady rhythm will soon become second nature 3) position your weights so that you can swim horizontally without fighting for trim , also do not over or under weight yourself .
#93
PiratePete - 10/29/2008 3:35 PM
In addition to the excellent points above...

Reduce what you take down, carrying extra crap means you have to push more stuff through the water.
Get as streamlined as possible, don’t let stuff stick out unnecessarily, keep you arms close to your body, etc. This might not make much difference at slow speeds, but if you find yourself fighting a current, it can make a huge difference.

Get some efficient fins. Read the tests and reviews and look for a set of fins that tests out at the top end for speed.
Assuming all else is equal, if one set of fins is faster then they must be more efficient.
Even if you’re not planning on going fast, fast fins require less energy at low speeds then slower fins.
Don’t pay any attention to folks that tell you that fin "A" is better against current that a faster tested fin "B". Fighting a current and going fast are exactly the same thing, it’s all about your speed relative to the water not relative to the bottom.

Speaking of current, if you find yourself working against a current, try to get close (real close) to the bottom or to a wall/reef. Water moves slower next to fixed objects. Plus, if you’re careful, you can grab onto rocks, etc and pull yourself along. Just be careful not to damage anything or grab/brush against anything pointy or toothy.
#3731
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webbinator - 10/29/2008 4:49 PM
Thank-you