Improve your air consumption
How to improve your air consumption will be the focus of today’s scuba diving lesson.
Your air consumption depends on your body mass, muscle, lung capacity but also on your buoyancy, your comfort underwater, your experience and how you are moving.
Before you begin, focus on your goal and create realistic expectations. It is useful to compare yourself with a dive professional of your size and take him/her as a role model. But remember that there are no shorts cuts or magic techniques, but patience and constant training.
The only way to improve your air consumption is slow down your breathing cycles without holding your breath! There are different tips that help you to reduce your breathing cycles during your dives.
- Relax – be mentally prepared for the dive. Before entering in the water relax and focus on the dive and on what will come next. Take it step by step. Do not stress or agitate yourself. Take your time to relax at the surface while you are waiting for the “down” signal from your dive guide. Exhale deeply on your way down.
- Avoid any unnecessary movement – move slowly and kick gently. Use only your fins to move. Master different fins kicking techniques like the frog kick or the back kick. This will give you better control with your direction and propulsion. Use kick and glide – kick once and let the momentum carry you before kicking again. If you move less you will need less air.
- Master your buoyancy – have a good neutral buoyancy as this will help you to relax and to avoid the unnecessary movement.
- Use the right amount of weight – if you are overweight, it is like carrying a heavy bag on a hiking trip, which will cause you to use more air. If you you don’t have enough weight, you will feel uncomfortable and you will need to kick more in order to stay down.
- Slow down your breathing – slow down your inhalation and exhalation cycles without holding your breath! Inhale, fill your lungs, in a controlled manner and when you exhale, control it with a long and slow exhalation. This process requires time and practice – you can start training reducing your breathing cycle even from your sofa in your living room.
- Check your air consumption often and think about your breathing during your dives.
- Stay fit and healthy – do regular sport activities and take care of your body, it will make a difference during your dives.
Thank you for your interest in our second lesson. We will be happy to answer your questions about your personal experience or problem you have had.
Hope to see you for our 3rd lesson: how to properly interact with marine life.
