How I Train My Breathing Muscles

My respiratory muscle trainer

Over the Easter weekend, my family and I were away in Lake Toba. Since I would be missing my regular Saturday ride, I brought along my inspiratory muscle trainer, so I could at least train my inspiratory muscles while away. I had previously written about training your breathing muscles.

I do not run with mine, just sit and breathe with it

There are different ways to train your breathing muscles. The 2 most common techniques are voluntary isocapnic hyperpnoea (VIH) and inspiratory pressure threshold loading (IPTL).

VIH involves breathing at high volumes and rates so it is similar to intense exercise while maintaining carbon dioxide at stable levels to avoid dizziness. It is primarily done using specialized devices like the Breathe Way Better device which allows you to rebreathe exhaled carbon dioxide from a bag. This creates a close loop to keep blood gas levels balanced when allowing you to strengthen your inspiratory muscles.

IPTL strengthens the breathing muscles using a device with a calibrated, spring-loaded valve like the Power Lung or the Power Breathe that requires a consistent force to open. Users breathe in forcefully through the mouth against this resistance. It creates a "threshold" that must be overcomed to be able to breathe in. That was the device that I brought along.

Where did I get this idea from? Thanks to Kowalski and colleagues (2023) who investigated 16 well trained triathletes (7 females, 9 males) for  6 weeks using the VIH or IPTL program with progressive overload. 

Both subjective and physiological responses were monitored across sessions. Blood markers, muscle oxygenation and cardiac indices were all measured before, during and after the training sessions to track adaptation and load.

The results show that both VIH and IPTL training increased physiological load. Blood gas analysis showed larger post respiratory muscle training differences in females compared to males. VIH induced smaller changes in blood gasometry compared to IPTL.

VIH produced higher subjective training load and perceived exertion compared to IPTL. IPTL caused greater metabolic stress, altering acid-base balance, elevated lactate and caused dizziness and headache.

The authors concluded that respiratory muscle training added measurable mental and physiological load in well trained triathletes. Usage of such training should be individualized depending on method and training context since this study suggests that the load (30 breaths twice a day) is significant enough to add to training load.

Even though the protocol is short and easy to fit into a training regime, my suggestion is to take it slow and use lower loads and progression to complement your regular training. 

Did it help my following Saturday ride after my Easter trip? I think it did. I fared better than I expected.

References

Kowalski T, Kasiak PS, Rebis K et al (2023). Respiratory Muscle Training Induces Additional Stress And Training Load In Well-Trained Triathletes - Randomized Controlled Trial. Frontiers in Physiology. 14: 1264265. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1264265

Train Your Breathing Muscles To Run Faster?

Picture from Power Lung

I first learnt to train my inspiratory muscles back in 2004 when my former colleagues at Sport Singapore (previously known as Singapore Sports Council) told me about the "Power Lung". It's a simple hand held device that is really easy to use to increase lung capacity so one can improve your breathing efficiency to race faster. 

After I returned the "Power Lung" (pictured above), I tried to replicate that by breathing in and out only through a straw while watching movies with my wife hoping to get the same training effect. That's what I tried to do by just breathing in and out through a straw since it is a much smaller channel. Or recently trying to exercise with a mask on to some extent. 

My wife said I sounded like Darth Vader breathing. She threatened not to watch movies with me if I persisted. 

There are respiratory muscles that help us breathe in and out. Just like your leg muscles or any other muscles, your respiratory muscles can get tired. When they do get tired, they work less efficiently and draw oxygenated rich blood away from where they are needed like your legs. Especially when you are cycling or running. The best way to get them stronger and work more efficiently is to strength train them. 

While strength training, you work against a resistance (or weights) by lifting and lowering the weight. When you get stronger, you can increase the resistance. Similarly, to train your inspiratory muscles you can make it harder to breathe in and out. 

That is the rationale for training your breathing muscles by doing exercises with a "Power Lung" device that makes it harder to inhale and exhale. Numerous studies have investigated whether inspiratory muscle training can make one faster in sports like running, cycling and swimming. Especially swimming since you have limited time with your head above water which makes breathing even more difficult. 

Illidi and colleagues (2023) concluded that respiratory muscle training can improve the strength and endurance of respiratory muscles and that it can improve performance in athletes.

Picture from RJ McNichols from Twitter

Not so for nasal dilators made popular by Galen Rupp (pictured above) who used to train with Alberto Salazar. This looks like a small plaster or band-aid across the nose. Remember them? I've definitely raced in them before after getting some to try in a race goodie bag, but felt no difference.

The goal is to keep your nasal passages open and make breathing easier. They are even advertised to help snoring and sleep apnea. Plenty of research concludes that they do help you breathe better but find no benefits in heart rate, lactate, oxygen consumption and recovery.

How about nasal breathing (or just breathing in and out through your nose)? Evidence suggest breathing through your nose only generates higher levels of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide helps dilate bood vessels and potentially helps keep your airways relaxed and open. Easier said than done since it is extremely difficult to breathe through your nose during intense exercise. 

During a hard interval session or ride when my friends are trying to drop me on a climb especially, you will experience the unacceptable sensation of air hunger if you can't use both you nose and mouth to breathe. To help conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is one thing, for endurance athletes while racing and pushing their breathing systems to its limits - nah, I personally don't think so.

Canned oxygen? Maybe if you plan on climbing Everest or K2. All these and more discussed by Illidi et al (2023) referenced below. There's plenty of pseudoscience to help you breathe better in the flourishing wellness and fitness industry currently and I hope that this post helps to clear things. 

As for me, I'll stick to practicing diaphramatic breathing with a straw to strengthen my inspiratory muscles since I do not have access to a Power Lung now. Start with a bubble tea straw if you find a normal straw too difficult.

Reference

Illidi CR, Romer LM, Johnson MA et al (2023). Distinguishing Science From Pseudoscience In Commercial Respiratory Interventions: An Evidenced Basd Guide For Health And Science Professionals. Eur J Appl Physiol. 123: 1599-1625. DOI: 10.1007/s00421-023-05166-8

Laughter Is The Best Medicine?

Have a look at pages 10-11 in today's Mind Your Body section of the Straits Times and you will see our staff being quoted as being a skeptic when asked if laughter yoga can help with improving your aerobic fitness.

Can laughing yoga really improve your aerobic fitness? Please read on to find out. It's posted in our other blog.