Breathing: (“The Oxygen Advantage“)
- Exercise lowers oxygen (hypoxia) and increases CO2 (hypercapnia).
- Oxygen needs to supplied (by breathing in).
- CO2 needs to be removed (by breathing out).
- The level of CO2 in your body drives both the intake and uptake of oxygen.
- You are triggered to breathe when the brain senses there is too much CO2 (oxygen intake) .
- Oxygen is released (from the bloodstream) to be used (by muscles) when there is sufficient CO2 (oxygen uptake).
- To maintain performance, train your ability to handle low oxygen and high CO2.
- Don’t get comfortable with low levels of CO2.
- Some types of breathing cause release of too much CO2.
- Examples: heavy breathing, mouth breathing, upper-chest breathing.
- You’re less likely to be able to handle slight increases in CO2.
- Slightest increase causes more heavy breathing, more loss of CO2, etc.
- Try instead: regular, nose abdominal breathing.
- No: heavy, mouth upper-chest breathing.
- Train yourself to get used to higher levels of CO2.
- Breath-hold exercises help you to get used a build-up of CO2 in your body.
- Train yourself to get used to lower levels of oxygen.
- Breath-hold exercises and simulated altitude training help you to get used to lower oxygen levels.
- Both help increases EPO (red blood cells in bone marrow).
- Also helps to increase release of red blood cells from spleen.
- Don’t get comfortable with low levels of CO2.
- Additional benefits nose breathing: nitric oxide.
- Nose breathing moves nitric oxide nose to lungs.
- Does not happen with mouth breathing.
- Nitric oxide helps to relax blood vessels, improves blood flow and lowers blood pressure.
- Nose breathing moves nitric oxide nose to lungs.
Breath-hold exercises:
Nose unblocking exercise:
- Small nose breath, in and out.
- Pinch nose.
- Hold breath and walk as long as possible.
- Resume breathing through nose.
- Repeat after two minutes.
- Repeat six times.
Improving your BOLT score:
- The body oxygen level test (BOLT), the length of time you can comfortably hold your breath (without “pushing it”), measures the match between your body’s breathing volume and metabolic activity.
- When your breathing volume matches the amount of CO2 produced, it is easier to exercise at a higher intensity level. A score of 30 seconds or higher indicates a reasonable match.
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