Power Breathe

[rob f]

This is supposed to enhance performance. It looks good, what do you think?

[mharky]

I'm hungry

[bendover]

It looks good, what do you think?

aesthetically?

[mharky]

im sure if you search the internet you could probably find scientific research papers, which would probably provide a far more valid opinion than mine.

[harry]

i read about these a couple of years ago and thought gee whizz. (sorry- wanted to use gee whzz) but now i'm not so sure because isn't the main limiting factor in healthy athletes at muscle level eg. o2 uptake & use in the muscles rather than volume of air breathed in and out?

So you need to do lots of training to increase muscle perfusion, myocyte mitochondria etc before you think about increasing other physiological parameters.

there are no shortcuts.

there are some basic things in my life i can improve right now to be more of an orienteering machine before i start breathing into a tube or taking supplements for that extra edge!

[Guest]

i read about these a couple of years ago and thought gee whizz. (sorry- wanted to use gee whzz) but now i'm not so sure because isn't the main limiting factor in healthy athletes at muscle level eg. o2 uptake & use in the muscles rather than volume of air breathed in and out?

So you need to do lots of training to increase muscle perfusion, myocyte mitochondria etc before you think about increasing other physiological parameters.

there are no shortcuts.

there are some basic things in my life i can improve right now to be more of an orienteering machine before i start breathing into a tube or taking supplements for that extra edge!

Harry thanks for the first constructive comment. The reason he required some feed back is that he is asthmatic and his lung capacity is 165 whatevers below average on the peek flo thingyme. Thus he'd looked at the web site not for peak performance but probably the fitness improvement model but at £50 a shot wanted to find out if anyone new anything about them or had any experience. We will ask the asthma nurse at next appointment but it's always good to get several viewpoints, excluding the 'stupid'ones


Hocolite

[harry]

ok - it seems this could be a case where lung capacity is the limiting factor rather than the muscle level. Also the case with smokers. Definitely worth a bit of further research with specialists etc.

Btw going back to the Drugs information posted on the news section last week, start squad members are "level 4" and also may be drugs tested with their parents permission. So may need to obtain a TUE for his asthma medication. Contact Robin Field at BOF.

Interestingly.. prevalance of asthma is about 17% in general population and 45% in elite athletes.

[bendover]

here's a constructive comment. my mum had some lung problems after an accident a few years back. basically she had breathing problems whilst running. she what looks like a stripped down version of the device that robert has highlighted, and was told to use it twice daily doing 'intervals'. it seemed to work pretty well as a muscular training device. not being a medical expert i'm not sure whether an asthmatic would benefit from muscular training of the lungs - isn't asthma to do with fluid (i'm probably way off the mark...). my mum had a specific muscular weakness which the device helped to resolve.

however every little bit helps and if you're striving for excellence then why not give it a try. what might be more constructive would be to practise running and breathing at a level pace? - e.g in training, concentrate on a regular, consistent breathing pattern, and try to use strong psychology to resist the excitement levels generated by adrenaline/competition that can disrupt a breathing pattern while running.

what do other people think? (as before, i can't say my idea is particularly grounded in science...)

[Ernie_Wise]

isn't asthma to do with fluid (i'm probably way off the mark...).

As an asthmatic myself this is what I understand about the condition. During exercise an asthmatics body will release a chemical which contracts the airways making them smaller, so therefore you're unable to breath in as much air as a normal person. It's like drinking from a straw except an asthmatics straw is not as wide. (correct me if i'm wrong on this)

With respect to the breathing device I've heard about them but never used one. It is possible to 'grow out' or in a way overcome asthma by using breathing techniques. I myself got pissed off with the medication and threw it all away several years ago (I really would not recommend this as it's quite dangerous), since then I’ve carefully regulated my breathing during exercise to avoid asthma attacks. I suppose I’ve done what the device aims to do but naturally. I suspect it restricts air flow (I’ve only glanced over the advert) in an effort to make you work harder, and results in an increased muscle efficiency.

I seem to remember GG may know a bit more about overcoming asthma.

[mharky]

If ones breathing problem is caused by chemicals being released causing the airway the reduce in size then there is nothing power breath can do about that i would imagine.

[Becks]

Ermmm...nobody really knows what causes asthma. Chemicals released by the body are almost definitely involved, fluid accumulation is almost definitely involved, and there may even be an immune component. The problem is that it's harder to exhale rather than inhale as somebody suggested. Haven't looked at this thing but if you think it might help Rob, then suggest it to your GP or asthma specialist if you have one.

[gg]

yeah

i used to carry an inhaler around all the time
i just grew out of it, basically the fitter i got the better it got
partly about lifestyle etc... i think
not sure this thingy will help

[harry]

it's quite common for childhood asthma to clear up in adulthood. according to Brian Koo-Chang who is doing his PhD on asthma. and has a cool name.

[helen]

i suffer from asthma too, mine seems to be mainly set off by the cold, no idea why. my gp has played around with my medication a lot over the years but i finally seem to have found a preventer that works.
i was thinking the same as rob about the power breathe, at £50 i'd have to be fairly confident that it would help. has anyone actually used one of these things?

[Toni]

I did some research into it because my dad has asthma and got chatting to one of the guys who was researching it here at Loughborough - he sent me through a load of papers which basically indicate that elite athletes also benefit from using it. And as for the comment 'you get nothing easily' - if you have used one of these you will realise that it isn't exactly easy!