About 3 weeks ago, I purchased the PowerBreathe gadget. I opted for the Ironman Plus Heavy Resistance model. There was also an Irongirl version that came in a pretty pink, but it was sold out. :(
The Ironman Plus series is targeted at serious athletes (as opposed to the medical and wellness series). Some of the beneficiary sports that caught my attention were triathlons, and high altitude training. What it does is to train our diaghram muscles and engage them for more efficient breathing.
The PowerBreathe has a resistance dial of 0 - 10. You should start at 0 and slowly work your way up. Each exercise involved taking 30 deep breaths (at reasonable speed and effort), twice a day (morning and night). When you feel that the exercise became easier, you turn the dial half-round and increase the breathing resistance.
It was a very interesting exercise. Over the past 3 weeks, I had gone from 0 to 3 on the dial. Initially, it was very difficult to complete 30 breaths. The first time I fixed the gadget and tried, I could only manage 6 breaths. Then I realised there was a way to inhale deeply, until there was a 'click' sound, which meant the diaphragm had 'moved'. That was when I noticed that I could get more air into my system. It was a way to build lung capacity.
I have yet to test or verify the effectiveness of the PowerBreathe training on sports performance. In general though, I could feel that each breath was fuller and that I could suck in more air if I wanted to.
To be continued.... :)
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