Breathing Trainers

Anyone on here used a breathing trainer such as the Airofit Pro.
As an asthma sufferer and as I seem to have reduced lung capacity following Covid last year I’m thinking of giving it a go.

I have never been convinced that exercising the muscles you breathe with would make much of a difference to a population of regular exercisers.

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What about the devices which limit oxygen intake, to make you more efficient?

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that sort of thing?

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Yes, I was thinking of trying one out at parkrun for a few weeks before a PB attempt!

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I haven’t seen those, do you have a link?

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I say less Oxygen, and that is true, but that’s just because it’s just less air. So not really a true replication of training at altitude. I imagine it’s doing a pretty similar job to the item in the OP…

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Like the Canadian ice hockey team

Yeah looks to be doing the same thing. I think if you’re healthy and doing plenty of exercise, which I would think most of us here do, I can’t see how getting air in and out of our lungs is a performance limiter. I doubt they create a reduced O2 supply the way being or simulating being at altitude does. If they did, wearing them when not exercising would likely be more beneficial.

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The whole message is around increasing lung capacity, which i’m sure it does just fine.

However, as any first year Sports Scientist or Human biologist will tell you, unless there is a commensurate change in all other elements of the system right through to the Mitochondria, you’ll just be breathing in more litres of Oxygen, and breathing it right back out again.

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There was research way back about things like Powerbreathe and how Inhalatory Muscle Training did have an impact on performance

Whether it’s still valid is another thing

Training masks fall into that bracket despite claiming to be altitude trainers

Disappointed so the title thought it was about your running shoes :joy: :joy:

not gimp masks :grin:

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I only skim read a systenatic review and you’re right they found improvements, mostly due to reduced RPE when the mask off. Obviously respiratory muscle function improves and they speculate they might then fatigue more slowly in competition but that was modelled rather than a finding. After rib injury they might be real useful though but not sure in the OP’s case they would help.

But the muscles are really only stressed in the upper ranges and, for those on a diet of No Friels Attached and Naffetone, these could be useful…

I may try one out as my asthma and long covid are dreadfully restrictive on my lungs at the moment…

It may help in these cases but asthma exercises those muscles a fair bit already. My flared lower ribs are testament to that.

that can be uncomfortable…

my lack of training is not exercising anything at present…and my strained breathing is very off putting…

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