Be faster, fitter and healthier

What part can conscious breathing play in your training?

Speed, endurance and technique need coordinated training. Breathing also deserves a regular place in it.

From Japanese traditions through Wim Hof to the BOLT test, these examples open up different ways to connect breathing, attention and physical effort more consciously.

Many athletes fail to reach peak form because they make a fundamental mistake: they train only the body and forget the lungs, which play a major role in physical condition. Breathing work can support relaxation, body awareness and training. For people with respiratory conditions, individually adapted exercises can also form part of treatment. Our website is for people who love sport, enjoy caring for their health and want exceptional fitness to distinguish them from other athletes. That is why we place such emphasis on breathing exercises: we already know how useful and important they are.

Examples that encourage us

• Conscious nasal breathing has a traditional place in Japanese martial arts. Strength and concentration are trained as connected abilities.
• The US Navy SEALs use breathing exercises to maintain physical condition and withstand difficult conditions and demands.
• Wim Hof became known through extraordinary achievements in cold and strenuous conditions. His method combines breathing, concentration and cold exposure, and has prompted scientific studies of physical stress responses.
• The 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine honoured the discovery of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability. It demonstrates this field’s fundamental importance to understanding the body.
• Countries with a deep understanding of breathing’s importance practise Qi Gong, a series of health-supporting exercises using nasal and diaphragmatic breathing.

How should I begin?

1

First get to know your starting point. In the Oxygen Advantage approach, the BOLT score indicates when the first clear urge to breathe occurs after a normal exhalation. Find instructions here:

Stay healthy and fit

2

Different breathing methods serve different aims. Begin by learning one sequence and give it a fixed place in your day, for example a quiet minute in the morning. Regularity turns one exercise into a habit.

Navy SEALs method — Navy SEALs method

Wim Hof Method — Wim Hof Method

Zen method — Zen method

1:4:2 method — 1:4:2 method

3

Observe your own progression. When measuring BOLT again, use the same conditions and always end the pause at the first clear urge to breathe.

4

Keep going and let your experience encourage you. Meditation and yoga can be further elements. Cold exposure, such as winter bathing, is learnt as a separate practice with appropriate preparation.