READ IT. Tried some techniques and got bored.
But, (there’s always a “but”), recent visit with wifes pulmonologist, doesn’t care about methods just git the air in and out. His take on that after 40 years practicing MD. Good enough for me.
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Focus on hitting the power numbers. The rest will follow. Too early to focus on breathing at this point.
Hyperventilation in this context is just the body’s coping mechanism. It’ll get better as you get fitter.
want to comment so badly but will come off as shill. def check out the blog i posted on it if you’re curious if it works. all i’ll say is that i put my word only behind things that work for myself and my athletes. the results are measurable by the device and app so you know if it’s working or not, but anecdotally, you’ll know. it’s crazy but i was a fool at breathing before that thing. didn’t see that coming! good luck if you try it! it’s hard AH
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Thanks Brendan for the blog posts, very helpful. Have you used it with any older (55+) athletes? Tried some diaphragmatic breathing exercises and it seems I’m already breathing that way.
I think also check out just once where @brendanhousler demonstrates the device on his youtube channel (one of the most underrated cycling channels) and you’ll get an inkling of what he means. That device doesn’t have you just doing some yoga breathing or deep breathing exercises. It’s a real workout & it forces hypertrophy in the inspiratory muscles. And I’m not just saying that because I have some intellectual capital tied up in inspiratory training…I’ve actually seen the before/after images so in that respect improvements are tangible.
Does increased inspiratory musculature result in improved rowing/repeated sprint/cycling performance among trained athletes? The answer to that question is a lot more mixed. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But seems like it’s never a negative impact, so why not? But not as your primary training focus. Train first…the evidence that training intervention helps is overwhelming & incontrovertible. Drop weight 2nd…the evidence that lighter bike/rider goes up hill faster is incontrovertible (on this forum we obey the physical laws of the universe!).
After those houses are in order, if you want to do some inspiratory training go for it.
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Here’s an Evoq Bike vid about aerofit…just watch the first 20 seconds to get a feel for the type of work you’ll be doing with this device:
The main point I want to make is that it’s not just some touchy-feely spiritual deep breathing: that thing has you doing work. Don’t just dismiss it out of hand.
I had a lot of collapsed lungs when I was younger & there was a period of follow up doctor’s appointments where my lung capacity was measured. Somewhere I still have the data in my med file. Lung capacity was just kind of flat to a little up every time…then I started playing trumpet in a band at some sports venues…over the next 18 months my lung capacity went up over 60%.
So you can definitely train your lung capacity. It just doesn’t definitely lead to performance improvements among trained athletes.
But, for sure, if you follow airofit training advice you will be TRAINING your breathing! 
hey WW! I do, he’s 59…his vo2max has increased but impossible to break down is that from proper training now, or also airofit? I’d say both, but without a way to 100% prove it, gotta be careful with what we say.
the biggest issue that athletes have with it is committing the 5-15min a day and staying consistent with it. but if you do, it’s awesome
really good outline of the checklist…train, eat right, then ancillary things. also don’t forget to lift weights! and stretch, and yoga! lol ALL the little things
thanks! Appreciate the feedback and I know what you mean about correlating cause and effect. During the summer months I do some breathing exercises to swim longer under water so I think it works, but it could be something else.
I’ve not even done a VO2 Max workout in months! And here I am reading about training to breathe, lol.
Nodding my head, sure it’s only $30 why not?
I can’t figure out the basics between SST v TradBase, Steady State VO2 Intervals v Hard Start, FTP is it really an hour of power or are you some kind of pansy? But you really want to see a grown man cry? Ask me to explain how much Zone 2 is best for Mitochondrial adaptations.
Man this little hobby can make you bat-shit crazy.
Off to watch another video from a freakish athlete with a decade of experience tell me how “Just This ONE Thing!” will make me something I’m not. Ugh.
(still following you nerds in this thread to see how the breathing thing works out).
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I get it but, it’s not really complicated to get 90% of the way. Periodization is not new and hasn’t really changed for a long time. That last 10% IMO is where we geek out. Also, forums are just downright dangerous. Fascinating but dangerous. Guys getting all wrapped around the axel about things that don’t really matter.
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Be nice if you didn’t peer into my very soul, thank you very much.
Yeah it’s all very fascinating. And for simpletons like me even more confusing with so much contradictory “evidence” out there.
Im going for a simpler approach this year, just stick with consistency, simplicity and like Coach Frank says…”Follow The Effing Plan”.
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It’s been many years since I read Joe Friel’s book: “The Cyclist Training Bible” but, I would recommend it to those new to training and cycling. Not sure what your into but, he has a triathlon edition if you’re into that as well. The concepts are proven and sound. What is controversial (IMO) is how people misunderstand power data and especially FTP and really more the purpose of FTP.
Yes to all. Whether it’s a Fascat canned plan, TR plan, or from a coach FTFP is important.
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I went down this road a couple of years ago.
McKeown book: It’s interesting. I think the largest benefit may be from the breathing meditations that you’ll do. The book claims that doing the breath hold exercises will increase your natural levels of EPO. This may be the case but I suspect it’s a very small benefit. From the studies that he talks about, it sounds like his breathing exercises would better help an athlete for super short distance events. The book also goes into the mouth tape thing - I’ve read that this is a gamer changer for many people for sleeping. I never tried it.
Inspiratory breathing exercises: Are these even in the McKeown book? I tried a Powerbreath. It definitely works in the sense that I increased the work I could do with my inspiratory muscles. It was obvious as I was able to significantly up the resistance.
Now, did this make my FTP go up by 10-20%? Definitely NOT. There are studies which indicate a 4% improvement in 40km TT performance. I couldn’t tell if some small sliver of my FTP gains that season were from the Powerbreath.
I wonder about the Expand-A-Lung. The pictures show athletes wearing it while they work out. They even show a swimmer with goggles wearing it. Do they really want one to do that while on a bike or in the pool?? It sounds dangerous. My understanding is that with most of these devices, you do the exercises at home once or twice a day.
File all this stuff under very marginal gains IMO.
I’ve waited a few days before answering and went again through the introductory chapters in the McKeown book. A quick sum up: the CO2 (carbon dioxide) is not just a waste gas released by our body when transforming food into energy, it is a fundamental factor in oxygenating our muscles, thus enabling them to perform under stress. This because CO2 has 3 main benefits:
- it is critical in actually releasing the oxygen from the lungs/blood to the tissues
- it expands the blood vessels
- it regulates blood Ph
So the main take from the book is that maintaining a high percentage of CO2 in our organism really helps with a plethora of things, one of them being sports performance. The way to do so is control your breathing and sort of breath less to breath right.
I’ve started the book and this thread because I’ve noticed a big impairment in my breathing during harder climbs where my panting was really noticeable compared to other (some even less fit cyclists). While I’m still quite cautious and not completely sold on the idea (I really hate the “Amy was struggling to complete the park walk, now she’s crushing local criteriums” examples which abound in the book), the theory makes much sense (to me). I haven’t been able to find any really negative reviews on the scientific approach in the internets.
The idea of not letting go of your CO2 contrasts with some of the thing suggested during the TR workouts, such as “forcefully expel all the the air from your lungs”. This is why I was interested in the opinions on the TR forum. It would be great to have a feedback from the moderators too.
Most of all, I can really see the difference that controlled breathing (for me until now it’s basically only belly breathing, haven’t started the real exercises yet) makes. After my second ramp test and consequential increment of 4% in FTP, I really struggled with the first threshold session, the breathing being completely unruly. I barely finished. In the second one which was tougher and only a week apart (4x10 min threshold around FTP) I was somehow able to control my breathing and breathe through my mouth the whole way. Well, it was another sport and made a bunch of difference, both in numbers and in the overall experience. Again, I’m doing sports since 2 years and before that I was no stranger to alcohol and cigarettes.
So the idea is: I’m aware it will not give me an instant 20% increase in FTP but it seems to be quite advantageous (at least for somebody at my level, I’m 39 yo at 3.5 Kg/w and feeling my main pain point is breathing under elevated stress). The idea that really appeals to me is that I can practice it even off the bike. By ironing out my biggest problem I could take most advantage out of structured training and increase my overall performance. Makes sense?
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One point in the big that stuck out to me is that he often talks about people who go around all day with their mouth open. Maybe these types will notice a larger improvement if they switch to nose breathing all day. Me, I’ve always been a nose breather. When riding around in zone 2, I’ve always naturally breathed through my nose. I only switch to mouth breathing at higher intensities.
I would consider that maybe you are over testing on the ramp test. Ragged breathing at threshold means that you’ve gone over and you are near VO2max.
A relatively short threshold interval should never be hard. If it is you are certainly over threshold.
This is the classic TR over testing syndrome. You over test and then SS workouts become threshold and threshold workouts put you into VO2max territory. By the end of a training block you’ll be cooked.
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There is a less expensive version of the Aerofit that I have been using. Still not sure that I am 100% sold on it because the app that it uses is a bit “wonky” and so far it has not used more than a couple of settings. Apparently it is suppose to adjust workouts after 28 days, mine did not (the wonky part) so I am on the same 28 day block again and hopeful it adjusts this time.
Overall I raced at a fairly high level with really bad breathing technique and an inability to control my breath. Using this tool and combined with consciously belly breathing through my TR workouts I am starting to see a bit more control. For me it is about fighting through those first few moments of a VO2 effort where the discomfort starts and gaining control and then having the ability to maintain control and fight through subsequent moments of the effort.
Does this/will this lead to a higher FTP? To me this isn’t the focus of getting better at breathing. Getting better at breathing is about getting through those really hard moments so maybe I can make a selection in a race that I normally wouldn’t have been able to make, which can be way more impactful to a result than simply a bump in FTP.
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I have an aerofit pro, i like using it. And although i haven’t done a full training cycle yet, i do see some benefits in my breathing.
It makes sense to me that the quick, deeper, harder i can exhale and inhale, the better i will be on the bike.
I’ve seen lots of other devices and apps that are similar to the Aerofit, but that’s like comparing Trainerroad to a set of old school rollers. If you like a dedicated training plan, some data, something to motivate you, then buy the aerofit with the app. Otherwise, use a straw or youtube Wimhoff?!
The Oxygen advantage book has an exercise programme. I’ll go through the book and then decide to proceed with the exercises or not.
Aerofit seems quite an investment.
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Early adopter here of McKeown’s approach. He came at it the same way i did – breathing exercises and especially controlled pauses after exhalation as an alternative therapy for asthma. All based off a Russian geriatric physician Buteyko back in the 70s.
Basic theory kinda boils down to breathing a little less. Close the mouth even while working out, (tape it shut at night if youre a mouth breather). I think the idea is that the body adapts to mild oxygen “hunger” with increased efficiency and improved oxygen uptake. It’s the Bohr Effect, apparently. (Low) Co2 levels are the limiting factor for oxygen uptake, not insufficient air/oxygen. Hyperventilation (over breathing) and the lower Co2 levels, are the problem.
10 years ago i started nose-breathing while working out. At first, i was gasping. Now I do Vo2 intervals nose-breathing only. I ride the Death Ride (at altitude) several times entirely nose breathing. During endurance training i routinely do short breath-holds after exhalation, to simulatie altitude supposedly.
Other mechanisms: biggest benefits from nose breathing may be from the blood vessel dilation caused by increased nitric oxide (concentrated in the nose). also, there’s some science to suggest reduced lactic acid, increased EPO, and what McKeown calls “psychological preparedness”. All matches my experience.
I’m 57. Vo2 over these years increased from like 48 to as high as 56, 57. And being asthma-free for the decade – it’s worth being a little loud (breathing) on the bike.
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