Practice hypoventilation exercises while walking or running to increase energy and flow.

This Buteyko hypoventilation exercise offers huge benefits as it helps train the body to do more with less. The measurement of the highest oxygen consumption, called VO2 max, is the best gauge of cardiorespiratory fitness. Training the body to breathe less actually increases VO2 max. This profoundly boosts athletic stamina and performance, increases muscle mass, and improves cardiovascular function.

After several weeks of breathing less, athletes’ muscles adapt to tolerate more lactate accumulation. This allows their bodies to pull more energy during states of heavy anaerobic stress, and, as a result, train harder and longer. Hypoventilation training also provides a boost in red blood cells, allowing athletes to carry more oxygen and produce more energy with each breath. Just a few weeks of this technique significantly increases endurance. With training and patience, you can perform your exercise workload with only 14 breaths per minute instead of 47, increase energy, and enhance performance. 

Asthmatics, those with emphysema, and others with chronic respiratory illness, in fact almost anyone, can benefit from breathing this way for even a few minutes a day. This exercise helps you to inhale and exhale in a way that feeds your body just the right amount of air, at just the right time, to perform at peak capacity. It helps us to live longer and healthier lives.

1. Walk or run for a minute or so while breathing normally through the nose.

2. Exhale and pinch the nose closed while keeping the same pace.

3. When you sense a palpable air hunger, release the nose and breathe very gently for 10 to 15 seconds at about half of what feels normal.

4. Return to regular breathing for 30 seconds.

5. Repeat for about ten cycles.