Welcome to Episode 4 of the Smooth Start to Fitness series, where we're diving deep—literally—into the breath of the matter. I'm Coach Neil D, and today we're going to explore a game-changing element that's often overlooked in the fitness world: your breath.
You see, a fitness lifestyle isn't just about lifting weights and downing protein shakes. It's also about understanding how your body works, especially as we age. Did you know that your lung capacity starts to decline as you get older? That's right, and it can make your fitness journey feel like you're running uphill—both ways—in the snow.
But don't worry, we've got the science-backed strategies to help you breathe easier and perform better, no matter your age. We'll talk about the role of CO2 tolerance, the pitfalls of poor breath capacity, and introduce you to a technique called box breathing that could revolutionize your workouts.
So, if you've ever started a fitness program with gusto only to find yourself gasping for air and quitting before you see results, this episode is for you. We'll even throw in a free PDF guide to help you master the art of box breathing.
Remember, this podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Always consult a healthcare provider before making any changes to your exercise or health regimen.
So, are you ready to breathe new life into your fitness journey? Let's take a deep breath and dive into this episode of Just Start: Breathing.
Key Topics and Bullets at a Glance:
- Why breath matters in your fitness journey
- The science of CO2 tolerance and its impact on performance
- How to avoid the pitfalls of poor breath capacity
- Mastering the art of box breathing for better stamina and recovery
- The surprising benefits of focusing on your breath, from reducing inflammation to boosting energy
Stay tuned till the end to unlock the secrets to a more effective, more sustainable, and yes, more breathable fitness lifestyle.
- Free PDF guide for safely performing breathing exercise
- Read Breathe: A life In Flow, the incredible journey of one of MMA's greatest legends Rickson Gracie.
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Host [00:00:02]:
Welcome to Just Start, the Generation X Fitness and Lifestyle podcast, helping you train and eat smarter to become stronger and more resilient in the game of life. So get ready to ignite the fire and become your best self. Now, let's start the show.
Hey, I got two questions for you. First, have you ever wanted to have more energy, feel and look fitter? And second, have you ever started a fitness program but stopped short of the results you wanted? Well, if you're over 40 and answered yes to even one of those questions, you are not alone, don't even think of starting a routine again until you've listened to this episode.
When I was a gym owner, I saw a lot of people come in with the best of intentions, begin a great program, yet disappear three to six weeks later. Sometimes sooner, sometimes even much sooner.
Host [00:00:55]:
Fat to muscle ratio wasn't an automatic indicator, neither was motivation because everybody's excited to get going. Literally nobody walks into a gym or starts a program, maybe in your home gym or at the park expecting to leave before 90% of their membership unused or before they have any results, right? And even people who hire personal trainers are not immune to this seemingly inexplicable nutrition. It happens. So why do some people quit before they get results, while others, with perhaps less motivation in worse initial condition, seem more perseverent? They hit their progression targets faster and they unlock greater health and satisfaction in the process. Why you say? Well, before we answer that, first let's agree that living the fitness lifestyle for most people, especially Gen X, is not just pushing iron and guzzling protein smoothies. I mean, that's all good, and that's a big part of my experience, but. Incident to aging, our lung capacity seems to simply decline, making it more difficult to breathe normally during physical activity.
Host [00:02:07]:
And this can make it harder for us to keep up with normal stuff, let alone a fitness plan designed to strengthen you by bringing you out of your comfort zone. And while the thought of practicing something as basic as breathing could seem like a waste of time, the number of people whose poor breath capacity have led them to early fatigue, quitting, and a variety of injuries appears to argue the contrary. And of course, there's always science and I dare say common sense weighing in favor of taking action, improving your breath capacity. The path of a rewarding fitness lifestyle begins well before reaching your ultimate goals. For many, it begins before you pick up a dumbbell or even care why macros are actually important. Now, fortunately, this road travelled becomes so rewarding with each new healthy habit and ritual that even long held onto habits like stress eating, sleeplessness and doom scrolling can actually be replaced by replicable routines, all the while leading you to a greater health, fitness and self mastery. Now, considering we need to get going in order to reap the rewards of a fitness lifestyle, the answer for many people is a pre-training tune up to prime our bodies. To prime the body preparatory to actually increasing physical output so you can cope better with the accompanying additional stressors that can make getting fit feel needlessly less pleasant for many people.
Host [00:03:39]:
So the choice is this push an unprimed body by sheer willpower alone through a chasm of strain that may leave you more overwhelmed than invigorated or prime your body in mind with the first of these five simple steps. Now, I want to warn you, there is nothing fancy here, only sound basics. But I promise you, they are game changers. And here they are, very underwhelming but here they are, number 2, breathing. Number 2 hydration. Number 3 movement. 4, nutrition.
Host [00:04:14]:
And 5, good old R and R, rest and recovery. In today's episode, we will discuss the first of these priming steps, breathing, which we're going to break down into two categories. 1, Breath work and 2, CO2 tolerance. So, breath work in overview and then we're going to get into a little deeper dive into CO2 tolerance. Now, breath work training and training for CO2 tolerance are related, but they're different and are often misunderstood. Breath work training focuses on intentional control and manipulation of the breath. Example, deep breath diaphragmatic breathing.
Host [00:04:57]:
Yoga practitioners may use pranayama type exercises, and there are other techniques with specific purposes like the Wynn HOF method and Holotropic breath Work. This type of training aims to improve your overall respiratory function. It enhances relaxation, helps you to manage stress, and it promotes mental and physical well being with an emphasis on balance between inhaling and exhaling quality, depth, rhythm. CO2 tolerance is often a byproduct of this training, but it's not the primary focus. CO2 training or carbon dioxide tolerance. Training, on the other hand, specifically targets the body's ability to tolerate higher levels of carbon dioxide CO2 in the bloodstream by deliberately exposing ourselves to higher levels of CO2 using breath hold techniques and slow shallow breathing exercises which increase tolerance to higher CO2 levels and improve the physiological adaptations for better insurance performance and other specific purposes. Now, the benefits of CO2 tolerance training include reduced inflammation, management of depression symptoms, increased energy for activity, increased underwater submersion times, and high altitudes sports performance. So while breath work training focuses on overall respiratory function, relaxation, and well being, CO2 or carbon dioxide tolerance training specifically targets the body's ability to tolerate higher levels of CO2.
Host [00:06:37]:
And properly combined, both make for very powerful health and performance boosters, even if you spend most of your time locked in a sedentary routine like many of us do. Okay, as we get into the topic, it's a good thing to note that your muscles use oxygen to produce energy. So more efficient breath increases the volume of oxygen in each breath, which also increases your or enhances your stamina and can delay fatigue and that your respiratory and cardiovascular systems are very connected. So improving your breath work can help regulate your heart rate, reduce strain on the cardiovascular system, and another way, it's simply another way of increasing your stamina. Now, better breathing also helps your body return more rapidly to a relaxed state, which promotes recovery and a more responsive or a more positive response to the training command ensues, which helps increase your overall strength and, of course, your stamina. Now, in this regard, breathing exercises are beneficial beyond just energy and performance because they also activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the part of your nervous system responsible for functions like slowing your heart rate, dilating blood vessels, decreases in pupil size, and relaxing the musculature of the gastrointestinal tract. In other words, the benefits of breath work on your parasympathetic nervous system helps you to chill out.
Host [00:08:09]:
Now, I'd like for a moment to focus on something most people never give a second thought to. It's the improved management of carbon dioxide, aka CO2. And here's why. Active muscles produce CO2 as a waste product, and better breathing helps manage that waste more efficiently, which is where important increases in stamina and performance happen. While I always try and I really want to keep things simple, I think it's worth peering down the rabbit hole a little bit to understand how energy, breath and CO2 are connected. There is a group of processes which, after digestion, generate energy. And these processes collectively are called cellular respiration. Once food is digested or broken down into smaller molecules, notably proteins into amino acids, fats into fatty acids, and carbohydrates into glucose, glycolysis begins as glucose is converted into Pyruvate.
Host [00:09:15]:
Next, the Pyruvate enters the mitochondria, which are the little powerhouse generating cells we have. And a two step process called the Krebs cycle transforms the Pyruvate into energy called adenosine triphosphate, or commonly heard of referred to as ATP, and also a metabolic byproduct called carbon dioxide CO2. Now, the CO2 enters into the bloodstream. It diffuses out of the red blood cells, through the capillary walls, into the alveolar spaces in the lungs, where your exhalations expel the CO2 from your system. Now, we can go deeper, but I think that this is a good depiction of the reasons why there is a lot of value in improving breath function. Two big things here, okay? #1, obvious. If you smoke, stop it now at all costs. Because, like, you're totally on borrowed time, my friends, you are screwing up this process. Just stop. Okay!
Host [00:10:13]:
And number 2, I have great news for you. Especially if you're over 40, beginning breath work right now can seriously improve your lung health and your physical stamina. So when you do begin a fitness routine, or if you're in one right now and you want to love a little bit of extra energy, you want to do more, this is going to help you accomplish that and it might be the difference between you succeeding and you not having the results that you would hope for. So let's get into this. First of all, posture. Posture is the first place that we're going to begin. And I have a little exercise to help you feel the connection between posture and breathing, okay? When you sit upright, you not only promote good muscular, skeletal health, but you're also enhancing your natural ability to breathe deeply, which means your muscles get the oxygen to function correctly that much easier, and you be rewarded with greater endurance, strength and power.
Host [00:11:09]:
Now, here's an easy way to assess the effectiveness of your current breathing from whatever your position is, whether you're slumped over, hunched over, whatever, lying down, standing straight, who knows, whatever. Observe whether you are breathing expansively, meaning as you inhale, your belly, chest, and ribs are expanding on each inhalation. Now sit or stand up straight. Okay? If you are not, I want you to sit up or stand up straight. And now we're going to do that again and I want you to see if there's a difference. Is there a difference? Do you see your belly, your chest, your ribs expanding differently than if you were hunched over? And the first time that you did that is if you were already standing up straight. Sitting up straight. Now I want you to just try slouch over, sort of curl yourself into like a sort of comfortable position, but you're a little bit stuck.
Host [00:11:57]:
Try that again. Is your belly, chest and ribs, are they expanding in the same way as when you are standing straight and tall? Now, as you already may know, breathing through your nose as often as possible has many benefits. Mouth breathing, as benign as it may sounds, has been linked to health issues like sleep apnea, snoring, bloating. But nose breathing, nasal breathing is scientifically shown to increase your lung capacity, to increase endurance and improve a variety of health markers. Okay? Now, if you want to have a bit of fun, observe your breathing from different positions. I'm pretty sure that you're going to conclude that posture does indeed make a difference. And not a small one either. So one of your takeaways, or better yet, your first action item is to eliminate or at least reduce slouching and begin to breathe more expansively.
Host [00:12:47]:
Okay, so I want you to concentrate on getting those good, full, expansive breaths. Okay, we breathe in through the nose, your belly, your ribs, your chest. They should be expanding. And as you breathe out though, that expansion is going to contract. It's going to disappear. As a matter of fact, there are a few exercises that can really help improve your posture and breathing combined, which, by the way, I'm in the process of creating a follow along course. And if you want to join that advanced waiting list, check out the link in the show notes and you might even get a sweet discount to boot. Okay, so to put how energy, oxygen, and CO2 play together into context, when you begin a new training program, your muscles will work harder than usual to cope with your body's increased demand for oxygen.
Host [00:13:33]:
Your breath will generally increase from about 15 breaths a minute in a resting start, which is quite frankly how most people spend their days, to a ramped up 40 to 60 breaths a minute during exercise to be able to handle the increased CO2 levels, aka metabolic waste that are rising in your arterial blood. Okay, so you're going from about twelve liters of air to up to processing about 100 liters of air just to handle the increased CO2 or the metabolic waste that's rising in your blood. Now, as you can imagine, this exponential increase in oxygen demand and the exponential increase in CO2 production alongside other naturally increasing stressors with a new program and adopting new habits can lead to additional real physical and mental exhaustion as you strive to improve your fitness. So you're trying to do something good, but right off the bat, you're experiencing these difficulties and these extra stressors and fatigues that you're not even aware of. You're like, where is this coming from? Right? So it just simply makes the whole experience feel really heavy. We said we would talk a little bit more about CO2 tolerance. Now, to get a feel for where your CO2 tolerance is, you can use a simple breath hold test called the Bolt Test that measures your CO2 tolerance level. I just want to be clear that if you are not completely healthy in any way, don't do this test.
Host [00:14:56]:
Come to think of it, Coach Neal's insurance says that this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and don't do anything unless you have been cleared for training or are in the presence of a cardiologist. Now, assuming you are completely healthy and have been cleared to train inhale and exhale normally through your nose, close your mouth tightly shut, pinch your nose and time your seconds in a breath hold state until you feel the first urgent need to breathe. Okay, so we just inhale and exhale normally, close your mouth tight, have a watch, a clock nearby, pinch your nose and time the seconds in that breath hold state until you feel the first urgent need to breathe. Okay? The longer you can comfortably hold your breath, the better your body's ability to tolerate CO2, which is good, because the higher your CO2 tolerance, the more efficiently your body will use oxygen, which means higher, more sustainable energy levels for you both during exercise and also at rest. Okay? Now, you can't expect long breath holds in the beginning. You can't expect to be doing topping these minute, two minutes, three minutes and more. 30 to 40 seconds would be about average. And if I go back a few years to when I used to do I used to dive, I was a dive master.
Host [00:16:24]:
And one of the typical things that I would see among students who are just learning to dive would be about the average time that somebody could hold their breath underwater was approximately 30 seconds. So if you're into 30 to 40 seconds range, you're about average. But if your score is below 20 seconds, then if you're below 20 seconds and you are somebody who is considered medically healthy, your CO2 tolerance and overall well being could be greatly enhanced by some simple breath work. Now, to add some additional context, let me share some typical Bolt test results of other Gen X athletes in a variety of fitness disciplines, okay? So let's take elite level martial artists, okay? Gen X, always so in your forty S. Fifty S martial artists have been doing this for a long time. Bolt tests for these guys and girls can vary based on their specific discipline and training regimen, of course. However, on average, these guys are going to be in the 60 to 82nd range, okay? Power sport athletes. So we're talking hockey players, golfers, football players, okay? These guys, particularly football, for example, they mainly focus on building strength and explosive power.
Host [00:17:47]:
So the typical Bolt score for a power sports athlete is going to be around 30 to 42nd range. But you got guys that are like, way above that. But let's say typically 30 to 42nd range average, that's about normal. These are guys that are holding a lot of weight. They need a lot of oxygen. They're explosive, explosive power type athletes. 30 to 42nd range. Free divers.
Host [00:18:07]:
These guys are completely different animals, okay? Free divers tend to have a Bolt score due to their specialized training, which includes a lot of breath hold training, a lot of focus. They develop amazing breath control and lung capacity. And these typical Bolt scores for free divers can be well in excess of several minutes. Okay? So at this point, some of you might be saying, yeah, but I'm not a free diver. I don't even like the water. I want to go to the beach, maybe put my feet in. That's it. I just want to look good, okay? I'm not training for the Olympics.
Host [00:18:39]:
I just want to live good, feel good, and live stronger longer. Okay? Now, what if I told you that you could go from below average to good and from average to elite without running, sweating, or grunting, none of which are bad, by the way. It's all good. But it would also help you to stick your fitness routine to help you get back into a fitness lifestyle, get back a lot easier just by prepping your breath work. Okay? I think all of a sudden becomes a little bit more interesting already. Just becoming aware of your breath is good, but adding a go to breathing routine to your repertoire of fitness lifestyle tricks and hacks will actually make a world of difference and prepare you to get more out of your training. Now, I'm going to share one of my favorite techniques with you. It's the one I use most often and that I've taught my kids to help them relax whenever they feel the need, particularly when they're wired and they need to get to sleep.
Host [00:19:34]:
Okay, so this technique is called box breath. It's also known as four x four breathing, four square breathing and square breathing. Box breathing is a specific breath work technique that involves equal durations of inhalation holding the breath exhalation. It's used by special forces operators to stay calm and improve their concentration in extremely tense conditions. And its practice improves lung capacity and CO2 tolerance through the following mechanisms. During box breathing, the slow, deliberate inhales help expand the lungs to their full capacity. So you're improving your lung expansion. By taking slow, deep breath, we engage the diaphragm and other respiratory muscles, allowing for more efficient and complete inhalation.
Host [00:20:26]:
This repeated expansion of the lungs over time will help to improve your overall lung capacity. Another way is by controlling your breath holds. The breath holds in box breathing help increase CO2 tolerance. When we hold our breath, carbon dioxide levels in the body gradually rise. This triggers the body's physiological response to increased tolerance to the presence of CO2. Now, with regular practice, the body becomes more accustomed to the higher levels of CO2, reducing an excessive urge to breathe during physical challenges. So it reduces that urge to pant. Number three better oxygen utilization and efficiency.
Host [00:21:16]:
With box breeding, the intentional focus on a slow, deep breath. It allows for efficient oxygen exchange in the lungs. And this means that more oxygen is absorbed into your bloodstream, leading to improved oxygen utilization efficiency by your body's tissues and cells. Now, when oxygen utilization is optimized, your body is better equipped to produce energy and perform physical activities more efficiently. And last, but definitely not least, is your relaxation response. When we practice box breathing, there is a calming and relaxing effect on the body activating. The parasympathetic nervous system, which, as we said before, but it bears note, helps reduce stress, anxiety, tension, which can affect your breath patterns and respiratory function in a positive way. Just as the result, just as the opposite can happen when we're not able to control our breath by promoting relaxation, box breathing indirectly supports better lung function and carbon dioxide tolerance.
Host [00:22:27]:
CO2 tolerance. So overall, by practicing box breathing on a regular basis, you improve your lung capacity by expanding and strengthening the respiratory muscles. And the controlled breath holds help you to increase your CO2 tolerance, which allows you for better efficiency and oxygen uptake and utilization. This is an incredible combination of benefits that improves not only overall respiratory function, but endurance and physical performance as well. Now, as simple as this may sound, there is a few points that you want to know about. And if you want to try this technique for yourself, I really suggest downloading my free PDF guide, which is going to be available through the Show Notes, with full instructions on how to perform this technique in a safe and secure manner and to really get the most out of it. I really hope that you enjoyed this episode Exploring Breath and that it will add something of great value to your fitness lifestyle. Having been the beneficiary of the many benefits of breath work, including box breathing, I feel that it is one of the most important elements that you can add into a fitness lifestyle, particularly when you're just returning to or wishing to incorporate it into your own repertoire of lifestyle habits.
Host [00:23:44]:
Now, if you know anybody that may benefit from this episode or if you just want to put it out there, feel free to share the episode. If you want to add your thoughts or request a specific topic or just check in, you can join the conversation on our Facebook page and your comments might even get mentioned in an upcoming episode. You won't want to miss out on the next episode of Just Start, because we're going to continue in this ultimate smooth start to a fitness lifestyle for Gen X with a discussion on movement and exactly how to start training. Even if you don't want to go to a gym or if you haven't trained in your life, so make sure you hit subscribe and activate notifications. Don't forget to check out the Show Notes for links to join the conversation, special offers from our sponsors, and of course, the free Box Breathing Guide. The very last information I want you to have is that even small changes can make big difference to your overall strength, health and well being. Until next time, it's your time to just start applying what you've learned, training smarter and eating smarter, getting more out of life. We'll talk soon.
