Breath holding for increased lung capacity

BobTbay

BobTbay

Mr. Nice Guy
Trusted Member
I was a chainsmoker for 15 years, and would like to increase/improve my lung capacity, COPD sounds like a terrible way to die.
I can't really do heavy cardio as a paraplegic, with no leg muscles, but I recently read this article.
betterme.world

Benefits Of Holding Your Breath: How Can It Affect Your Body?

Breathing is vital, but what about holding your breath? Read on about the ★ BENEFITS OF HOLDING YOUR BREATH, ➤ how to do it properly, and what are its risks.
betterme.world betterme.world

static apnea I could do. Anyone have thoughts or experience?
 
BobTbay said:
I was a chainsmoker for 15 years, and would like to increase/improve my lung capacity, COPD sounds like a terrible way to die.
I can't really do heavy cardio as a paraplegic, with no leg muscles, but I recently read this article.
betterme.world

Benefits Of Holding Your Breath: How Can It Affect Your Body?

Breathing is vital, but what about holding your breath? Read on about the ★ BENEFITS OF HOLDING YOUR BREATH, ➤ how to do it properly, and what are its risks.
betterme.world betterme.world

static apnea I could do. Anyone have thoughts or experience?
Click to expand...
Never heard of holding your breath being of benefit other than for people who have panic attacks and just for short periods. Just a practice of counting your time breathing in, holding it, and then out. I have always read about the benefits of stomach breathing and get more oxygen. I dated a lady who taught yoga and she always preached the importance of deep breathing and in particular 'stomach breathing'.

I can calm myself pretty easily and put myself to sleep with deep breathing, feels like a sort of meditation as I'm concentrating on my breath and not all the other shit in the world.
 
I know that inhaling speeds up your heart stimulating your sympathetic nervous system and exhaling slows your heart and stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system so on that note and breathing where you exhale more then inhale will help to come you but that's cool to read about holding your breath. I want to look into it more too sounds neat
 
Very interesting stuff indeed.

I heard people can go a lot more than they think when they hold their breaths under water. It is a mental barrier I think. I can’t remeber fully but I heard it from a JRE episode.
 
entropy said:
Very interesting stuff indeed.

I heard people can go a lot more than they think when they hold their breaths under water. It is a mental barrier I think. I can’t remeber fully but I heard it from a JRE episode.
Click to expand...
Did a little research on that, Yes and no, It's called the mammalian diving reflex, and occurs in all air breathing mammals when you submerge the face in cold water, it's not psychological, it's physiological, your heart rate slows and your metabolism slows down too.
 
So, I started doing breatholding sessions for the past six weeks, I do five times in a row with a break in between each attempt every day, I didn't record it but I started about ninety seconds I think, if I remember correctly and my times have steadily gotten better. I have noticed that my times are a lot better lying in bed than sitting up in my wheelchair.

Just this evening I set a personal best of three minutes and 48 hundredths of a second.
 
BobTbay said:
I was a chainsmoker for 15 years, and would like to increase/improve my lung capacity, COPD sounds like a terrible way to die.
I can't really do heavy cardio as a paraplegic, with no leg muscles, but I recently read this article.
betterme.world

Benefits Of Holding Your Breath: How Can It Affect Your Body?

Breathing is vital, but what about holding your breath? Read on about the ★ BENEFITS OF HOLDING YOUR BREATH, ➤ how to do it properly, and what are its risks.
betterme.world betterme.world

static apnea I could do. Anyone have thoughts or experience?
Click to expand...
Off topic but NAC should help repair some of the damage in your lungs. As well as astragalus. I have also heard that honeycomb works, but I doubt you will find much info on it
 
My breath capacity many years ago was very low. I was on tools as a welder millwright iron worker and never wore a respirator.
I got into senior management and started taking steps to clean my lungs. Stopped smoking etc. Lung exercise and cardio in form of hiking and short sprints.
It got better over time.
Biggest thing I did was fill lungs up full, then huff in three more times to get a wee bit more. Daily over a long period.
I got breathing test done on Friday and I am at 100% lung function and capacity.
Quit smoking a couple years ago as well.
Keep us in the loop on how you progress
 
I made it to 5 minutes two or three times now.

I had to change up my routine to do it, I started by just holding my breath for as long as I could for five times with inconsistent breaks, but I found that too mentally stressful, plus my breaks between holds got longer and longer.

So now I do ten deep breaths, then hold for three minutes twenty seconds, then take a timed five minute break, then repeat three more times.
Then I do a fifteen minute mindfulness meditation, then I do twenty deep breaths and a longer breathhold, If I’m feeling weak I just do four minutes, if I’m feeling stronger I do longer, and this way I’ve managed to get to the five full minutes.

Two and a half to three minutes in I start having lung spasms, and by four minutes or so I start to get that panicky feeling of my brain freaking out.

I started doing this to increase lung capacity, but I now find it rewarding to start my day doing something difficult.

It’s all a mental game.

I think it’s callusing the mind.
 
BobTbay said:
I made it to 5 minutes two or three times now.

I had to change up my routine to do it, I started by just holding my breath for as long as I could for five times with inconsistent breaks, but I found that too mentally stressful, plus my breaks between holds got longer and longer.

So now I do ten deep breaths, then hold for three minutes twenty seconds, then take a timed five minute break, then repeat three more times.
Then I do a fifteen minute mindfulness meditation, then I do twenty deep breaths and a longer breathhold, If I’m feeling weak I just do four minutes, if I’m feeling stronger I do longer, and this way I’ve managed to get to the five full minutes.

Two and a half to three minutes in I start having lung spasms, and by four minutes or so I start to get that panicky feeling of my brain freaking out.

I started doing this to increase lung capacity, but I now find it rewarding to start my day doing something difficult.

It’s all a mental game.

I think it’s callusing the mind.
Click to expand...
Exhaling a little bit of air slightly when you feel your lungs start to spasm will buy you more time too.
 
BobTbay said:
I was a chainsmoker for 15 years, and would like to increase/improve my lung capacity, COPD sounds like a terrible way to die.
I can't really do heavy cardio as a paraplegic, with no leg muscles, but I recently read this article.
betterme.world

Benefits Of Holding Your Breath: How Can It Affect Your Body?

Breathing is vital, but what about holding your breath? Read on about the ★ BENEFITS OF HOLDING YOUR BREATH, ➤ how to do it properly, and what are its risks.
betterme.world betterme.world

static apnea I could do. Anyone have thoughts or experience?
Click to expand...
I did something similar with swimming. The gym I trained at the time had a mini pool. I’d swim 2 laps back and forth as fast as possible, and one lap holding my breath. It murdered me at first, but eventually I got up to 3 laps back and forth while holding my breath. My lung capacity increased quickly. I’m not sure your fitness level, or how comfortable you are with water being paraplegic. But the stroke and front crawl can be done fairly easily without leg movements; and it’s great cardio.
 
Well, my PR is now up to 5min45seconds

It's psychologically difficult holding my breath that long. It's even difficult just to attempt a new PR now. Most days I just do a few 3 and a half minutes and then a four minute or so to go through the motions,

It's not like I'm about to pass out at the end, it's just that my mind is screaming at me to take a damned breath.
 
BobTbay said:
Well, my PR is now up to 5min45seconds

It's psychologically difficult holding my breath that long. It's even difficult just to attempt a new PR now. Most days I just do a few 3 and a half minutes and then a four minute or so to go through the motions,

It's not like I'm about to pass out at the end, it's just that my mind is screaming at me to take a damned breath.
Click to expand...
I've been istening to stuff about this lately. That screaming is how well your body can handle co2. Pretty cool stuff amd dam man 5 mins that's impressive
 
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