The Oxygen Advantage: The Simple, Scientifically Proven Breathing Techniques for a Healthier, Slimmer, Faster, and Fitter You

by Patrick McKeown

an increase in carbon dioxide decreases blood pH and causes oxygen to be offloaded from hemoglobin to the tissues, further reducing blood oxygen saturation.

Holding the breath on the exhale also capitalizes on the benefits of nitric oxide by carrying the gas into the lungs rather than expelling it. By exhaling and holding the breath, nitric oxide is able to pool in the nasal cavity so that when breathing resumes, air laden with nitric oxide is inhaled into the lungs.

As we have seen, erythropoietin, often known as EPO, is a hormone secreted by the kidneys in response to reduced oxygen levels in the blood. One of the functions of EPO is stimulating the maturation of red blood cells in the bone marrow, thereby increasing oxygen delivery to muscles. Breath holding is an effective way of stimulating the release of EPO, allowing you to fuel your blood with increased levels of oxygen and enhance your sports performance. The concentration of EPO can increase by as much as 24 percent when the body is subjected to lower oxygen levels using breath-hold exercises.

A strong air shortage during physical exercise is more suitable for athletes with a BOLT score of longer than 20 seconds. When your BOLT score is shorter than 20 seconds, you must be careful not to hold the breath for too long as it can cause a loss of control of your breathing. It is important that you are always able to resume calm breathing following a breath hold. The shorter the BOLT score, the easier it is to lose control of your breathing.

The respiratory center is located in the brainstem and continuously monitors blood oxygen, carbon dioxide, and blood pH, using this information to control the amount of air taken into the body.

You can experience this by simply holding your breath until you feel a strong need to breathe. At first you will feel an isolated spasm of the diaphragm, but this will soon be followed by more intense and quicker spasms as the body attempts to resume breathing. In essence, holding the breath until a medium to

strong need for air mobilizes the diaphragm, provides it with a workout and helps to strengthen it.

Studies with athletes have demonstrated that breath

holding after an exhalation deliberately exposes the body to higher levels of acidity, thereby improving tolerance and delaying the onset of fatigue during competition.

countless studies have shown that taking the alkaline agent bicarbonate of soda reduces acidity in the blood to improve endurance. Who would have thought that a cooking ingredient found in almost every kitchen cupboard in the Western world could also improve sports performance? Not only that, but it is a very helpful tool to reduce your breathing volume and increase your BOLT score.

baking soda, bread soda, or cooking soda.

bicarbonate of soda helps to maintain pH of the blood, and it’s also the active ingredient in a number of over-the-counter antacid medications.

During high-intensity training, the availability of oxygen for working muscles decreases, which causes an accumulation of acid, leading to muscle fatigue. By ingesting bicarbonate of soda, you can help to maintain normal blood pH by decreasing lactic acid buildup during anaerobic exercise. This alkaline soda neutralizes the acid that accumulates during high-intensity training, resulting in greater endurance and power output.

The ingestion of bicarbonate of soda prior to the practice of breath-hold exercises has been shown to increase maximum breath-hold time by up to 8.6 percent.

I find the following recipe beneficial for improving breathing habits and increasing breath-hold time, and I use it quite often. Try it and take note of its effects on your exercise performance.

You can take bicarbonate of soda an hour or so before training. When you are used to taking it before training, you may also wish to do so before a competition.

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (also known as baking soda or bread soda) 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1. Put the bicarbonate of soda in a glass. 2. Add the apple cider vinegar and stir for about 1 minute, or until the soda is thoroughly dissolved. 3. Drink the mixture. It will taste a little acidic.

The color of your urine will allow you to determine when you are adequately hydrated; drink enough plain water to ensure it is not too dark, but don’t drink so much that your urine is completely clear throughout the day. Drinking too much water is probably just as bad for you as drinking too little.

As discussed earlier, the loss of carbon dioxide causes blood vessels to narrow and red blood cells to cling on to the oxygen they carry, resulting in reduced oxygenation of tissues and organs. Ironically, as the body breathes more intensely in an effort to take in more oxygen, less is delivered.

breathing through the mouth can lead to dehydration, as considerable moisture is expended.

Another factor is that during exhalation, mouth breathing is completely ineffective in retaining moisture.

resulting in dryness of the lips, mouth, and throat.

Other symptoms arising from dehydration include headache, fatigue, and dizziness,

Finally, inhaling cold, dry air through the mouth can cause the airways to narrow. As the airways constrict, the feeling is similar to breathing through a narrow straw, and the result is often to breathe harder and faster to compensate for the restricted airflow. This is a common occurrence experienced by individuals with asthma and can cause even greater dehydration and

cooling of the airways, which may lead to even greater respiratory problems.

Normal oxygen saturation at sea level varies between 95 and 99 percent (as we have seen), while the benefits from breath holding occur when the SpO2 level is dropped to below 94 percent.

also best to practice breathing exercises on an empty stomach.

but the benefit of the exercise would be much reduced as the process of digestion increases breathing.

• Walk and hold: After a minute of continuous walking, gently exhale and pinch your nose to hold your breath. If you feel uncomfortable pinching your nose while walking in public, you can simply hold your breath without holding your nose. Continue to walk while holding your breath until you feel a medium to strong

air shortage. Release your nose, inhale through it, and minimize your breathing by taking very short breaths for about 15 seconds. Then allow your breathing to return to normal. • Continue walking for 30 seconds and repeat: Continue walking for around 30 seconds while breathing through your nose, then gently exhale and pinch your nose with your fingers. Walk while holding the breath until you feel a medium to strong hunger for air. Release your nose and minimize your breathing by taking short breaths in and out through your nose for about 15 seconds. Then allow your breathing to revert to normal. • Repeat breath holds 8 to 10 times: While continuing to walk, perform a breath hold every minute or so in order to create a medium to strong need for air. Minimize your breathing for 15 seconds following each breath hold. Repeat for a total of 8 to 10 breath holds during your walk.

During the longer breath holds, as you feel your breathing muscles spasm, focus on relaxing your body. Allow your muscles to go soft as you hold your breath. Relaxing the body in this way allows a longer breath hold with less stress.

you will find yourself being able to hold your breath for 80 to 100 paces. Your

Here is a breath-hold exercise to try while jogging or running:

Run and hold: Ten to fifteen minutes into your run, when your body has warmed up and is sweating, gently exhale and hold your breath until you experience a medium to strong air shortage. The length of the breath hold may range from 10 to 40 paces and will depend on your running speed and BOLT score. • Break for 1 minute and repeat: Following the breath hold, continue to jog or run with nasal breathing for about 1 minute, until your breathing has partially recovered. • Repeat breath holds 8 to 10 times: Repeat the breath hold 8 to 10 times during your run, followed each time by a minute of nasal breathing. The breath holds should be challenging but should also allow breathing to recover to normal within a couple of breaths. If you find this exercise in any way stressful, or have difficulty recovering your breathing after a breath hold, then refrain from doing the exercise until your BOLT score has increased to at least 20 seconds.

bicycle: • After your body has warmed up, exhale and hold your breath for 5 to 15 pedal rotations. • Resume nasal breathing while continuing to cycle for about 1 minute. • Repeat this exercise 8 to 10 times throughout your ride.

To receive any benefit from hypoxic (reduced oxygen) training, oxygen saturation levels must drop below 94 percent (and ideally to below 90 percent). The

Lowering oxygen saturation below 90 percent for a duration of 1 to 2 minutes can significantly increase the production of EPO, and this can easily be achieved by using this exercise.

This exercise is only suitable for those who have good physical fitness, perfect health, a BOLT score of longer than 30 seconds, and are accustomed to performing intense physical exercise.

This advanced exercise aims to readjust the composition of your blood and alter levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide. After months of experimenting, I have developed this exercise to lower the oxygen saturation of arterial blood and to maintain this decrease over a number of seconds. I have practiced this exercise hundreds of times and include the following guidelines to help you to perform it correctly and to be aware of potential side effects:

To regulate the decrease in oxygen saturation to below 94 percent and to ensure that it does not go below 80 percent, it is important to use a higher-quality pulse oximeter during this exercise.

This exercise should be practiced on a relatively empty stomach, at least three hours after eating. • The first breath hold is between 40 and 60 paces, or until you feel a medium to strong need for air. • After the first breath hold, subsequent holds are performed every 5 to 10 paces.

Following each breath hold, either exhale through your nose or take a sip of air in through your nose before the next breath hold.

A “sip of air” means taking a tiny breath in, the purpose of which is to relieve tension rather than take in air. It is about 10 percent of a normal breath. • Contractions of the diaphragm will strengthen as the air shortage progresses. Try to bring a feeling of relaxation to your body as the air shortage increases. • With each successive breath hold, oxygen saturation will continue to decrease. • Continue to observe the pulse oximeter, ensuring that you do not go below 80 percent SpO2. • Challenge but do not stress yourself. • If the air shortage is too great, take a slightly larger breath and continue to relax. • Perform this exercise for 1 to 2 minutes.

The objective of the exercise is to generate a reasonably strong air shortage in order to lower oxygen saturation and to maintain it at a lower level for a period of between 30 seconds and 2 minutes.

it is not advisable or even necessary to lower your oxygen saturation below 80 percent.

Maintaining an oxygen saturation of less than 91 percent for approximately 24 seconds can result in an increase of EPO of up to 24 percent, while maintaining this saturation for 136 seconds c...

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