Archives of Breathing Fatigue

Breathing & Running

The ultimate guide to Breathing & Running (15 mins)  Up to 40% of runners experience shortness of breath which limits their performance while running. As breathing science continues to gain popularity, this has led to recent advancements in our knowledge of using different techniques to improve performance and make breathing easier. This short read provides […]

What signals the body to breathe?

Breathing is a fundamental process that keeps us alive. Our bodies require oxygen (O2) to produce energy, and as a result of this energy production, carbon dioxide (CO2) is produced as a “waste product”. This intricate exchange between oxygen and carbon dioxide drives the functioning of our cells. The amount of CO2 in our bloodstream […]

How to breathe underwater – A definitive guide

How do we breathe when we’re underwater? Does it matter how we breathe? let’s find out if it matters!   I recently had a SCUBA and free-diving holiday on a liveaboard in Komoda National Park, Indonesia. It made me think critically about what exactly happens to the breath and our body when we are breathing using […]

How Breath training makes you swim faster

How Breath training makes you swim faster….. Research in the field of breath training for sports improvement dates back a number of years from the pioneers in the 1960s with Campbell & Howell, who before ethics committees existed, use to knock themselves out with anaesthetic and look at the mediating factors for shortness of breath. […]

Why do we go to the gym?

There are many reasons we see patients, athletes and everyday people going to the gym. The health benefits have been well documented but here are a few reasons we might not think of straight away. Strong Bones – going to the gym maintains the strength of your bones. This becomes particularly important for elderly females […]

Some FAQs about the breath, whats yours?

I have compiled a list of the 5 most common questions I get about the breath from my friends, colleagues, patients and athletes. If you have one, please send it through. 1. Do we take breathing for granted? Is it something we should be devoting more attention towards?   Its useful  to think of our […]

Why the breath improves performance

There are a few key drivers for improved performance using Fletcher techniques, here we look at the how breath training increases the blood flow delivery to the exercising muscles during training and competition. The breathing muscles demand a high percentage of cardiac output approaching maximal exercise, this has been measured to be approx 10% of […]

Chris Froome, Asthmatic or Drug cheat?

Some sports have a cloud of scandals that follow them around, and none more so than elite cycling. The drug scandals that tarnish this sport have ramped up, recently targeting respiratory inhalers that are used to manage asthma, a condition which, interestingly, affects a higher percentage of athletes than it does of the normal population. […]

Breathing muscle fatigue Part 2

Our last post discussed breathing muscle fatigue and its effect on performance. We know these muscles can get fatigued, and this post will investigate the effects on the exercising muscles when this happens. Before we get into the practical application, the reasons we focus on the fatigue of the breathing muscles are: FACT CHECK When […]

Breathing Muscle Fatigue Part 1

Is breathing fatigue really a thing? The breathing muscles, like the heart, must work continuously with little opportunity to rest, and guess what? They do get TIRED!! There is clear evidence to support breathing muscle fatigue, I have discussed some of this evidence in previous posts and I will continue to do so as I […]