Can We Apply ‘Breathing & Lung Strength’ To Sir Dave Brailsford’s Marginal Gains Theory?
This four week series aims to look at some ‘Secret Gems’ that not only support the mental health of those players and exercise participants you work with in their daily lives but also have a huge effect on their actual performance within a session. They can support those at the very lowest level of participation to move up another level and actually access something that is more structured and tailored around their needs. So far we have strolled through the some Visualisation and relaxation, all based around Sir Dave Brailsford’s Marginal Gains Theory - Improving everything we do by 1% to enable a cumulative effect.
This isn’t just for elite athletes and can be applied in many settings including health and mental well being. So today we focus on Breathing. This one really is about supporting your health as well as improving performance within sports and exercise sessions.
Time to think outside the box again!
In case you have missed the introduction to this theory, this short video Road To Glory is a brilliant way to understand it. The brains behind it is Sir Dave Brailsford, who revolutionised British Cycling. The video talks heavily about focusing on the outcome and not the process. Developing knowledge about everything the sport or exercise requires to perform and then picking it apart and making it happen and continually looking for 1% improvements in any area that you can. That’s where our 4 ‘secret gems’ come in.
Look at each of these four blogs as 3 tiers of a Rainbow Cake! I.E. There is something for everyone, doesn’t matter what level you are at. Each blog will be organised into the following;
Optimum Performance/Professional Sport/National & Above
Those participating at a Club Level, Gym or regular Fitness Sessions
The ‘Wanna Be’s’ and the Home Exercisers Wanting More.
Read though the research and scene setting and then you can skip to whichever area you wish or read them all through. The choice is really yours to digest, enjoy and hopefully try!
This week the focus is on our third ‘Secret Gem’ that could help all participants to engage, access, encourage and aid performance. It’s something we all do and we have touched on it through visualisation and relaxation. So this time we are bringing ‘Breathing’ to life!
Improving our breathing through the use of mechanical aids at the higher end of the scale right down to the lower level plus some complimentary therapies which will showcase some simple breathing techniques. We will be exploring the basics of ‘breathing’, the science behind improving efficiency and strength of our lungs and then the implementation of that strength into daily life and the sport and exercise arena. This has the power to literally change lives.
The British Lung Foundation and Asthma UK work with The We Are Undefeatables Campaign led by Sport England. This aims to support those with long term medical conditions to participate in exercise and sport. The British Lung Foundation report that 1 in 3 people in the UK live with a long term health condition(https://www.blf.org.uk/undefeatable) With COVID-19 looming over our heads and the impact this can have on our breathing it’s the perfect time and opportunity to focus on our lungs!
Complementary Therapies & Breathing Techniques From Asthma UK is an article about two methods of breathing;
1. ‘The Buteyko method aims to reduce asthma symptoms by teaching you how to breathe slowly and gently through your nose rather than your mouth. This keeps the air warm and moist and your airways less sensitive’.
2. ‘The Papworth method teaches you how to breathe using your nose and diaphragm (the muscle under your ribs). It’s taught by physiotherapists and includes relaxation training and how to develop breathing patterns to suit whatever activity you’re doing’.
These are a great way to start for anyone at any level. Something that connects with the relaxation blog. Remember that we are looking for 1% gains and working on these simple techniques could really help with that.
Now the focus is firmly on POWERbreathe which is a breathing trainer with a fantastic reputation for supporting and improving breathing muscles, strength, stamina, endurance and better breath control. The devices work by creating a resistance when you breathe in. The result of continued use is the strengthening of your breathing muscles by working them harder. This is called Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) and can be compared to a resistance machine or weights you would use to strengthen specific muscles only this is for your diaphragm’
This may sound as if it’s for those who at a high level of performance and you would be right but it’s also a great aid for anyone right from those with identified breathing conditions and non exercisers but right up to Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
POWERbreathe is not only about mechanical aids but also about extensive research, understanding, empowering and supporting people to improve their health and well being. There is obviously a cost element here but there is also a lot to learn.
Whatever level is right for you, look at this as an investment for not only your health and well being but the impact in can have on your daily lifestyle. Initially What Happens when you breathe is a great blog post to explain how the breathing system works, the benefits of focusing on our breathing and training it to function at its optimum levels. There is also a handy little video you can watch.
This article about Lung Health is excellent and shows how power breathe really can be used by everyone. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page there is an excellent review from health a professional who contracted COVID and how he not only improved his breathing by using the power breathe, but got some exceptionally high standard customer service and support in purchasing the right trainer for him. This could easily be used as a preventative object or recovery.(Although we take this review at full value, please recognise there is always an element of doubt with such data)
Benefits For Sports & Exercise leads us to many studies showing how performance can be improved in a range of sports. These include the following;
Improved inspiratory muscle strength by 31.2%
Accelerated recovery during repeated sprints by up to 7% (Romer et al., 2002b)
Improved cycling time trial performance by 4.6% – equivalent to slashing 3-minutes off a 40k time trial (Romer et al., 2002a)
Enabled participants to cycle for 33% longer and with lower sense of effort
Improved rowing time trial performance by up to 2.2% – equivalent to slashing 60m in a 2km race (Volianitis et al., 2001)
Increased swimming performance by up to 3.5% (Kilding et al., 2009)
Reduced whole body effort during exercise (Tong et al., 2008)
Warmed-up the breathing muscles & significantly improved rowing performance and reduced breathlessness in competitive rowers – Study 1; Study 2
Warmed-up the breathing muscles which normal warm-up routines fail to do – Study 1; Study 2; Study 3
A staggering amount of research on just one set of aids. This becomes greater with every word we write!. Not only that, but the breathing aids can also have an impact on our ability to be physically active but also for singing and dancing and the Uniformed Services. They last extremely well and if you break the cost down overtime it’s a lot cheaper and better than buying too much chocolate or take aways over lockdown! You need to recognise and understand which level you require. Plus, when you consider the data and level of potential gains that 1% should be easily achievable or if committed and able to apply to the focused sport or exercise there is potential for substantial cumulative effect that is our long term focused goal.
With all devices you can expect to see results within four weeks, which means a level of commitment and then you need to maintain that level of workload and increase the intensity as you go along. All mechanical devices offer 9 levels of resistance and so they last a longer period of time as you will need to be consistent on one level for sometime before moving up a level. Progress all always continue on an upward curve if you continue to utilise the devices as you would any normal training to increase strength and power. Look at it in the same light as increasing the amount of weight you lift on a resistance machine at the gym. You can access a summary of the details of which level to choose here based on the amount of exercise you do currently
Optimum Performance/Professional Sport/National & Above
At the Advanced Level it’s likely if not 100% that some kind of breathing devices are utilised, like athletes training at high altitude for example. This clearly won’t work for everyone and accessibility will be difficult but certainly worth trying this form of ‘training’ as it can help with speed and strength, improve recovery, improve performance in trials and the added bonus is that it’s portable and could have the same type of benefits of ‘altitude training’ but at a much lower cost.
You can browse and purchase here. There is a large range of devices available so here you need to select the advanced level or ideally the K Series which will really support higher level performance levels.
You can get more details and view a helpful chart here. This demonstrates the ability to work those lungs and how it can be compared to normal training intensities. An interesting read and an insight to the fascinating world of training and performing at the highest level of sport.
POWERBreathe point out that;
‘The electronic tapering allows for greater flow and maximum volume. The result is a more fulfilling and effective breath, maximum flow and volume, plus more work per breath than traditional threshold loading devices’ (https://www.powerbreathe.com/product-category/breathing-trainers/).
K-Series Product Information expands on the information above so you gain really get to know about these devices so you can select the one you really need. If this seems too much for you then you could still find successful gains utilising the Intermediate level devices discussed below.
Those participating at a Club Level, Gym or regular Fitness Sessions
You can browse and purchase here. You need to be looking at the Intermediate level to the advanced level where you can expect to see accelerated recovery, increased speed and strength, some competitive advantage over non users and an increase in endurance and any time trials you may run through in training with your chosen sport.
Commitment to utilising the right device and breathing techniques really has the potential for you to make a huge jump in terms of ability to train harder, faster, stronger with the opportunity to move rapidly up the scale towards elite level workload.
Download a Handy Training Guide Here for the classic and classic plus.
The ‘Wanna Be’s’ and the Home Exercisers Wanting More.
At this end of the chain it may take longer to achieve your marginal gain but that will still be a huge achievement and a positive step when initially looking for health benefits and then the transference of these with confidence into your chosen sport or activity.
You can browse and purchase your POWERbreathe here. When starting out you pick the beginner level or there is also a Medic Plus level for those with breathing difficulties and all approved by the NHS. This will make your breathing easier, reduce breathlessness, improve your quality of life and enable you to access some basic exercise that you may feel is out of reach at the current time.
Downland a Handy Training Guide Here for the classic and classic plus.
This may in some respects come across as a review but it is simply showing how a mechanical aid can make so much difference to our lives and plenty of science to back things up. Utilising the complimentary therapies we discussed can also have a huge impact on your respiratory health.
Although these are NHS approved please consult your Dr, Coach, Instructor or clinician if you have a long term health condition that is linked to your breathing prior to starting on this road. Plus as we head into winter we know that the colder air will affect everyone but especially those with LTHC’s even when masks are there, so why not start now and get those lungs in shape!
As a coach or instructor this is something that would make a massive difference to your athletes and participants. Definitely something to recommend. Think of the fitness ‘boost’ by strengthening those lungs if a game goes to extra time for example! Definitely a smart choice to focus on lung strength for these marginal gains over other teams.
The key thing to remember with this is that’s its all about the process and not the outcome. That is unpredictable and will not only rely on your own process but other people doing the same as you, even how you feel differently from day to day, what the weather is like or how you slept the night before or if your are having to take a step back due to a bad health day. Just trust in the process, experiment and don’t be afraid of change. The outcome should be great but if not you will now have the power to decide what worked and what didn’t. The process continues, analyse at each stage. We need to remember that it’s OK to fail or to remain consistent. We will make progress if we continue to challenge ourselves to try new things. We have now covered a significant amount of potential performance enhancers as well as many examples of how the marginal gains theory can support your health and well being. Just think 1% at a time!
This leads nicely into next week where we will look at a the last in the series of ‘Secret Gems’ that will possibly be the one that people are most sceptical about and that is ‘Art & Craft Therapy’. We’ll as ever look at the basics, the science and then the implementation that has the power to join up all of the visualisation, relaxation, breathing and lung health to gain that cumulative effect that we are after. The goal being to utilise what we have learnt through this process and use a variety of arts and craft ideas to create vision boards and important skills that can be carried forward to improved health, well being and participation.