Want to get the lungs your brain deserves? Breathe with me!

Today we’re going to look at increasing lung capacity. ‘Why?’ you may ask. Well are your lungs too big already? Would you rather decrease their capacity and get less oxygen into your brain? Thought not

Lungs get oxygen into your bloodstream and get carbon dioxide out. Healthy lungs will allow you to train harder, stay underwater for longer, survive wipeouts in more comfort, shout louder, inflate balloons faster…there are many reasons for increasing the capacity of the primary respiratory organs.

The best thing about training your lungs is that you can do it while sitting in front of the TV. My friend George Noble does it whilst driving his car but he’s a Scott and thus has a higher resistance to giddy spells that may result.

So find yourself a bit of quiet time, get comfortable and relaxed, and do the following:

-  Hold your breath for 45 seconds

- Breathe for 60 seconds

- Hold your breath for 60 seconds

- Breathe for 60 seconds

- Hold your breath for 75 seconds…breathe for 60…hold for 90…breathe…finished!

The breath hold numbers are arbitrary, I would suggest your first breath hold should be as long as you can make it. You’ll notice the breath hold numbers increase, you may be thinking that’s impossible – but what’s happening is your body is quickly adjusting to low oxygen levels, and your fourth breath hold will likely be twice as long as your first, and feel more comfortable.

If you do this exercise at bed time, you’ll find it helps you get to sleep quicker since it lowers your heart rate. If you do it every day for a week, you will be surprised by the results.

It’s free, takes about ten minutes of your time and you can do it in front of the TV or lying in bed. When are you going to get started? Let me know how you go in the comments below!

Breathe underwater