Did you know that as an athlete, you should NOT be limited by your ability to breathe? Meaning your athletic output shouldn't be limited by the feeling of breathlessness. The following article has the power to drastically improve your cardiovascular ability, fitness level and your performance as an athlete.
Breathwork is an amazing tool that has so many benefits including but not limited to:
Improved cardiovascular output
Improved athletic performance
Improved sleep and recovery
Reduced susceptibility to dehydration
Opened up airways
Weight loss and body composition
Improved facial structure
Reduced chance of snoring at night
The key to this type of training is improving CO2 tolerance, which in turn allows for better oxygen uptake in the body
In order to fully understand this concept check out this video
The Protocol - Breathwork for Athletes
Assessment:
Bolt Score Test - Comment your score in Truecoach or to your coach directly
Breath Tracking Test - Take a picture of the graph and submit it to your coach
BOLT SCORE<20
Breath Work Best Practices - Daily Habits
Light Breathing - 3-5 minutes - Best done in the morning or after physical activity
Breath Warm Up - 10 mini breath holds - Best done before physical activity
Breath Cool Down - 10 mini breath holds following the activity
CO2 Flush - 30 reps after a workout or intense bout of activity
BOLT SCORE 20-30
Breath Work Best Practices - Daily habits
Light Breathing - 5-7 minutes - Best done both in the morning and evening
Breath Warm Up - 10 mini breath holds - Best done before physical activity
Altitude Training - 10 breath holds during walking. Increase to 20 breath holds during more intense activity
Breath Cool Down - 10 mini breath holds following the activity
CO2 Flush - 30 reps after a workout or intense bout of activity
BOLT SCORE 30+
Perform Daily - you will need more stimulus to push your BOLT score above 30-35
Breath Work Best Practices - Daily habits
Light Breathing - 5-7 minutes - One session in the morning and a second session in the evening before bed
Breath Warm Up - 10 mini breath holds - Best done before any physical activity
Altitude Training - 30-45 mins of daily activity (20 breath holds followed by 15 seconds of shallow breathing and then 30-60 seconds of regular breathing) Start with walking → jogging → skill training
Breath Cool Down - 10 mini breath holds following the activity
CO2 Flush - 30 reps after a workout or intense bout of activity
BOLT Score 40+
*Contact your coach*
Try out this protocol and let us know how it goes for you! To update us, get feedback or ask questions contact me on Instagram or through email, or even better, join our online community on Discord!
Thanks for reading,
Matt
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