Peak Performance Training
Begins with PowerLung
Inhale. Exhale. Breathing just seems so natural. Why do you need to
train the muscles you use in breathing? After all, aren’t you breathing?
You are doing cardio workouts, running, wind sprints or aerobic activity;
isn’t that the same?
But, if they are so well conditioned, why do you “get out of breath”?
If you are doing aerobic activity, you are aerobically exercising the
muscles used in breathing along with your other muscles. If you have
been working out aerobically training your breathing muscles, when
was the last time you trained them?
You may think you have been training your breathing,
I f y ou r breath in g i s so wel l
conditioned then why do you still
“get out of breath”?
but in reality, you have never trained it at all.
"the respiratory muscles
can be trained for
improvement in strength,
endurance or both."
Pardy et al. (1988)
Just like any other set of muscles "the respiratory muscles can be trained
for improvement in strength, endurance or both." Pardy et al. (1988)1.
This is supported by a number of other studies, notably Dupler &
Amonette2, who found, using the PowerLung, that in a relatively short
period of time, four weeks, respiratory training produced "significant
changes in maximal VE (ventilation), maximal VT (tidal volume), and sub-
maximal VE..." The study revealed a 1.99 breath/minute decrease in RR
(respiration rate) coupled with a 4.93 L/min increase in VE and a
.81L/breath increase in VT for the treatment group. Subjects in the
treatment group also had a 28.25mm/Hg increase in Pex (peak exhalation
force) as compared to only a 2mm/Hg increase for the control group."
These findings are supported conclusively by a number of researchers,
using a wide range of people, proving that these specific muscles have
become stronger.
Peak Performance Training Begins with PowerLung
Page 1
The only way to train your breathing.
PowerLung is the original AND only training machine with integrated EXHALE and INHALE progressive
resistance to train and strengthen respiratory muscles. It has two load resistance cells, one for inhale and
one for exhale, that work and adjust completely independently of each other.
PowerLung is the only training machine with various models and series
For anyone who breathes.
specifically designed to meet the needs all types of people, whether they are
athletes, performing artists, or those who just want to breathe easier.
12 sets of breathing muscles to train.
The muscles that provide the power, and therefore the pressure for
training with PowerLung, are located around the lungs. Those used to
inhale are: the diaphragm, external intercostals and the interchondral
part of the internal intercostals, while the accessory muscles are the
sternocleidomastoid and the scalenes. Those required for exhale are
the internal intercostals, except for the interchondral part, the rectus
abdominis and the external and internal obliques.
There are also, for want of a better phrase, “core body muscles” that
are involved in the breathing process. Specifically these are the transverses
abdominis, the muscles of the pelvic floor, the multifidus and the lower
trapezius. These muscles are activated as a result of the deep breathing
required to perform the respiratory muscle training.
PowerLung provides a resistance on both the inhale and exhale part of
the breathing, against which, all the muscles mentioned above have to
work so tha t air ca n be drawn in and expelled from the body.
Artwork courtesy of
James Duffin, University of Toronto.
Page 2 Peak Performance Training Begins with PowerLung
And what can better breathing do?
The question of whether or not this has an effect on either exercise
performance or living everyday life can be examined in terms of
basic physiological principles and then backed up by the research.
The relationship between strength, power and endurance must be
fully understood before embarking on an explanation of how this
affects our breathing.
“Respiratory muscle
training can be effective
in ad dressi ng th e
limi tati ons o f the
The strength of the muscle is the maximum possible output that it
can produce. The power of the muscle is a combination of strength
and speed defined as the amount of work done in a unit of time.
To increase power, therefore, the person could either lift a heavier
weight in the same time, or lift the same weight in a faster time.
The endurance capacity of the muscle is the number of repetitions it can produce before it fatigues. Equating
this to a bench press, the person may be able to lift 100kg once. If they were wanting to then build up the
power of the muscles, they would look at working at around 80% of that maximum, i.e. 80kg, trying to
contract the muscles as quickly as possible. They would attempt the lift 8 – 12 times. As they move in to
e ndur an ce the y wo uld lift 4 0 - 60 % o f t he ir ma ximu m a nd re pea t the mot ion 20 + t ime s.
These are obviously rough guidelines depending on how much endurance, or number of repetitions the
person wants to do, or how fast they want the contractions to be as contraction speed is vitally important
in a number of sports.
resp iratory system
during exercise.”
Sheel et al. (2002)
What is important is that as we move from strength at one end of the spectrum, to endurance on the other,
the weight decreases. Therefore, in very crude terms, if we increase the strength of the muscle, still keeping
power and endurance work, then the range shifts up. So, the person that is required to work at a certain
level will find it easier to work at that level if the muscle is stronger because they are working at a lower
percentage of their maximum.
Page 3Peak Performance Training Begins with PowerLung
Applying this theory to the fact the respiratory muscles are trainable; so increasing the strength of the
respiratory muscles combined with the power and endurance training, would increase their endurance
capacity. Boutellier
that respiratory training improved the endurance of the respiratory muscles by over 300% with the sedentary
people, and over 600% with endurance trained athletes. Neither showed an increase in VO2 max, but both
showed a large increase in sub-maximal exercise time, sedentary, 50%; endurance trained, 38%. This would
suggest, confirmed by Boutellier himself, that “the respiratory system is an exercise limiting factor in normal,
endurance trained subjects”, as well as sedentary subjects.
All these studies, which look at respiratory training, can be applied
to PowerLung. This is because PowerLung is a respiratory trainer
that trains the re spiratory muscles. A ll these studies train the
respiratory muscles to prove or disprove their hypotheses. The
respiratory muscles are being used to do the work. Taking the
example of a bench press, it has been shown that this exercise
strengthens, for simplicity’s sake, the chest. The weight is just a
catalyst for that. It doesn’t matter who made the weight just that
t he w e ig ht e n a bl e s t h e p er s on t o pe r f or m th e t a sk .
3,4
showed in his 1992 papers with both sedentary people and endurance trained athletes
The 3 Components Of Training.
In conclusion, using PowerLung increases respiratory muscle strength leading to performance improvements
at any level. It also reduces the feeling of breathlessness as it specifically warms up the respiratory muscles.
It also decreases the perception of dyspnoea as a result of improved performance and efficiency, and through
the body being warmed up properly.
Do your training programs incorporate respiratory training to help give
the athletes you train the oxygen they need to perform better?
10690 Shadow Wood Drive, Suite 100
Houston, Texas 77043 USA
www.powerlung.com
sales@powerlung.com
Thanks to Mr. Anthony Scoon for his contributions to this document.
CPWT-PEAKPR
Page 4 Peak Performance Training Begins with PowerLung
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