Resistance Breathing Training

[USCScubaboy]

Just want to hear your thoughts on this. Useful? Waste of time?

Here's a link to the article that brought up the issue: 2. Breathing training

 

[laurin]

Just want to hear your thoughts on this. Useful? Waste of time?

Here's a link to the article that brought up the issue: 2. Breathing training

At a glance the method looks like an excellent way of developing carbon dioxide retention... A good trait for some sports, bad for scuba divers. A bit like apnea training, I assume.

//LN

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Here's a link to the abstract of the peer-reviewed journal article.

Based on what I read, respiratory muscle exercise training (RMET) might be worthwhile if you are doing a constant work-rate exercise, such as cycling. RMET appears to increase sustained ventilatory capacity without increasing perceived breathing effort. And this results in 4% faster time trials on an exercise bike. One hypothesis of why elite cyclists perform better is that they can endure increased ventilatory demands longer than the average cyclist.

I'm not sure this would translate nicely into an advantage in scuba diving, though, since I wouldn't describe the way I dive as "constant work-rate exercise." I hover a lot.

With regard to carbon dioxide (CO2) retention in divers, I think RMET might actually be a good thing. Let me try to explain. We know that breathing gas density increases at greater depths (higher ambient pressure). CO2 retention occurs when the gas becomes dense enough to inhibit adequate ventilatory exchange. If we assume that trained respiratory muscles can work harder to keep ventilatory exchange within normal limits longer, then this should decrease the possibility of CO2 retention at depth.

Please note that the RMET described in the paper was done in a very specific way. Subjects were hooked up to a breathing apparatus that increased work of breathing but maintained end-tidal CO2 at the resting level. Translation: They were not training themselves to retain CO2. They were just giving their respiratory muscles a work-out.
Here's a rundown of the experimental setup:

For the experimental subjects, each training session lasted 30 minutes. All subjects wore a mask with a two-way non-re-breathing valve from which the diaphragms were removed. A rubber cork was placed on the expired side of the valve such that the subject both inspired and expired from the inspiratory side of the valve. Respiratory tubing connected the inspired side of the valve to a pneumotachometer and pressure transducer (Validyne MP45) to measure airflow. The integrated flow signal was displayed on an oscilloscope monitor placed directly in front of the subject. As in the SVC test, a small sample of each expired breath was analyzed and sent to the chart recorder to monitor end-tidal CO2. Tubing of various lengths could be attached to the distal side of the pneumotachometer to add sufficient dead space to maintain end-tidal CO2 at the resting level.

So before you go rushing out to breath in/out of a straw, consider that you have to find a way to normalize end-tidal CO2.

Hope this makes sense.

Thanks for sharing the study, USCScubaboy. It was an interesting read.

 

[Garrobo]

Waste of time unless your doctor recommends it.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Waste of time unless your doctor recommends it.

And the only reason your doctor might recommend it...is if you have an obstructive pulmonary disease or are recovering from surgery.

Yeah, I'd have to agree. For the normal, healthy, fit scuba diver, this kind of respiratory muscle exercise training is probably a waste of time.

I wonder if Lance Armstrong does this kind of training. The benefit appears to be significant for non-elite cyclists. From the perspective of a pro athlete, it seems like a pretty minimal training commitment with the possibility of great rewards. What's not to like?