Team Athletic Achievement

Identifying Dysfunctional Breathing

A BOLT test is a solid indicator of whether your athletes suffer from dysfunctional breathing. Here is the protocol: Normal breathing through the nose for 1 minute; after a normal exercise, hold your breath; begin timing; after you feel a slight to moderate need to breathe, begin your normal breathing process again; if you have to gasp for air after holding your breath, your score is invalid; you should be able to immediately start back to your normal breathing cadence. Score interpretation: 0-10 seconds: CO₂tolerance is poor and negatively impacting your performance; 11-20 seconds: something is obstructing your optimal breathing (e.g. cold, allergies, etc.) and is having a negative impact upon your energy levels; 21 seconds or greater: your breathing is a positive factor in your physical activities.

Assess Team Workout Effectiveness

The use of a spirometer and bi-weekly readings can show the viability of team workouts. Be aware, however, of outliers that may affect readings (e.g. cold/flu, sleep deprivation, poor diet)

Core Stability and Injury Prevention

Athletes should practice Valsalva Breathing/Method for short bursts of energy (e.g. weight lifting or short explosive speed exercises; the protocol is as follow: after an inhale, close the glottis in the throat to allow no air to escape; perform the exercise; the theory behind Valsalva Breathing/Method is the “shaken soda” theory–a body with pressure like a shaken soda can will build up pressure to stabilize the core so as to avoid injury

Spleen Oxygen Boost

The spleen holds the most oxygen-rich blood and can be released to muscles before a competition by holding your breath in 30-second increments before a race; the positive effect is short-lived however; if you partake in extended breath holds such as this for your athletes, they should be monitored at all times (Nestor 2021).

Hypoxic Training Benefits

The negative impact of hydrogen ion release from the muscle cells can be combated with hypoxic training–the less reliance of the muscles on oxygen, the greater the endurance.

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Team Athletic Achievement – CO2 Tolerance
Oxygen intake is a necessity for us to exist. But what most people don’t know is CO2 is just as important of a chemical as oxygen in human existence.
Team Athletic Achievement – Nose Breathing
Nose breathing is the first of three steps to becoming a more efficient and healthier breather…the other two being the use of the diaphragm when breathing and to slow your breathing rate.
Team Athletic Achievement – Using Scientific Data
The science behind efficient and healthy breathing is not difficult at all. Take a look at this video for a better understanding behind the science of efficient, healthy, and enhanced breathing.
Team Athletic Achievement – Controlled Hypoventilation
Athletes, whether you are someone whose competition requires short bursts of speed or long endurance, hypoventilation is for you.
Team Athletic Achievement – Energy Training Zones
We’ve studied the six different zones of intensity energy training, but no one has ever given us the breathing protocols to use for each zone. That’s what this video does.
Team Athletic Achievement – Valsalva Breathing
Check out this video that goes through the protocols of Valsalva Breathing (for short bursts of speed), Valsalva Method (for the weight room), and 2-1-4.
Team Athletic Achievement – FEV1
FEV1 or “forced expiratory volume in the first second” measures lung strength. It can be used as a means to measure lung diseases, but it can also be used as a measure of lung strength for those who are serious about their optimal lung performance.
Team Athletic Achievement – PEF
PEF, or peak expiratory flow, measures a person’s maximum speed of breath expiration and is measured with a peak flow meter. Watch the video to see how it can be used to measure your breathing health.