Are you frustrated by getting out of breath too quickly? Whether you’re running up a flight of stairs to catch the train or you’re attending your regular workout session, having to take large gulps of air because you’ve exerted yourself isn’t a desirable feeling. The simple answer to this dilemma is to increase your lung capacity. This is basically the amount of air that you can hold within your lungs. Follow these steps and you can at least boost this physical quality a little over time.
Breathe Deeply
By far the easiest way to increase your lung capacity is to practise inhaling and exhaling as deeply as possible. The result should be that you do this instinctively. Until then though, be mentally aware of your breathing technique. Bring a full lungful of air in and make sure to expel it all out afterwards. Relax your abs while doing this so your diaphragm can descend and maximise the total volume of your lungs.
Wet Your Face
The technique of splashing water on your face while holding your breath is also advised. This will cause your body to regulate heart beat and oxygen movement. In effect, your mind will think you are about to submerge yourself and so will prepare you physically for this motion. The upshot should be that you can hold your breath for a lot longer and stretch out your lungs in the process.
Relax Your Muscles
Improving lung capacity is also a matter of slowing down your oxygen use. While holding your breath, try to relax as many muscles as possible. The fewer you are using, the slower the oxygen in your lungs will be used up. Once you hold your breath, close your eyes and start counting. You should aim for 100 but if you can’t at least you have a goal to aim for in your future lung exercises.
Stop Smoking
It’s a medically proven fact that tobacco drastically affects the individual’s lung capacity. The smoke and other chemicals damage the cilia in your lungs, creating mucus which limits how efficiently you can absorb oxygen into your body. One option is to browse the many types of electronic cigarettes available at NYK eCigs. These will eliminate the aggravating smoke that is typically found in tobacco cigarettes, allowing you to get your nicotine fix at the same time. They can also be used to cut back on your daily smoking habits, eventually optimising your lung capacity through:
- The gradual reduction of nicotine intake
- The eliminate of harmful chemicals
- The replacement of smoke with water vapour
By diligently using these devices, you can wean yourself off standard cigarettes and watch as your lung capacity restores itself afterwards.
Conduct Breathing Exercises
There are also a number of conscious routines that you can go through to improve your lung’s ability to hold oxygen. These include:
- Oriental Breath. While standing, inhale quickly three times. Inhale again and raise your arms out in front of you to shoulder level. Inhale once more, bringing your arms out wide, and then again while bringing your arms over your head. Only then should you exhale and bring your arms in a circle to their standard position. Repeat this ten times.
- Numbered breaths. Close your eyes and take a series of eight breaths. You should hold the first for 1 second before exhaling, the second for 2 seconds before exhaling, the third for 3 seconds and so on until the eighth breath. Repeat the process once more.
As well as breathing techniques, you can also utilise a standard exercise routine. Here, a series of hard workouts with recoveries will boost your lung capacity. As an example of this, imagine you have a stationary bike at home. After a brief warm-up, you will then go into bursts of hard pedalling for 30 seconds with 60 seconds of easy riding. Do five repetitions here. Now, extend this time to 5 minutes of hard pedalling and five minutes of recovery. This should be done at most five times and you should push yourself to the maximum sustainable effort each time.
With this advice, you are now ready to take the first steps to a higher lung capacity and a much healthier existence.
Photo credits: marin – freedigitalphotos.net