I have an instrument called a digeridoo. Some of you may be familar with it. I don’t play it too much right now but was thinking of using it for power breathing. I am pretty much incapable of doing circular breathing but the instrument requires a slow yet forceful release or air lasting more than 20 seconds sometimes. Within that same time period, you may be required to produce several explosive bursts in order to bend and shape the sound. Can anyone tell me if this is going to produce the same effect as JRs article suggests? It would be a whole lot more fun to do that than sit around makeing a hissing sound at work, though I bet I would get even more attention from the ladies and possibly loose my job.
RS, I emailed this to you, but I figured I’d post it here so everyone can read it.
While I am not familiar with the instrument itself, I would probably say that Power Breaths which are 20 seconds in length are going to be beneficial only under certain conditions.
As with most things, it would really depend on the goal. If your goal is to correct an abdominal imbalance, then shorter breaths with more resistance are more effective for stressing the TA and causing minor microtrauma, allowing for the strengthening which will prevent the RA from sagging.
On the other hand, if you goal is increased abdominal definition, longer contractions are a great bit of variety to add. Maximally statically contracting the RA is what is going to give the RA the greatest benefit, but the longer, less intense contractions will certainly help slower-twitch fibers become activated. Should be an interesting experiment.
If your goal is increased strength/power output during a lift, I’d say keep the breaths short and intense. In this case, exercise specificity is going to be very important, and it is imperitive that you keep your PB training as similar to the breaths that would occur during lifting (in terms of intensity and length) to allow for optimal carryover.
So, overall, I’d say this: Playing the digeridoo is probably not the best way to incorporate power breathing into your training; HOWEVER, using power breathing in general may help you play better/longer with less effort due to increased strength of respiratory muscles.
Hope this helps.
Cool, I’m thinking of playing it more often to help increase VO2 max instead. Thanks for the quick reply and the cool new ideas! I started power breathing today and I feel myself standing just a bit taller/straighter already.
Good stuff, RS. One of the great things about power breathing is that you begin to see the effects pretty quickly. Keep us updated on your results, and good luck with the digeridoo.*
- Note: Since first reading your post, I have developed a strong habit of saying “digeridoo” at least 6 times per hour. Such a fun word. Thank you for expanding my vocabulary of nonsensical words =)