Flipping through an old Tri mag and noticed these training devices, and wondered what the consensus is on them. Do they actually help develop lung capacity? Are they safe? It seems like lungs are a little different from leg muscles or arms and you could hurt yourself if you used them wrong. Any thoughts?
No idea personally, but Julie-Anne White did a review of the Spiro-Tiger a while ago, which I’m guessing is a similar device to the one you’re talking about. It’s in the “product reviews” section.
I guess I was talking about htis type of thing in general, not just this brand. I’ll see if I can find the review.
Been discussed before… (should be able to do a search)
Basically, it most likely a waste of money unless you have CP like breathing disorders or any neurological disorder that inhibits proper breathing.
Lung capacity or Lung muscular strength has almost nothing to do with fitness… it’s the ability to convert oxygen to “power” (and, I made that WAAaay too simple of an analogy).
If those things worked as claimed, then Asthmatics would make great athletes.
I know of no research that verifies it’s effectiveness for athletes - however, if you breathing disorders…
FWIW Joe Moya
I looked into them when I was a high school runner, but I also toyed with the idea of wearing a 20 pound weight vest whenever I wasn’t training. Once my coach found out about both plans he told me to quit looking for harebrained shortcuts and just run.
Seriously I do think they are a con, best way to build aerobic strength is to swim/ride/run long.
I don’t have the links but there is some research supporting small improvements in performance through inspiratory training. I have definitely done rides where my ability to inhale deeply became impaired though intensity was far higher than would be prudent for an IM and but until you have done everything else the small gains are probably not worth it. Though the powerbreathe is only about $70 if you shop around so what the hell.