Exercises to Improve Lung Capacity

In april 2014, NCBI published some research on ventilatory response and its role in assessing the exercise capacity of elite footballers. Its findings were quite conclusive and the research showed that it was necessary for professional footballer players to have an effective lung capacity.

Exercise itself has a huge impact on the lung capacity of athletes. Dr Jessica S Wang Memoli, MD, director of bronchoscopy and interventional pulmonary at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. explained that: "Exercise increases the volume of air that you inhale with each breath.

"That opens up more air sacs, which in turn allows more air to enter the lungs and brings in more oxygen. High-level exercise, such as in professional athletes, is exercise for the lungs as well. This leads to more lung being used routinely and thus more lung available routinely for the exchange of oxygen," Dr Wang Memoli said.

How Athletes Musicians Strengthen Lung Capacity

According to the National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM), how you breathe while training can impact your performance.

The Right Way to Breathe During Exercise

According to the American Lung Association (ALA), wind musicians, in particular, need to work on lung capacity to blow enough air into their instruments, but their approach may differ from athletes' training. The ALA notes that performing simple breathing exercises, such as pursed-lip breathing, can be helpful. To do this, simply inhale through your nose, then breathe out for at least twice as long while pursing your lips.

Another technique is the belly, or diaphragmatic, breathing:

• Breathe in slowly through your nose with a hand on your belly, so you can feel it filling with air
• Next, breathe out slowly through the nose, relaxing your shoulders and neck as you let the diaphragm do most of the work.

This type of controlled breathing allows musicians to produce steady, prolonged sounds from their instruments or voices. "Musicians have trained their lungs to take in more air to help them with singing," Dr. Wang Memoli said. "This intake of air is the same as the increased volumes that athletes inhale, with the same beneficial effects."

The increased lung capacity that athletes and musicians work to develop is available to just about everyone — even those with COPD and asthma.

"For the average person, and especially for those with lung disease, respiratory exercises, as well as general exercise, can have the same effect," Dr. Wang Memoli said. "The lungs, like another muscle, get weaker and lazy, and air sacs collapse out of disuse. The only way to reverse that trend is to start an exercise regimen to exercise the lungs in the same way other muscles in the body need to be exercised."

Practicing breathing exercises when you aren't running can further help your lung capacity and teach you to use your diaphragm more efficiently. In addition, it will help expel stale air from your lungs. For best results, practice breathing exercises for five to 10 minutes each day, advises the American lung Association.

Exercise 1: Diaphragmatic Breathing

1. Begin in a seated or reclined position.
2. Place your hands on your belly so that you can feel your abdomen move with the breath.
3. Breathe in deeply through your nose. On the inhale, your abdomen should expand as you take a full breath.
4. Exhale through pursed lips. Keep your neck and shoulders relaxed throughout the exercise.

Exercise 2: Pursed Lip Breathing

Pursed lip breathing is another technique you can practice to improve your breathing. As with belly breathing, keep your neck and shoulders relaxed for best results.

1. Begin in a seated position.
2. Breathe in slowly through your nose.
3. Purse your lips and exhale slowly until you cannot expel any additional air. Your exhale should be longer than your inhale.

Exercise 3: Head-to-Hand Neck Release Stretch

It can also be helpful to stretch out the muscles involved in breathing. This can help improve posture and release tightness that may be preventing you from inhaling fully. For example, head-to-hand neck release stretch can help relax the shoulders for breathing exercises.

1. Begin in a seated position
2. Bring your right ear toward your right shoulder and extend the left arm to shoulder height with your thumb pointed upward.
3. Use your right hand to deepen the stretch and pull your right shoulder blade towards your spine.
4. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds.
5. Repeat on the other side.

According to the research if the above exercises are copied by footballers it can aid them in improving their lung capacity. Techniques in breathing - sitting in the correct posture standing and running upright all contribute to having a more improved endurance capability.