When we think about fitness, most of us think about muscle strength, endurance, or cardiovascular health. We go to the gym to build muscle, walk or run to stay fit, and understand that regular exercise helps maintain physical function as we age.
Many people also notice that they become more easily out of breath over the years. But how many of us ever think about our breathing muscles?
Breathing is one of the body's most essential functions. The average person takes around 20,000 breaths every day, yet the muscles involved in breathing are often completely overlooked. This is surprising, because breathing muscles are muscles just like any others in the body – and they can become both stronger and weaker over time.
Breathing Is Muscle Work
Every breath activates the diaphragm, along with several other muscles involved in breathing. Most of the time we don't notice them working. However, the situation changes quickly when we become short of breath climbing stairs, exercising, or dealing with respiratory symptoms. In these situations, the breathing muscles have to work harder to move enough air in and out of the lungs.
Like any other muscle group, breathing muscles need regular use and training to maintain their function.
Can Breathing Muscles Become Weaker?
The answer is yes.
Ageing, lack of physical activity, respiratory problems, prolonged illness, and declining overall fitness can all affect the performance of the breathing muscles.
Many people recognise situations such as:
- Becoming more out of breath when climbing stairs
- Finding it harder to start exercising
- Taking longer to recover after physical activity
- Feeling that breathing is no longer as effortless as it used to be
These changes are often attributed solely to age or general fitness levels. Less often do we consider that the condition of our breathing muscles may also play a role.
What Does Research Say About Breathing Muscle Training?
Breathing muscle training follows the same principle as any other form of strength training. When you breathe against resistance, the breathing muscles have to work harder than usual.
Research suggests that breathing muscle training can increase respiratory muscle strength and improve the function of the muscles involved in breathing. This is why it is now used in areas such as sports performance, respiratory physiotherapy, and rehabilitation programmes.
A study conducted using the WellO2 device also found that just four weeks of training strengthened the breathing muscles. Participants trained for only a few minutes at a time, twice a day. Particularly interesting was the finding that the improvement in respiratory muscle strength remained measurable even 60 days after the training period had ended, despite participants no longer training during that time.
This observation supports the idea that breathing muscles, like other muscles in the body, can respond to training and retain some of the benefits even after the training period has ended.
How Does WellO2 Support Breathing Muscle Training?
WellO2 combines breathing muscle training with warm steam in a single exercise.
During a WellO2 session, both the inhalation and exhalation muscles are trained using adjustable breathing resistance. The resistance level can be increased or decreased gradually according to the user's needs. Breathing against resistance places a greater workload on the respiratory muscles, encouraging them to work harder in much the same way as other muscles do during exercise.
At the same time, the device produces warm steam that helps moisturise the airways. Together with resistance breathing, the warm steam can help open the airways and loosen mucus, making breathing feel easier, particularly when the airways are congested or irritated.
Airway wellbeing is not only about the breathing muscles. The mucous membranes also play an important role as part of the body's natural respiratory defence system. Well-moisturised mucous membranes help protect the airways from external irritants such as dry air, dust, and pollen.
For many users, WellO2 training becomes part of a daily routine in much the same way as a walk, a workout, or a stretching session.
Breathing Fitness Is Part of Overall Fitness
Most of us accept that muscle strength should be maintained throughout life. Yet breathing is often overlooked, even though both respiratory muscle function and airway wellbeing influence how breathing feels in everyday life.
For this reason, it is worth thinking about breathing as a whole. Most of us take care of our muscles and cardiovascular health. Breathing is something we do every day without thinking about it. That is precisely why it deserves attention before problems begin to appear.