Guides for WellO2 breathing exercises for everyday use and for athletes.
WellO2 breathing exercises are beneficial for everyone.
Studies have shown that respiratory muscle exercise (RMT):
- increases inspiratory and expiratory airflow and blood circulation
- builds inhalation and exhalation strength
- lowers stress & improves general well-being
- helps to adopt deep breathing techniques for wellbeing
How WellO2 works
WellO2 breathing exercises guide
WellO2 breathing exercises for daily use
Before starting WellO2 breathing exercises, make sure you are sitting with good upright posture.
In normal use, always start exercising with the lowest resistance (position 0). When the device is ready for use (see operating instructions), start the exercise by inhaling so that the lungs are full of air and emptying them by blowing into the device evenly and lightly.
After this, breathe freely a few times, and repeat the exhale as above. Repeat a few (3-10) times. Perform the same exercise, but this time gently inhale from the device until your lungs are full. Rest between repetitions as you did above.
When you have had more practice, you can do exercises where you breathe both into the device and from the device (inhale and exhale) alternately. Immediately after exhalation, inhale from the device. You can repeat inhaling and exhaling according to your condition.
In normal use, we recommend that you try to do 10-20 repetitions, that do not need to be done at once, but in several sets. Remember that the exercise can be heavy, but it should not cause pain or dizziness. If it causes pain, stop using the device and contact the manufacturer. If, on the other hand, you feel dizzy during the exercise, take a longer rest between repetitions.
WellO2 breathing exercises for athletes
WellO2 can be used for adding breathing muscle power and endurance. In the same time, it promotes general respiratory health by moisturizing airways. Adding maximal breathing power takes high breathing resistance and less ex- and inhaling repetitions whereas endurance training requires lower breathing resistance and multiple repetitions.
It’s also good to remember that using higher breathing resistances can only be done when your airways are apparently healthy i.e. no prevailing infections or severe respiratory diseases. Intensive breathing exercise causes stress to breathing organs which should be taken into consideration especially during competition season. Therefore, we recommend that intensive breathing exercise is done outside competition season.
Adding maximal breathing power
GOAL: Adding maximal ex- and inhaling power
SETTINGS: Breathing resistance should be app. 60% from the maximal breathing power. If your maximal breathing power is 200 H2Ocm, you should use app. 120 H2Ocm resistance which equalises setting 2 in WellO2 device. Inhaling resistance is therefore 2/3 from the exhaling resistance i.e. 80 H2Ocm. Keep the water temp. to mild or medium mild.
Because maximal breathing resistance can not be approximated without measurement, you can choose the settings from the info below:
o Maximal exhaling power of the normal adult is 140 – 160 H2Ocm
o Maximal inhaling power of the normal adult is 80 – 120 H2Ocm
o Maximal exhaling power of the trained user is 180 – 220 H2Ocm
o Maximal inhaling power of the trained user is 120 – 160 H2Ocm
In these cases, correct setting for the normal adult is 2 (84-96 H2Ocm), and for the trained person 3 (108-132 H2Ocm).
EXERCISE: The exercise is performed by repeating ex- and inhales with the device for 3-5 times (one set). In- and exhaling time should be app 6-10 second. Rest app. one minute in between the sets. Perform app. 5 - 7 sets.
PLEASE NOTE: The exercise is done only once a day and 3-5 times a week. After a few weeks you should have at least a week's break from the exercise. The increase in the maximum power is usually seen in measurements only after two weeks of training, depending on the baseline. This exercise is not recommended during the week preceding the competition.
Endurance training
GOAL: The aim is to increase the endurance of the respiratory muscles through longer repeats and lower resistances.
SETTINGS: As above, but now the resistance is set to about 30% of the maximum breathing power. For normal people this is about 40 H2Ocm when exhaled and 25-30 H2Ocm when inhaled. The setting is then 0-1.
The corresponding values for the trained persons are 50 to 60 H2Ocm and the setting 1-2.
EXERCISE: The exercise is performed by repeating ex- and inhales with the device for 5-7 times (one set). In- and exhaling time should be app 10-15 second. Rest app. one minute in between the sets. Perform app. 10 - 15 sets.
PLEASE NOTE: Exercise is done only once a day and 2-3 times a week. After a few weeks you should have at least a week's break from the exercise. This exercise is not recommended during the week preceding the competition.
