These days, many action-packed sports require the use of large amounts of air to be successful. While there are several ways to increase the size of your lungs, there are also many ways to increase the amount of air your lungs can take in, and the efficiency of your lungs at capturing oxygen. Practice these exercises daily, and you will definitely feel an increase in your lung capacity.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Increase Lung Capacity Fast
Step 1. Take a deep breath
You can increase the amount of air your lungs can inhale in a short amount of time, without having to buy exercise equipment or exercise for the long term. The trick is to breathe steadily and deeply.
- Exhale completely and slowly. Practice a few times before you start. Don't let air stay in your lungs. This will allow you to inhale more air with the next breath.
- Let your diaphragm drop by keeping your abdominal muscles relaxed. Your stomach will expand as your diaphragm descends, which creates a larger space around your lungs, and allows them to fill with air.
- Extend your arms, keeping your arms away from your body, to help open your chest.
Step 2. Take a deep breath
You can fill your lungs to about 80%-85% of their capacity, to give your body room to relax. You certainly don't want to fill your lungs to full capacity if it causes your muscles to tense up and you feel uncomfortable.
- If possible, find a friend to monitor your breathing. You may faint, so you need to have friends to respond appropriately.
- You don't have to puff out your cheeks. Of course, you want the muscles in your face to stay loose and relaxed. What should work in this exercise are the muscles in your stomach and diaphragm.
Step 3. Splash water on your face
Do this while you are holding your breath. Scientists have found that splashing water on the face can speed up bradycardia, or slowing of the heart rate, or the first phase of the mammalian diving reflex.
- Your body is preparing to dive underwater, where your body will have to effectively regulate your heart rate and circulate oxygen throughout your blood to keep you alive.
- Try to keep the water cold, but not icy. The icy water will trigger another reflex in your body that causes you to hyperventilate, or try to breathe quickly. Hyperventilation will impair your ability to hold your breath for long periods of time.
Step 4. Relax your muscles and hold your breath
Try meditating, or closing your eyes. The less energy you expend, the longer your body will be able to hold your breath.
- Count to 100 in your head. Focus only on the number you recite in your mind, and on your goal of reaching 100.
- Record the number you reach until you can't hold your breath anymore. That number will be the benchmark for your next experiment.
Step 5. Exhale slowly, and repeat 3-4 times
Don't let the air out too fast. Exhale as slowly as possible, in a steady stream. After you've worked out one rep, do the whole exercise starting from the beginning.
- After 3-4 times, your lungs will be able to hold more air than twenty minutes before.
- Doing this exercise regularly will also help train your lungs in the long run.
Step 6. Try simple breathing exercises
You can do this exercise around the house, in your office, sitting around watching TV, and much more.
- Inflating balloons is a good method of increasing lung capacity. While you are walking, at home doing homework, or in your spare time, practice blowing up the balloon and letting the balloon deflate. Do this over and over again; You will notice that the ability of your lungs to pump more air, will be stronger and last longer.
- Another way is to wrap a long, light piece of paper (or tissue) around the tip of your nose and try to hold it in the air by blowing on it as long as possible. Set your own time and if you practice this way, practice regularly, you will be able to keep the paper in the air much longer, thereby increasing lung capacity.
- Breathing exercises during daily activities can help. Inhale for 2-20 seconds, exhale for 10-20 seconds, and increase the value slowly. You'll soon find that you can exhale for 45 seconds to 2 minutes if you practice enough! You can easily do this while driving, sitting in the office, watching television, playing video games, doing paperwork, while attending school, or when you're bored!
- Try to hyperventilate before holding your breath. Hyperventilation means inhaling and exhaling very quickly. Note: hyperventilating before diving can be dangerous because the urge to breathe can be delayed beyond the point at which you might pass out!
Method 2 of 3: Increasing Lung Capacity with Physical Exercise
Step 1. Exercise in water
Working out in the water will add an element of endurance training to your regimen. Your body has to work hard to supply enough oxygen to your blood, making it a good lung exercise.
- Perform normal stretching and lifting exercises without being in the water. Make sure you balance it because of the fact that the weight will feel lighter when you lift it in the water. Practice this exercise for a few days until you are comfortable with everything.
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Take the load into the water. Submerge yourself up to your neck, and perform the exercise while remaining submerged in the water. This exercise doesn't seem to do you any good, but don't worry. Because of the movement of blood into your chest cavity and the pressure on your body, you will have to breathe shorter and faster when exercising in the water. Research shows that your air capacity will be cut by up to 75% in this time span, and your body will try to compensate. If your exercise in the water lasts long enough, and you do it regularly, your respiratory system will become more efficient, thereby increasing your lung capacity.
Step 2. Follow vigorous cardiovascular activity
Exercise is a great way to increase lung capacity. For at least 30 minutes, force your body to exhaustion so that your lungs work hard. This hard work will be rewarded with better lung capacity.
- Try aerobics. The amount of lung capacity you can develop by doing vigorous, intensive exercise in a short period of time can be quite surprising.
- Bicycle. Ride your bike on a route full of high incline. Going up the hill means your body has to pump more blood to your legs; your lungs supply oxygen to the blood.
- Run. Running on a soft track or treadmill is great for your knees and joints. Combine that with doing sprints to get your lungs working extra hard.
- Swimming - The best exercise to improve your cardiovascular fitness. At peak performance, a swimmer's lungs will use oxygen three times more efficiently than an average person's.
Step 3. Exercise in the highlands
Exercising at high altitudes is a surefire way to increase your lung strength. The air at high altitudes contains less oxygen, which makes the exercise harder, but ultimately more beneficial, to your lungs.
- If you are serious about increasing your lung capacity, stay at a plateau while you train. At 2,500 m above sea level, the oxygen content in the air is only 74% of the oxygen content at sea level. This means your lungs have to work harder to get more oxygen into your blood.
- When you return to lower ground, your body still has elevated levels of red blood cells and hemoglobin - for up to two weeks - meaning that your overall lung capacity increases.
- Be careful not to train too hard at high altitudes, as you can get altitude sickness.
Method 3 of 3: Increasing Lung Capacity with Long-Term Exercise
Step 1. Create durability
Your lungs will respond to the exercise you do, so incorporate resistance training into your workout routine and see your lung capacity increase.
Breathe normally through your nose. Take a deep breath. Exhale through your mouth with your lips closed. Open your lips slightly to allow some air to escape, and with resistance. Try and do this as often as possible. It makes the sacs in your lungs more accustomed to having to hold air longer, which makes them expand
Step 2. Breathe in more air than your brain thinks
Of course your brain will be wary of your body's safety, and refuse to stretch beyond your body's limits. But the body can do amazing things when the brain is reassured that all is well. Make sure you try this.
- For a count of eight, inhale until your lungs are completely full. After each count you will take more breaths.
- For the next eight to sixteen counts, take a few breaths of air. Feel your stomach expand. Don't let your shoulders move.
- Hold your breath for a few seconds and exhale strongly.
- Once you feel "empty," make a "tssssss" sound for as long as possible. (This is called tizzling, and mimics endurance when playing a wind instrument.)
- Practice this exercise regularly. When you train your brain to stretch beyond the confines of your body, your breath intake will spike.
Step 3. Play a wind instrument
Playing a wind instrument is a great way to give your lungs regular exercise and have fun creating music in balance.
- Learn how to play wood and metal wind instruments such as the tuba, trumpet, trombone, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, or flute. This activity will help you control your breathing and increase the capacity of your lungs to utilize all of your alveoli (lung bubbles).
- Join a marching band group. This activity requires the utilization of a greater lung capacity to perform movement and play and is quite healthy.
- You can also practice vocals. Singing really works the diaphragm, and can help in practicing continuous breathing. Singers, of course, have to have really strong lungs.
Tips
- You probably already know that you should avoid all forms of smoking, but you should also avoid smoky environments where you are a secondhand smoker, because secondhand smoke continues to inhale smoke and can reduce your lung capacity.
- In a swimming pool, keep your chest as close to the surface of the water as possible and breathe through the pipe. The deeper you are underwater, the more pressure is applied to your chest, making it harder for you to breathe. Make sure the tube stays above the water so that your lungs don't fill with water. Note that being just a few feet underwater is no longer possible to breathe air. Don't come out of the water with your lungs full of air - exhale before you return to the surface or you'll risk lung barotrauma (this can happen at depths of 2-3 meters or more).
Warning
- When breathing underwater (for example, when SCUBA dives), stabilize your depth and never hold your breath or take deep breaths as you rise to the surface. The air will expand as you ascend and your lungs may burst if you hold your breath.
- Whenever you feel dizzy, breathe normally.
- Always swim with a friend or in a public place when you are doing breathing exercises.
