How To Improve CO2 Tolerance | Breathwork and breathholds in training

How do I improve my CO2 tolerance is a question that is often asked. CO2 tolerance has started to gain attention not only for improving physical performance but also for enhancing mental improvement.
There is also a close correlation between anxiety and our ability to manage stress. In addition, increased tolerance allows us to have better control over the rate and depth of breathing.
It doesn’t matter if you are an elite athlete or a high-performing senior leader. Managing our state and nervous system is vital for health, well-being, and performance. But improving your co2 tolerance can help with this state.
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Progression over perfection
Lee
The Athlete Tribe

[@supportingbusinessdads]

Take the test, take our free performance test to help you improve. peakperformancetest.scoreapp.com/

[@tntramzy12]

This test is no longer relaxant

[@HRVHackers]

Omg ditch that intro music pls 😬

[@JZMartinez]

Somewhere, youtube/podcast🤷🏽, I picked up the advice of a breathe hold during aerobic work to help reduce/control heart rate. I did this during runs as I wanted to help my MAF running. While running, I started to nose inhale 4 steps, hold 4 steps, mouth exhale 2steps, repeat. This seemed to lower my heart rate and help me stay or near mt MAF heart rate goal. At first it was hard and I felt out of breathe, but evwntually it got easier. It feels like my CO2 toleramce improved this way as my feeling of breathelessness diminished and then went away.

[@supportingbusinessdads]

Great work. Have you tried some breath holds work to increase your tolerance.

[@DustinLowes]

Thank you 🙏

[@user-bb3yc8jq2k]

Great and clear overview of the benefits of CO2 tolerance training. The video is perfect. Thanks for sharing and getting this information out there in such a digestible manner

[@supportingbusinessdads]

Thanks so much for the feedback. Glad to hear you found benefit.

[@alessandro_inno]

Subscribed and liked

[@Markhypnosis1]

As far as I know, this was popularised by Patrick Mckeown of Oxygen Advantage. He's written numerous books on the subject. The test is called the BOLT. Wim Hoff uses a different method.

[@supportingbusinessdads]

Hi mark. Thanks for the comment The bolt test is slight different. It’s a hold until your feel a reflux, the CO2 tolerance test is done by breathing out, most of the research/content has been done by shift adapt.

[@tomsawyer8525]

You can easily find an online stopwatch to do this test in front of your computer.

[@LaLtheGaL]

I stumbled on this video. I am not a high performance athlete in a traditional sense but I do enjoy mountain biking and swimming. In the past 8 months I got into Freediving and it has consumed my life. I have been doing a lot of breath work when I am not in the water with the aim to hold my breath longer. In this period I have done less biking and swimming and sometimes feel guilty that I’m not frequently doing sports that drive my heart rate up. However, the odd time that I do bike or swim, I was absolutely surprised how much easier it was to push hard up hills, and swim faster without feeling like I was breathing heavy. With my group of friends I was suddenly leading the pack up the hill as opposed to being at the back panting. I was really stunned by this and I am happy I found this video because I think it sheds some light on what is happening.

[@supportingbusinessdads]

Yep. I started my human performance journey in 2000, and the main focus was oxygen. The amount we can get in and use. In the last 5 years, the area of CO2 tolerance has completely changed my approach to how I train and coach others. Glad you enjoy the video. Keep up (down) the freediving.

[@beratgg9521]

Hı good video but my problem is ı dont know English can you explain easy way or summary this video

[@benjkamu]

Thanks for the upload. Great video once again. I have a slightly different question regarding breathing during exercise. I have always been a very nervous breather and my natural subconscious breathing is very short, which clearly needs training. My sport is golf. When I need to stay focused during 4 hours of physical activity, what do I need to bare in mind in terms of breathing and when should I apply it? Thanks

[@supportingbusinessdads]

Hi, thanks for the feedback. I would suggest the following. Nose to nose aerobic training to complement your golf training. And an understanding that it is impossible to concentrate for 4 hours. Therefore practising your breathing as part of your pre-shot routine will help you to focus. This means that you will be able to switch in and out of focus.

[@PSKResearch]

Golf is very low physical activity. If you're not breathing normally, or having problems breathing while playing golf, you need to see your doctor. You could be having heart, lung, or artery problems, or have COPD.

[@tessalivingston4644]

Hey!! I have started nasal breathing while running and I am really enjoying it. I can breathe through my nose and manage my pace but my nose can feel like it burns and I can get a headache after doing it for a while. I also get a lot of mucus which makes it hard to breath through my nose as Im having to blow it while I'm running. Can you give me some advice on this? Thank you so much!! I love your content :)

[@HYPOXiX]

You might need to regulate tempo of breathing nasal…probably becoming hypercapnic with co2 headache…in my technique I add in some super oxygenation breaths to alleviate this 🎉

[@Rudisbashar]

Dont forget Byteko..its much more less “aggresive” than Wim Hof. The body gets use to higher levels of co2 because the steps are smaller.

[@supportingbusinessdads]

Of course. There are many methods of passive and active breathwork to support CO2 tolerance.

[@aymalkhan5781]

I have control pause 18 to 22 which is not good and I am working hard to increase it.

[@supportingbusinessdads]

Great work. We have found that the people we work with can improve quickly and find benefits in doing breath holds and nasal breathing while exercising.

[@franny5295]

So, I do have long issues. There's a limit with what I can actually do about that but I was wondering if this would be helpful for that chronic sense of breathlessness. Sometimes it's hypoxia related but sometimes it's not and it's frustrating.

[@supportingbusinessdads]

I would say so. Amazing research around stress and co2 tolerance.

[@sypherxbeat442]

during the active workout and breathe holding do you hold it after the inhale or exhale?

[@supportingbusinessdads]

I would suggest the after exhale.

[@XpapricaX]

20 on my first 35 seconds on my second when i learned to breath out properly lol

[@alessandro_inno]

I did 90 secs, the second try. No effort, just ran out of air. The thing that did happen is after like tye 1 min mark i got an intense swallowing need and my brewth started to get loose so i had to put more effort into sustain8ng the slow breathing out. Now, the first time i lasted 56 secs, but then i realized i could go slower. Cool test. I'll keep on working this out. A qiestion. Are ypu familiar with powerlung? Or those simila4 ones? It's a product that aupposedly increases lung strenght by putting resistance to your breathing.

[@joshhoffman2628]

did you exhale through your nose or your mouth?

[@alessandro_inno]

@@joshhoffman2628 only nose. I have improved a lot with the box breathing exercises.

[@sunnyco6325]

I live at 6300 feet elevation, is any of this training different for me? How does scoliosis effect my stress tolerance level? Thank you

[@supportingbusinessdads]

Hi. I don't think any type of this training would be any different. You live at that pressure of oxygen. I will get back to you on your scoliosis question.

[@aleksandramorel2832]

Do I exhale first all the way out and then measure? (on the 4th try) or measure from the point I start exhaling?

[@supportingbusinessdads]

from the point of exhaling

[@a.g.4843]

Isn’t the bolt stress better and easier than your test??

[@supportingbusinessdads]

The Bolt test and CO2 Tolerance test are different tests. Bolt is a static hold, whereas are CO2 tolerance test is a measure of your breathing mechanics.

[@aaroncutarelli361]

I could literally only get 10 seconds on the exhale and I feel like I have zero control over it. Like my exhale just instantly releases and I have no control to slow it down. I am an active runner and hiker but endlessly struggle with anxiety, should I be concerned by my numbers?

[@supportingbusinessdads]

No. It's is what it is. More breathwork and time to develop yourself.

[@aleksandramorel2832]

where are you from (your accent) that you play (coach) ice hockey? :-)

[@supportingbusinessdads]

UK, and yes

[@jamaalsabree]

I only got to 10 seconds on the inhale and exhale exercise 😢😢

[@supportingbusinessdads]

That's ok. It's not where you start is where you progress, which is essential.

[@gitanodel69]

can t you just train you tolerance with the tolerance test? And you slowly build up your time?

[@supportingbusinessdads]

Yes, but the test is also a reference point for stress level etc.

[@jacobobos]

When does the video start? Already 5 min in and it hasn't started

[@supportingbusinessdads]

Hi Jac. The how of training starts at 4:34.

[@pedrocastillo9980]

@@supportingbusinessdads pin this

[@alessandro_inno]

I'm training for cardio and for cardio at singing. So what i do is i do the entire set of songs, not at full voice, but enough so i get the breathing need. I try to maintain zone 2-3. So kind of between 120-140 for my age (40). This is basically what you put here but in an efficient manner to what i want to do. That's my reasoning anyway. And i do this breathing workout for singers thst has those box breathings you say. There is also this girl that has breath hold videos, but long ones to train for scuba diving. Pretty cool. Thanks for the video. Ahh and the cool thing is that all this came because i have a metal band and i scream intensely a lot. So i want to be able to do it for the whole show, like a pro. And i stsrted investigating and i discovered that beyonce and miley cirus have a trainer that makes them run, in heels, singing at full voice, their whole set. Sounds insane, but i saw a beyonce video that shows that she never gets winded.

[@supportingbusinessdads]

Great insight, thanks for sharing.

[@alessandro_inno]

@@supportingbusinessdads my pleasure. I love the fitness topic. I know all about building muscle and the anaerobic part, but cardio and heart health is my new approach to improve now. I want to improve my cardio endurance and i've read that that is done by improving vo2 max. So i'm doing cycling at zone 2. But i have a question. Most places say it has to be 150 mins a week. So, can I do for example 1 day 60 mins (my singing set), then the rest of the week 20 mins each day? Thing is that i need to maximize the little time i have to exercise. That's why for example, i'm training max push ups (110-130 in a row) and lower body, 2 or 3 times a week. I get endurance and strenght but i don put on muscle. At least i maintain it, but i do it like that because i dont have the time i used to have to exe4cise at this point in my life, or the resources to eat that much protein. So i want to do something similar and max use 30 mins a day working out instead of 1:30 - 2 hrs.

[@leeeldridgecoach]

@@alessandro_inno ideally it would be longer, it’s not improvement in cardio endurance it is also the ability to burn the right fuel etc. But 20/30 mins is ok. Don’t forget you get get zone two by walking fast/hike. Also if you are trying to improve Vo2 max you should be adding in some HIIT which only takes 20-30 mins.

[@alessandro_inno]

​@@leeeldridgecoachthing is, i want to get better at this. Hiking for example. Or performing live. I have a metal band and singing while moving intensely on the stage does take a toll on ypur bresthing, so i want to be able to not get tired at all.

[@leeeldridgecoach]

@@alessandro_inno keep working at it. How long have you been nasal breathing while hiking?

[@kylerrichmeier5892]

So I only got 40 second exhalation. But the thing is I already do breathwork of inhaling for 10 seconds and exhaling for 30 seconds then holding for 5 seconds for 15 mins a day so like. I feel if you follow their protocols for cadence breathing you ain't gonna improve worth a shit hahahaha it told me to inhale for 6 seconds and exhale for 6 seconds.

[@supportingbusinessdads]

Ok. Is this passive breath-holding? Have you tried active breath-holding.