The Use of Breath Training For Sporting & Surfing Performance 

In this second part of our interview with Andy Van Bergen from Cyling Tips,  www.cyclingtips.com, we discuss the use, mechanisms and benefits of breath training for sporting performance. 

Including a discussion of: 

The Trek professional cycling team (a major team on the World Tour who compete in events such as the Tour de France and Giro D’Italia) employing a free diving coach to work with their cyclists to enhance performance. 

The Wim Hof method for performance – often free divers attend his courses, and he trains groups for challenges such as climbing Mt Kilimanjaro where they are exposed to the challenge of both high altitude and low pressure. 

Dr Mark Cohen of MIT University in Melbourne, Australia believes that the difference of training at altitude compared to sea level stresses the body and forces it to adapt in positive ways for performance. This stress that leads to positive change is called hormetic stress. 

Similarly, with the Wim Hof breathing techniques, the stress on the body via the breathing exercises, stimulates the body to make positive adaptations for health and performance. 

There are 2 phases to the mechanism of the Wim Hof Method: 

Phase 1 – the initial hyperventilation exercises where the body is stressed by being exposed to extremely low levels of carbon dioxide, CO2, and the blood stream is super saturated with oxygen, O2. This is where the participant feels light headed. 

Phase 2 – the breath hold phase where CO2 levels increase dramatically forcing oxygen from the blood stream into the cells for energy production, and increasing the parasympathetic aspect of the nervous system leading to deep relaxation. This is where the participant feels very good – both relaxed and energised. 

Noted that Wim Hof is actually a very experienced and accomplished yoga practitioner, and his technique is a simpler version of a more complex yoga breathing technique. This makes it more accessible to the general public. 

The mechanism and benefits of free diving training, including: 

Training the body to adapt to elevated levels of CO2 using breath hold techniques. The respiratory centre in the hypothalamus, in the brain stem, adapts to the elevated CO2 and begins to accept higher CO2 as normal. 

Strengthening the diaphragm using various diaphragmatic breathing exercises and rhythms so that the body is comfortable breathing at all levels of exercise (and duress) using the diaphragm as the primary muscle to drive breathing. 

Increased lung surface area used for gas exchange via diaphragm breathing. 

The adaptation to higher CO2 and strengthening of the diaphragm will allow the body to breathe at lower breathing rates and volume at specific exercise levels, making oxygen delivery to cells for energy production far more efficient. 

This will then delay lactic acid onset. 

Via the influence on the autonomic nervous system (via the vagus nerve) on both breathing (via the diaphragm) and the heart, reducing breathing rate will lead to a reduction in heart rate at the same level of exercise. 

Again via the dual influence of the autonomic nervous system on breathing (via the diaphragm) and the stress response, our body will be more relaxed at specific levels of exercise – as a result of increased parasympathetic enervation. 

And have greater access to alpha or ‘zone’ states when exercising. 

Overall, breath training will make the body far more efficient, and relaxed when exercising. 

We discussed the use and benefits of breath hold techniques for surfers. 

Take A Breath run courses for both surfers and sports people,