The Breather Study
By Michael Yessis, Ph.D.

Introduction

Breathing is the most "taken for granted" function of the body. Even in our present age of physical fitness, breathing is hardly ever discussed. Instead, emphasis is placed on the circulatory and muscular systems since they are considered more important. The respiratory muscles, however, should be exercised separately in the same manner as you develop other muscles of the body. By doing forced inhalation and exhalation using the Breather, these muscles can be developed making breathing easier and more effective.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential for using the Breather, SIE resistive training, in various "healthy" populations. (SIE Resistive Training, simultaneous inspiratory/expiratory resistive breathing training)

More specifically, the purposes were to 1. Confirm the effectiveness of the Breather in increasing expiratory and inspiratory capacity, - 2. Determine if there is an increase in strength, change in chest and waist size, improvement in the cardiovascular system, etc., - and 3. Determine if SIE resistive training can be used daily, twice daily or every other day, i.e., to determine what appears to be an effective workout regime.

Methodology

Four groups, different according to life style, were used in this study. The first group was made up of athletes (individuals who participated in recreational sports, including body building). There were five sedentary people who completed all the tests, three controls, seven athletes and three runners, for a total of 18 subjects.

The subjects were told to use the Breather for three minutes in each session, four times per day, three days per week. This was to be done for the first two weeks with weeks three and four using the Breather three to five minutes each time, four times per day, five days per week.

The subjects were tested prior to beginning the test on the following items: forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expired volume in one second (FEV,), pulse rate before and after a standard aerobic step test, resting heart rate and then heart rate 15 seconds immediately after work, chest and waist circumference and hand dynamometer. There was also an aerobic workload consisting of how much distance the subjects could cover in 12 minutes.

Results

There was a positive increase in the before and after test in almost all parameters tested. In regard to chest circumference, 45% of the subjects showed an increase ranging from 1/4 to 2 1/2 inches. Six out of ten of the active athletes and runners increased in chest circumference. This increase was especially noted in runners.

In regard to waist circumference, approximately 40% of the subjects showed a decrease in waist size. The decrease ranged anywhere from 1/2 to 2 inches. Ten of the subjects showed no change; but it was not unique for any one population.

Before and after hand dynamometer testing (average of three tries) showed that 70% of the subjects increased in hand strength. The amount of increase ranged anywhere from two to ten pounds. Three subjects showed no change while two showed a slight decrease.

Resting pulse rate, before and after the test, showed that there was a decrease in 42% of the subjects. It varied from 3 to 18 beats per minute drop. Only one subject experienced an increase and it was one of the controls, while two runners showed no change.

Pulmonary function studies showed a 5% to 18% improvement in the FEV, and 11% improvement in the FVC.

In distance covered, 86% of the subjects showed an increase in the distance they were able to cover in 12 minutes. The increase ranged from 50 to 700 yards. One subject showed a slight decrease while another showed no change.

Discussion

From the results of this study, it appears that using the Breather, SIE resistive training was instrumental in producing changes in both the breathing mechanism and possibly in restoration and circulation. For example, it has been well established that the amount of strength a person can exhibit is related to the type of breathing being done. During breath holding the greatest amount of strength can be produced. Since the majority of the subjects showed an increase in hand strength from using the Breather, it indicates that the muscles involved in breathing, as well as the amount of air held in breathing, are capable of producing greater strength.

The decrease in waist circumference can also be explained by the forced expiration done on the Breather. It has been well documented that the abdominal muscles, especially the transversus abdominis, play an important role in expiration. In this regard, it should be noted that the transversus abdominis plays a role only in forced expiration. This is its only function. Thus, by doing forced expiration, there was most likely development of the abdominal muscles, which produced a smaller waist size.

In regard to chest circumference, most of the active subjects showed an increase in chest size. This can be explained by the greater amount of inhalation that the subjects were doing together with improvement of the intercostal muscles and possibly the levator scapule and upper trapezium to help expand and elevate the thoracic chest cage. In addition, there was probably development of the diaphragm in its downward pulling action. It is also possible that the chest circumference may have increased due to greater expansion of the lungs or thoracic cavity.

In regard to resting pulse rate, there was greater variability in regard to pre and post testing in the resting state. Here, eight decreased, six showed no change, while four increased. This can be explained by some of the subjects being in a different mental state when being tested at different times of day. However, most important was the greater number of subjects who decreased their heart rate after the workload. This can be considered to be even more important than merely changing the resting pulse. A greater decrease in the heart rate after a standard workload is indicative of higher levels of fitness.

That there was an improvement in the cardio respiratory system was also indicated by the increase in the distance that the subjects were able to cover in 12 minutes. A 12 minute run is mostly aerobic and to show an increase of such magnitude in this amount of time, when their life styles did not change during the time of the study, indicates that SIE resistive training played a major role.

Upon the portion of Dr. Lester Lee's study on the Breather, he stated that "the preliminary objective data is quite impressive." He felt that a tremendous variety of applications with the Breather on post operative patients necessitating incentive spirometry, patients with lung disorders, as well as the athletes desiring to enhance and facilitate their breathing efficiency and performance could be achieved

Michael Yessis, Ph.D.

Breather study conducted in June-July, 1990 by Michael Yessis, PhD, international authority on sports medicine and training and columnist for Muscle & Fitness and Lester L. Lee, M.D., American College of Sports Medicine.

PN Medical manufactures the Breather