PowerBreathing technique builds great abdominal definition and greatly increases overall strength. It’s incredibly useful to incorporate in a gym workout or other strength training workout, if interested in Body Building, general weight training, or anything requiring strength and conditioning.
Let’s start with how to Power Breathe. Powerbreathing is performed by taking a slow deep breath through the nose to about 75% of your lung capacity. Breathe in to the stomach using the diaphragm don’t just raise the chest. Exhale through the mouth plugging your teeth with your tongue; hiss while tensing the abs until a full contraction has been obtained. Rest and repeat up to 5 sets of 5 reps. It is important to empty your lungs and hold the contraction for a few seconds.
I recommend also contracting your glutes, by imagining pinching a coin in your butt cheeks and tuck your tailbone under. You can do this standing, sitting or lying down. When learning this skill start by practicing lying on your back, with your knees bent. Press your back hard into the floor while tensing the abs and power breathing. The goal is not to sit-up only to maximally contract the abs for maximum strength.
Anyone that has given the old school twenty-rep breathing squat program ago will agree, it promotes massive gains in overall body mass, including your arms and chest! The 3 deep breaths between each rep is
the key to these strength training gains.
What has this got to with growth hormone? I was reading some text on strength and conditioning and looked up growth hormone for some interesting reading. I came across something that struck my attention.
Growth hormone levels increase in response to breath holding and hyperventilation alone (1), and has been found to be responsive to variety of exercise stressors including strength training resistance exercise. This prompted me to do some more research on a possible link between power breathing strength gains and growth hormone.
The breath holding that is done when performing breathing may…. Well I’m not going to give definite conclusion on a link between two; but going present some information I sourced on growth hormone and let you decide.
Growth hormone is a polypeptide hormone secreted in a burst like manner from the anterior pituitary gland. It is intimately involved with the growth of skeletal muscle and many other tissues in the body. Not only is it important for normal growth and development, but it also appears to play a vital role in adapting to the stress of resistance training.
The roles of growth hormone are listed here (2):
Decreases glucose utilization
Decreases glycogen synthesis
Increases protein synthesis
Increases utilization of fatty acids
Increases fat break down
Stimulates cartilage growth
The secretion of growth hormone and the amount in the blood varies according to the time of day, with the highest levels observed during sleep. The pulses are secreted in different amounts throughout the day, and exercise appears to increase their amounts. Growth hormone releases during sleep are involved in various tissue repair mechanisms in the body. Thus, Buckler (3) hypothesized that it is possible that growth hormone secretion and release may directly influence adaptations of the contractile unit of muscle and expression of strength.
Growth hormone, in addition to directly stimulating protein synthesis in various tissues, especially in muscle tissues, causes production of insulin-like growth factors. This results in conditions that promote tissue repair in general and, perhaps, recovery following resistance exercise (4). Strength training resistance exercises, like deadlifts and squats, probably cause all skeletal muscles to grow, because they are strenuous enough to trigger large growth hormone releases and also put enough tension on all your muscles and bones to activate the growth factor in them (5).
Altering your breathing pattern alone, without any additional exercise, may affect secretions of growth hormone. Either hyperventilation or breath holding causes a 1.5 to 5.5 fold of growth hormone secretions (1).
Holding your breath during exercise is not advisable, deep and frequent breathing – in rhythm with exercise – is advisable and helps in other ways than just influencing hormones; it delays fatigue, and helps force application and stabilization of the body.
This is where the effect of power breathing may come in. The slow exhaling under pressure may decrease oxygen in the body synonymous with hyperventilation and breath holding. The high muscular tension created in the abdominal muscles simulates a brace for heavy load-bearing exercises like deadlifts or squats. In addition, one learns how to better control the abdominal muscles for core stabilization during all other gym workout exercises. The combined affect could be a release in growth hormone, boosting recovery and the adaptation of the muscle fibres, thereby increasing strength. I don’t know for sure, but I do know that Power Breathing works, and even works better if you use a hose and a big bucket of water. Give it a go!
Aaron Ellis www.facebook.com/completestrength2
References:
- 1. Djarova, T., A. Ilkov, A. Varbanova, A. Nikiforova, and G. Mateev. Human growth hormone, cortisol, and acid-base balance changes after hyperventilation and breath-holding. Int. J. Sports Med. 7:311-315. 1986.
- 2. Baechle, Thomas R., Editor. Essentials of strength training and conditioning/ National Strength and Conditioning Association. 1994.
- 3. Buckler, J.M. The relationship between exercise, body temperature and plasma growth hormone levels in a human subject. J. Physiology. 214:25-26. 1971.
- 4. Daughaday, W.H., and P. Rotwein. Insulin-like growth factors I and II. Peptide, messenger ribonucleic acid and gene structures, serum and tissue concentrations. Endocrine Rev. 10:68-91. 1989.
- 5. Kurtz, Thomas. Growth hormone. Stadion News 9:4 Fall 2002. www.stadion.com