Here’s an update at the end of the second phase of my little study:
•After 3 weeks of measuring 30 vital capacity breaths a day, peak measurements improved from 6.6 liters to 7.3 liters.
•After 3 weeks of measuring 30 peak expiratory flow/forced expiratory volume maneuvers per day, peak measurements improved from 720/4.75 to 735/5.00.
In both cases, a significant measurable improvement, especially given the limited amount of time! The final phase, which I’ll start tonight, will be combining the two: measuring 30 vital capacity breaths and 30 PEF/FEV1 maneuvers per day for 3 weeks. It will be interesting to see if combining the two will result in similar improvement, superior improvement (resulting from a sort of optimization), or lesser improvement (from over-taxing muscles).
Update and conclusions in 3 weeks!
John
Hello,
I think 7.3 liters is gigantic capacity. I looked at the Arnold Jacobs capacity chart and
maybe it’s outdated but it shows a male at age 20 who’s 6’11” having a vital capacity
of 6.4 . So yours is really great. What would I buy ( inexpensive ) to check mine.
I do have some very good Claude Gordon breathing exercises to maximize what natural
capacity I do have.
Thanks,
John
wkimball
John,
It’s a little expensive, but I would recommend a Buhl pocket spirometer. If that’s too expensive, you could try an incentive spirometer like this one, but it only goes up to 5 liters.