Monthly Archives: February 2012

Since my last blog I have been continuing with the Powerbreathe 30 breaths. Having started with the resistance at the lowest level and struggling initially to complete the full 30, I have seen progress in that I now can manage 30 with the resistance up to level 2.

So how has this affected training? I have been repeating breathing training sessions I did in the build up to the Crash-Bs last year and have found that I wasn’t feeling as wheezy if I didn’t use my inhaler. But the real test would be rowing at the Agganis Arena in Boston on race day.

Last year I had real problems with the dry atmosphere of the arena and couldn’t perform as well as I...

This week I got some firm and familiar warning signs of my Multiple Sclerosis (MS): I’ve had dull pins and needles in my big toes and they feel heavy. This sensation moved up my legs to just below my knees at the beginning of the week.

I’m in my 5th year without a relapse and DO NOT want to spoil this record so I had a mental review of my habits and I talked to my physio about it. Bottom-line, I am not having a good night’s sleep, so feel fatigued with low energy levels. So, until I have broken this habit I am talking herbal sleeping tablets for five nights and prescription ones for two. I am also increasing the...

Hello, my name is Anthony Mayatt and I am a personal trainer  and owner of  BreatheFitness. I was approached by POWERbreathe who asked me if I would be interested in trialling one of their POWERbreathe devices for a period of one month to see if my respiratory strength, stamina and endurance improves.  The model given to me was the POWERbreathe Plus Medium Resistance.

As part of my trial I have agreed to provide blogs of my training so all of the POWERbreathe followers are able to read about my experience using the POWERbreathe. This is my first blog.

As a personal trainer I am (or would like to think I am) extremely fit and most of you...

Exercising on a regular basis is critical for fitness. Regular aerobic exercise is essential for cardiovascular fitness as the exercise reduces the amount of work the lungs need to do. However, you cannot increase your lung capacity with regular exercise and if you suffer from lung disorders such as COPD, asthma or emphysema regular exercise will not improve lung function.

Regular physical activity will help strengthen your limb muscles  and help to reduce shortness of breath symptoms and increase your stamina.

The respiratory system is made up of the nose,...

If you are someone who suffers from shortness of breath, have trouble breathing or find you have to put in more effort to breathe, then you probably have a respiratory illness or some form of lung disease such as emphysema, COPD or asthma.  Whether you are resting, exercising or simply lying flat, you can suffer breathing difficulty symptoms.  If you can pinpoint the triggers that cause these breathing problems then you can find out what the underlying cause is.

So what are the symptoms? If you have severe breathing problems then the most common symptoms are rapid respiratory rate, continuous wheezing...

Indoor air can be just as polluted as outdoor air. Even more so. For those who suffer from COPD and other respiratory illnesses, spending time indoors is not by choice. This is why it is important that the quality of the indoor air is as pollution free as possible.

To help improve the quality of air indoors, here are some top tips which will help anyone who suffers from COPD, asthma or any other respiratory illness.

Over anything else you need to take charge of your home if you want to improve the quality of the indoor air you...

POWERbreathe Classic user Nick Howden-Steenstra, 18, and his good friend Alex Hutchinson, 19, visited POWERbreathe Towers this morning to fill us in about the challenge they’ve chosen to undertake: celebrating the coming of the Olympics from Greece to London and raising money via their Just Giving page for Macmillan Cancer Support and Amnesty International.

The 4000km-plus Torch Triathlon 2012 (3250km cycling, 813km running and 122km swimming) is unprecedented, with such triathlon distances not being covered self-supported before.

The official Olympic torch is to be lit at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece, on the 18th May...

A rather sad update this week with the harrowing news that I ended up getting ill at the back end of last week and it has taken the week to get over. It all happened because of this rubbish cold weather we are enduring. I know the cold affects people in different ways but it freezes my chin, turns my lips blue and my speech starts to resemble an inebriated embarrassing father at a wedding (slurred and fairly incomprehensible). I also struggle with the ability to pick up a virus rather easily, a combination of poor genetics (thanks parents) and this running lark I do.

From the limited research that has been done, especially for marathon runners,...

My cerebella tremors have been a real pain and I have been feeling quite exhausted. But I know when I start feeling like this the best answer is to exercise and hopefully it will pass. Mind you sometimes that’s easier said than done. My POWERbreathe routine even got hit, I just felt so exhausted. But I promise you, you WILL hear a difference next week.

I hope you all had a good valentine and got spoilt rotten.

My day job as a nurse is in teaching patients with Growth Hormone deficiency how to use their fancy electronic device that gives them daily injections of Growth Hormone.  A lot of my patients are children and the new gadget is great fun for the first few weeks but then the novelty wears off.  A big part of the job is keeping them on treatment long enough for it to do its job.

I am that child!  I’m 7 weeks into using my POWERbreathe and have found that I’m not practising as often as I need to be so I’m not feeling the benefit...which means I don’t practise so much as I’m not getting the positive feedback from my running that practice gives me.  And so the cycle...