“I use my Powerbreathe daily. I can see how much I improved from the day when I started. Who knows, it might be this little extra effort that helped me already many times to stay in the leading group instead of riding in the grupetto in a race,” says cyclist Lukáš Bátora.

This is one of four favourable POWERbreathe reviews from the cycling team who were provided with POWERbreathe inspiratory muscle training devices (Plus and Classic models) as they wished to try a different approach to preparation for the races.

Cycling Team Banská Bystrica was set up in 2000 and looked after riders of all categories and cycling disciplines. Most of the riders participate in races across Europe, with the Elite Team participating in World Cups around the world. They are one of the best Cyclocross teams in Slovakia but they also participate in MTB and XC international races and World Cups.

Because they race at top level, the cyclists are exposed to high endurance training daily but they all started training on their POWERbreathe’s at level 0. After 3 months of regular POWERbreathe training (30 breaths twice a day), none of the cyclists had managed to reach beyond level 3 – but this will be because they all were provided with the heaviest resistance model out of all the POWERbreathe devices; Level 3 HR (heavy resistance).

When talking about how they used POWERbreathe, they said “Just like there are many different exercises when you go to the gym, there are many various breathing exercises with Powerbreathe – the core exercise being inhaling fast 30 times to the maximal capacity of your lungs followed by slow exhalation. This, of course, is only the basic exercise, rather fast and powerful. You can also breathe in in different patterns – changing the intensity, doing longer exercises to increase your endurance, using the device during a physical activity which simulates long climbs or time trials. There are many different examples of the use of Powerbreathe to be found on internet – different exercises suit different people, everyone should try to find what suits him/her the best. If you do your exercises twice a day and honestly, you should feel your power parameters improve in about a week’s time. It’s really the same principle as with lifting weights – first time in the gym is painful but you do see positive effects and cope better with the same loads every other time you come. All you need is practice and discipline. Just as fast as you get the muscles trained and see the good results, it’s by the same speed the atrophy comes, so you really should be persistent if looking for long-term results.”

Here’s what Lukáš’ fellow cyclists had to say after training with their POWERbreathe for 3 months…

Martin Haring appreciates different aspect of the device:

“I see the best potential of Powerbreathe in improving my starts during races – especially in XC or cyclocross races where you need to go at your full potential from the very start. Powerbreathe helps me to prepare and warm up my inspiratory system before the actual race performance.”

And Martin Fraňo comments,

“Everyone tries to enhance their performance slightly by any given possibility these days. Cycling becomes faster each year with almost everyone having the same professional approach: everyone is using the same legal supplements enhancing and boosting power, is equipped with the same top level of bike and bike accessories, and everybody stick to a healthy way of living. Powerbreathe is neither a miracle nor something revolutional on the market, just a small little extra that you can add to your improvement. I would like to stress especially the positive effect it has on one’s health in general. Me personally, I am a light asthmatic and I see the improvement this tool has had on the depth of my inbreath.”

Find out how POWERbreathe IMT can improve cycling performance.