Home Shop K3 IMT
SKU: PBK3UK
£550.00
Description
The K3 is suitable for everyone! The device adjusts to your breathing ability so that the resistance to your inspiratory breath safely challenges you. Whether you suffer from breathing conditions like asthma or are recovering from long-COVID, the K3 can help improve how well you breathe. This digital breathing trainer is also popular amongst sportspeople and athletes looking to take their performance to the next level.
Benefits of breathing training with POWERbreathe IMT include:
Strengthen your diaphragm- Breathing training with the POWERbreathe K3 focuses on strengthening your diaphragm rather than your lungs. This is because your lungs are a pair of spongy, air-filled organs, and not muscle, and therefore cannot be strengthened.
Patented ‘intelligent tapering system’- The K3 uses a patented and researched based ‘intelligent tapering system’ that matches the strength profile of your breathing muscles. This is the most effective way of training your breathing muscles, compared to conventional methods.
The K-Series devices feature an electronically controlled ‘tapered flow resistance’ that uses a computer controlled rotary valve to create the resistance to your in-breath. As a result of this, resistance is not fixed at the same level throughout your breath (unlike a pressure threshold device). This is because the device automatically reduces the resistance as you progress through your breath, matching the load to your declining muscle strength.
Use a wider range of breathing muscles- The tapered flow enables you to perform a longer inspiration and use a wider range of breathing muscles, so you achieve higher flow and higher tidal volumes for better results. It achieves this by automatically adapting to increases in your inspiratory muscle strength at the beginning of each training session. What this means is that the training load is highest at the start of your inhalation and then gradually decreases as your lungs fill with air.
Automatic setup- During the first two breaths of each training session there is no resistance and you should inhale as quickly and deeply as possible. It’s during these breaths that the K-Series device measures your maximum breathing capability. Training load is then gradually introduced during breaths three and four until full loading is achieved for breath five and onwards. During these breaths, you will find it increasingly harder to inhale as you ‘weight-train’ your inspiratory muscles.
Monitor training progress- Training measurement results are displayed on the device’s LCD screen, allowing you to monitor training progress and optimise your training technique.
See results after 4-6 weeks- Consistently follow the training regime of 30 breaths, twice a day to feel less breathless during exertion in 4-6 weeks. This is scientifically proven. Learn more about how the POWERbreathe IMT device works in our guide.
Measurement Validity
The following study concludes that the K-Series device “provides automatically processed and valid estimates of physical units of energy during loaded breathing tasks…”
Measurement validity of an electronic inspiratory loading device during a loaded breathing task in patients with COPD
The following study suggests that S-Index® might be more appropriate for measuring inspiratory muscle performance than the currently most used test, PImax…
Assessment of Maximum Dynamic Inspiratory Pressure
The following study finds that “It is feasible and reliable to evaluate the maximum repetition of inspiratory muscles in healthy individuals…”
Is It Possible To Test The Maximum Repetition For The Inspiratory Muscle? Feasibility, Reliability and a Comparison with the Maximum Dynamic Inspiratory Pressure
The following research found that by using the Strength-Index® Test to assess and enhance respiratory muscle strength, athletes will experience tangible improvements in both endurance and overall athletic capability:
Reference values for respiratory muscle strength measured with the Strength-Index® Test in well-trained athletes, e-sports athletes and age-matched controls
One of the new tools to safely measure the strength of the inspiratory muscles in heart patients, in a dynamic manner and without breath holding, is the use of strength-index (s-index).
What’s In The Box
Care & Maintenance
Precautions & Contraindications
POWERbreathe IMT breathing training is drug-free, suitable for almost anyone and should cause no harmful side effects when used properly. Please read the following precautions and contraindications to ensure that POWERbreathe IMT is used safely and appropriately. You must always consult your healthcare professional before embarking on any new form of exercise and this includes POWERbreathe breathing training.
Healthcare Professional should take into consideration the following conditions before patients use POWERbreathe:
Inspiratory muscle training, such as training with POWERbreathe, is not recommended for patients with certain conditions, including the following:
Reviews (2)
Woody – August 26, 2023
Fabulous bit of kit helped with my asthma and improved my breathing when running and other sports ! Had a few years and I think it’s got to go back for a new battery it’s not charging properly! Regards woody
Vanessa Potter – May 4, 2022
Posted on behalf of J Williamsen who submitted his review via our blog, ‘IMST to Lower Blood Pressure‘.
I began using the K3 in late October, 2021, after a bout of COVID-19 (and corresponding loss of stamina) and after reading the research paper on IMST for blood pressure lowering (I have had hypertension for almost 30 years, taking 3 antihypertensive medications).
I have never followed the training regimen described in the research paper. Rather, I have just used the K3 on its automatic (not custom) setting, thirty inspirations (per the automatic setting) in one sitting, sometimes stopping for one/two breaks in the 30 inspirations (to swallow saliva).
I have kept track of my session results, which gradually improved over time, and are now at asymptotic level for me (I am 83 years old; my “load” score is now ~50 each day). My systolic BP has dropped significantly and, over time, I have also reduced my medication by half. My regimen is one set of 30 inspirations (the default K3 protocol), one time per day, seven days a week.
I have made the K3 30 IMST/session part of my daily care regimen and am grateful to PowerBreathe for their devices and the research studies in support of IMST training.
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FAQs
What is auto-optimising technology?
The K-Series automatically estimates your training load at the beginning of every training session. Using this method, the device will adjust the training load every time you start a new session and as the strength of your inspiratory muscles increases. Automatic setup of this load takes place during the first two breaths of each training session.
Have measurements been independently validated?
This study concluded that the K-Series device “provides automatically processed and valid estimates of physical units of energy during loaded breathing tasks…”
This study suggests that S-Index might be more appropriate for measuring inspiratory muscle performance than the currently most used test, PImax…
Can more than one person use the same device?
For hygiene reasons, we recommend that users do not share the same valve head and mouthpiece. However, additional additional valve heads with mouthpiece are available for all K-Series models.
Does my K-Series model ever need re-calibrating for maintaining accuracy?
It really varies based on the user e.g. trainer, private individual, as well as personal needs. We offer a calibration service to meet the needs of the respective groups. Individuals may wish to have this service for peace of mind in the knowledge that their device is functioning correctly. However, due to calibration being a chargeable service, you may choose not to.
K3 vs K2
The K3 is more advanced than the K2 because it offers extra training modes. This includes a warm-up and cool-down feature. The Warm-up and Cool-down mode automatically sets the optimal resistance for inspiratory muscle warm-up and cool-down. This is hugely beneficial because research shows that a standard pre-exercise warm-up routine fails to prepare the breathing muscles for the rigour of exercise. Researchers have also found that breathing against a small inspiratory load immediately after exercise reduces lactate by 16%. The K3 also stores data from your previous 36 training sessions whereas the K2 only stores data from the last session.
K3 vs K4
The K4 offers a professional level of breathing training, testing and monitoring as it uses software. Compared to the 36 training sessions for a single user with the K3, the K4 stores 1,200 sessions per user, and up to 10 user profiles. Opt for the K4 instead of the K3 if you work in a sports team and prefer biofeedback, such as breath-by-breath training and progress tracking on screen via the accompanying Breathe-Link Live Feedback Software.
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