Airofit seems to have an answer to a problem I didn’t know I had, shallow breathing. Even for someone who has been training and participating in races and sports for decades, this is something new and very welcome.
Most wearable devices used in fitness training these days are focused on measuring heart rate. Barring the VO2-max figures, which some professional athletes must monitor from time to time, breathing capacity is not something that amateurs track. The newly launched Airofit PRO is all set to change that. This nifty device uses innovative tech to monitor your breathing capability and improve lung function through specially developed breathing exercises.
Charge the device, download and connect with the app, choose a level (beginners through to advanced) and let it guide you. Over time, the product promises that you will build up better endurance to last longer and perform more strenuous exercises by strengthening your lungs and breathing capacity.
It is a known fact that we cannot enlarge the lungs’ size or grow any additional alveoli, the tiny air sacs at the end of the bronchioles inside the lungs where the blood exchanges fresh oxygen from our breath with carbon dioxide, which is then exhaled out. It is also well known that most of us by habit only indulge in shallow breathing whereby only a part of the alveoli in the lungs is put to use at any given time. In fact, the purpose behind Yogic deep breathing is to target this typical human weakness by enlarging the lung area that we use during breathing.
Airofit Pro deep breathing exercises do something similar. It helps you use more of the lungs when working out by helping strengthen the respiratory muscles. By improving the strength of the principal inspiratory muscles (diaphragm and external intercostals), we can enhance the neuromuscular function and thereby the grade of muscle contraction when breathing. Since our lungs are fixed to the ribcage and the diaphragm, what happens is that we experience improved relative exploitation of our actual lung capacity.
But this device is used through our mouth, whereas most of us are told to use our noses to breathe, especially when exerting. I was told that the benefits acquired by using this device transfer to nasal breathing too. According to an Aerofit expert: “Nasal breathing has well-documented benefits, and we could not dispute that. It seems that the main reason to breathe through the nose is that your blood is believed to be oxygenated better with nasal breathing caused by a release of Nitrogen Oxide (NO) in the sinuses. Though nasal breathing is something that should be practised throughout the whole day. Using Airofit will only take 5-10 minutes, twice a day to reap its benefits.”
This is also a great way to make respiratory muscles strong and more efficient through personalised and targeted training programs for people recovering from lung or bronchial illnesses. The device, in fact, was originally designed and developed for patients suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and is currently widely used in the rehabilitation of patients with different breathing complications.
So how often should one train? Aerofit recommends starting training with the device twice a day for 1-3 minutes per session, depending on the strength of one’s breathing muscles. Over time you can work your way up to complete 10 minutes with ease.
For something that requires as little as ten minutes a day and can be done as a quick break in-between two virtual meetings (or, with the mic and camera off, even during a boring one!), this device certainly seems to carry some unique benefits to our cardio-respiratory system, one that will not only help the athletic types but even the more sedentary ones.
Airofit PRO is currently priced at RS 33,900/- and is available to buy online from the company website.
