In this video we have an actual scientist – Doctor Artour Rakhimov – giving us an insight about how Training Mask works and how he used it as an individual coach of two World Champion athletes. He has studied breathing for long time and has used different breathing methods to determine which is optimal for both health and performance.
Dr. Artour Rakhimov starts off by making a parallel between training at high altitude and training using the Training Mask. He’s conclusion is pretty staggering. He mentions how Training Mask works a bit like training at high altitude because it reduces air flow due to increase resistance, but gives it even more credit and actually considers it superior to altitude training.
Having studied many theories about which type of breathing technique is healthier or what respiratory training method offers the best results, Dr. Artour Rakhimov clearly knows his business.
“Training Mask offers both a hypoxic and hypercapnic training at the same time. Therefore, Training Mask is better than training at high altitude.”
Dr. Artour Rakhimov also mentions something which is often overlooked – how CO2 can affect sport performance.
When you are using the Trainig Mask and you exhale, a significant amount of the air you exhale (which is high in CO2 content) will be held by the re-breather. The re-breather is an essential component of the Training mask which will not allow the air we breathe out to dissipate entirely before you take the next breath. So when you are going to inhale again, some of this air will go back into your lungs.
Did you know that the primary reason why we feel the need to take a breath is the carbon-dioxide (CO2) levels our bodies?
We know for a fact that our bodies are much more sensitive to variations of CO2 levels rather than O2 variations. So, even if most athletes will focus their workouts in getting in more O2, training for developing a higher CO2 tolerance is equally important if you are looking to improve your endurance.
CO2 is a byproduct of physical activity. The higher the intense of your training is, the more CO2 it will start to build up inside your body. When CO2 levels rise, we feel the need to breath out and in again.
That is why we start to breathe rapidly when we perform any moderate or high intensity activities. So, if we would be able to find a way to increase our tolerance to higher CO2 levels we would be able to perform better any kind of physical activity.
Training Mask helps you achieve that. If you are able to tolerate a high amount of CO2 in the blood, your breathing will be lighter, which ultimately translates into better performance.
Ultimately, that means that in addition to the so called elevation effect of high altitude, the Training Mask also has also a hypercapnic effect.
To conclude, Dr. Artour Rakhimov strongly believes that the Training Mask can give you even more benefits that training at high altitude, from the comfort of working out at sea level, or wherever it is that you are training.
