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Other/Mixed Article: The Fallacy of VO2Max

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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Buteyko Breathing Technique – Nothing to Hyperventilate About

I've posted this before and I know @Steve Freides has seen it. While the linked article is critical in tone and much of its content, it does acknowledge that Buteyko breathing techniques have been shown to result in fewer reported asthma symptoms and less need for asthma medications, while also pointing out that they did not result in improvement in pulmonary function tests.

I am not trying be that guy who poo-poos Buteyko every time it comes up.

As someone who has been diagnosed as both having and not having asthma (at different times, by different doctors, using different assessments) I've actually practiced related breathing techniques as taught by Scott Sonnon, and the straw breathing taught by Pavel, and found them beneficial. Not being a pulmonologist and not having specifically practiced Buteyko breathing methods, I don't feel prepared to authoritatively comment on them.

However, I think the effects are likely much more limited than Buteyko advocates often claim (to be fair, the claims on the website of the Buteyko organization Steve F represents are more modest and qualified than those of some other Buteyko-branded organizations and proponents) and I suspect due to a different mechanism.

Im referring only to my experience; and can actually care less about both the general claims and their critiques.
 
If you could make more oxygen available at the tissues, you could increase VO2 max a little. For example, breathing 100% oxygen can offer a small boost in VO2 max by increasing hemoglobin saturation just a little plus adding some dissolved oxygen but the increase is small since hemoglobin is typically 98% saturated even at VO2 max for most people (although elite endurance athletes may desaturase a little due to rapid blood flow through the lungs = less loading time). I can't imagine a breathing technique that would increase oxygen loading (except breathing 100% oxygen) or increase oxygen offloading without sacrificing oxygen loading.

For those who are wondering what the heck we are talking about. The Bohr shift is illustrated below. Basically oxygen is carried on the hemoglobin molecule in your blood. Hemoglobin holds on to oxygen tightly and is reluctant to let it go. However, in the tissues where oxygen is being used, CO2, hydrogen ions, increased temperature etc...reduce the affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen and it tends to let some oxygen go. This is called a Bohr shift. That way hemoglobin has a high affinity for oxygen when it is onloading in the lungs and a lower affinity for oxygen when it is offloading in the tissues (i.e., muscle). Cool huh?
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Mike, "if" the theory is accurate, your current thinking exemplifies "the forest for the trees". I can expand on this after the weekend.
 
Mike, "if" the theory is accurate, your current thinking exemplifies "the forest for the trees". I can expand on this after the weekend.

Probably. It is one of the pitfalls of a PhD. I have been digging myself out of the "forest for the trees" issue for more than 20 years. I realized after I finished my PhD that I could sequence DNA, isolate and characterize muscle proteins in the lab, describe all manner of molecular level processes but I was no closer to understanding the basics of program design and that my best education on training was coming from the powerlifting gym where I worked part time. Sometimes detailed knowledge at the molecular level does little to help you truly understand the big picture.

Anyway, I would be interested to hear your explanation after the weekend.
 
Probably. It is one of the pitfalls of a PhD. I have been digging myself out of the "forest for the trees" issue for more than 20 years. I realized after I finished my PhD that I could sequence DNA, isolate and characterize muscle proteins in the lab, describe all manner of molecular level processes but I was no closer to understanding the basics of program design and that my best education on training was coming from the powerlifting gym where I worked part time. Sometimes detailed knowledge at the molecular level does little to help you truly understand the big picture.

Anyway, I would be interested to hear your explanation after the weekend.

Mike, you're an absolute Gentleman, and refreshingly humble. I'm glad that you're here. I will hit you up when I am back in civilization. Please feel free to remind me in case life gets out in front of me next week. Thanks.
 
Not all of the oxygen delivered to the muscles gets extracted. We measure this by measuring what we call the A-V O2 difference (difference in oxygen concentration in arterial vs venous blood).

@Steve Freides, if my understanding of the buteyko method is correct, this test could probably indicate if more quantity of O2 is actually being delivered to the tissues when the CO2 concentration increases (or CP increases), right?

This is how I see it: one of the main goals of Buteyko breathing is to increase delivery of O2 to tissues. So, a person of low CP would have normal O2 arterial saturation close to 100%, and a high O2 venous saturation (only little O2 passed to the tissues). The difference between arterial and venous saturation would be what was delivered to the tissues. Then, a person with high CP would also have high arterial O2 saturation, but a lower venous O2 saturation (more O2 was delivered to the cell due to higher CO2 pressure). Makes sense?

Glad I came across this thread, really like it. Thanks a lot @mprevost for taking the time to share all this knowledge
 
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