Inspiratory Muscle Training Benefits in Fitness & Sports

Thanks to the numerous impartial, sports research studies which used POWERbreathe IMT devices as the breathing training intervention, there are many POWERbreathe inspiratory muscle training benefits in fitness and sports.

POWERbreathe Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) drug-free devices specifically target and strengthen the muscles involved in breathing. Most specifically, IMT targets your main breathing muscles, the diaphragm and intercostals.

A strong breathing system is essential for overall health and well-being. But it also plays a critical role in optimising fitness and sports performance by ensuring efficient oxygen delivery, energy production, and recovery.

Inspiratory Muscle Training Benefits in Fitness & Sports

1. Strengthening Inspiratory Muscles

By challenging the inspiratory muscles with resistance, POWERbreathe IMT effectively strengthens these muscles, such as the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. By strengthening these muscles, you will experience enhanced respiratory function and increased respiratory muscle strength. This leads to improved breathing efficiency, enabling you to breathe more effortlessly during daily activities or intense physical exertion.

2. Increased Respiratory Endurance

Just as athletes train to improve their endurance, POWERbreathe IMT helps boost respiratory muscle endurance. Improving the endurance of inspiratory muscles can delay the onset of respiratory fatigue during physical activities. This means you can sustain breathing for longer periods without fatigue, vital for endurance sports, such as running, cycling, or swimming, or even simple tasks like climbing stairs.

Enhanced respiratory muscle strength and endurance reduce the perception of breathlessness during intense exercise. Athletes may find it easier to sustain high-intensity efforts without feeling as breathless. This makes exercise feel easier.

3. Improved Performance

Stronger respiratory muscles translate to improved overall performance, whether you’re an athlete striving for peak performance or someone seeking better stamina in daily life. Enhanced breathing efficiency allows for optimal oxygen delivery to working muscles, improving performance across various activities.

Strengthening the inspiratory muscles can contribute to better oxygen uptake and utilisation by the body. This is advantageous for overall aerobic capacity and performance in endurance activities.

4. Enhanced Core Stability

The diaphragm plays a crucial role in core stability and posture. Training the inspiratory muscles with POWERbreathe IMT can potentially contribute to improved core strength, which is essential for various athletic movements, such as bracing and twisting in racket sports.

5. Better Breathing Technique

With regular use, POWERbreathe inspiratory muscle training helps you to focus on your breathing technique. Bringing attention to your breath with a better breathing technique can be especially valuable during activities that demand precise control of airflow, such as in yoga, martial arts, or weightlifting.

6. Quicker Recovery

Strengthening the respiratory muscles improves exercise tolerance and helps in quicker recovery post-exercise. It does this by increasing the aerobic capacity of the inspiratory muscles, making them more efficient lactate consumers during and after exercise.

7. Sport-Specific Benefits

Athletes in sports with high aerobic demands, such as distance running or cycling, will find POWERbreathe IMT beneficial for optimising their respiratory performance. Additionally, individuals involved in sports requiring breath control, like swimming or archery, might see improvements in their ability to maintain control over their breath. This is because POWERbreathe IMT is scientifically proven to strengthen the breathing muscles, helping them cope with the demands of breathing at a high intensity. It is also proven to reduce whole-body effort, making exercise feel easier. As a result, you can increase your training intensity which will ultimately improve your performance.

For more specific inspiratory muscle training benefits in fitness and sports, please select an activity, such as rowing, rugby or racket sports.

POWERbreathe Inspiratory Muscle Training Devices

Breathing Trainers – IMT and EMT

Shop now

Additional Resources

If you are interested in improving your fitness or sports performance, are you training your breathing? You probably work out all your other muscle groups yet ignore this fundamental system that is necessary to improve sports performance – the muscles used for breathing. If ever there was a weak link in the chain, this is it. Read more about why you should train your breathing.

In summary, POWERbreathe IMT is useful for stimulating sports performance and increasing pulmonary function.