Tom’s POWERbreathe K5 Journey: From ICU to Marathon Glory

We connected with Tom Hollis as a result of his combined specialization in critical care and running, and we lent him the powerful POWERbreathe K5 with Breathe-Link® Live Feedback software in preparation for the 2023 Valencia Marathon. Tom shares his experience with us about the K5 IMT device and notes its major impact on his running performance, even though he explains that his story is by no means a paid advertisement.

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Looking back on his year-long breathing training adventure, Tom attributes his improved cardiovascular endurance—one of the three primary types of exhaustion in distance running, along with neuromuscular and mental—to the POWERbreathe K5. With a wealth of evidence on his laptop to support his efforts and achievements, Tom has reduced his cardiovascular fatigue by strengthening and optimizing his breathing.

The real evidence, though, is in his race results from the previous 12 months, where he set personal records at every distance!

Tom maintains his modesty and admits that he is still learning despite his remarkable accomplishments. He playfully points out that his breathing technique in the picture is not perfect, intending to use more of his diaphragm and less of his neck.

Tom’s personal bests are as follows:

• 2:30:11 in the Marathon
• Half Marathon: 71:07
• 10K: 32:47
• 5K: 15:55

POWERbreathe K5 inspiratory muscle training is effective not only in clinical settings but also in reaching peak athletic performance, as demonstrated here by Tom Hollis.

Read Tom’s POWERbreathe K5 Journey In His Own Words

A year of training with the @powerbreatheuk K5 IMT…

An ICU physio colleague first mentioned this kit last year. It’s used clinically for respiratory rehab, but also for inspiratory muscle training in elite sports (I’ll stay respectfully 🤐, but some impressive names).

Anyway, long story short, my crossover between ICU and the running world put me in contact with @powerbreatheuk, who have been kind enough to lend me their amazing K5 IMT in preparation for the Valencia marathon 2023 and beyond.

And this is by no means an ad, by the way! I just really like the product, think it’s really helped my running, and wanted to say thanks and give it a shout-out. They don’t know I’m posting this.

If cardiovascular, neuromuscular, and mental are 3 of the main types of fatigue in distance running, I feel I’ve chipped away at that first one by making my breathing more powerful and efficient. There’s plenty of data on the laptop to support this, but I suppose the proof really is in the pudding of some of my best race performances over the past 12 months including PBs at every distance!

P.S. My technique in this photo is terrible. Needs to be much more ‘diaphragm’ and less ‘neck’! I’m still learning.

More Customer Stories

If you enjoyed Tom’s story then why not have a look at what others have to say about their own experience with POWERbreathe breathing training devices?