As an experienced coach and athlete, I would normally tell you that there is no way to lift more reps instantly. However, after reading some recent research on the effect of of hyperventilating on increasing total lifting volume, I’m convinced. In this article, we’ll be covering some awesome research on the performance enhancing effects of hyperventilation. Spoiler alert, the athletes in the study were able to lift 35% or more reps per exercise when using this technique. Keep reading for more.
As someone who regularly writes about building strength, and functional fitness, I find myself combing through research articles on a regular basis. Most of the time researchers find little if any significant advantage to different training methods, supplements, or other new training strategies.
I’m used to reading about 2-3% increases in performance, not double digit increases. Needless to say, I was taken aback when I read the article entitled, “Hyperventilation-Aided Recovery for Extra Repetitions on Bench Press and Leg Press.” Here is the bottom line up front.
Lift More Reps Instantly With Hyperventilation
- Athletes Using Hyperventilation (HV) Increased Total Bench Press Reps 27% Across 6 Sets
- 30 Seconds Was the Ideal Length of Time to Hyperventilate Prior to Next Set
- Athletes Using Hyperventilation (HV) Increased Total Leg Press Reps 35% Across 6 Sets
- Hyperventilation Breathing Only Worked On Compound Movements
- HV Breathing Lowers Blood PH Allowing You to Complete More Reps
We should review the details of this recent study so we can determine if their results are even applicable for us. A little further on, I’ll cover some practical recommendations for using this breathing method, and recommend some heavy lifting, and muscle mass programs that you could use this technique with.
Hyperventilation Study to Increase Your Ability to Lift More Reps Instantly
The study investigated the performance enhancing effect of hyperventilation (HV) breathing on athletes’ ability to lift heavy weights. The researchers recruited 11 power-trained men with 7 throwers in track and field, 2 rugby players, 1 judo player, and 1 middle-distance sprinter.
They brought them into the lab and tested their one rep max bench press and leg press. These were experienced trainees with an average bench press of 284 pounds, and an average leg press of 457 pounds. They normally trained 5 days per week, and were no strangers to lifting heavier weights.
Once the preliminary tests were complete, they brought the athletes back, and had them complete 6 sets, each to failure, with 80% of 1RM for bench presses and leg press. They spaced this out over two different training days. They also had them act as their own control group.
The researchers instructed them to hyperventilate for 30 seconds prior to a few sets of each exercise, and not on others. Other participants were instructed to hyperventilate on different sets, so they could see exactly what effects the breathing had on the number of reps performed. Let me tell you, they had some huge effects.
Research Results On Lifting More Reps Instantly
As you might expect, each successive set saw a decrease in reps performed. This makes sense, as you would expect anyone to lift fewer reps as they fatigued. However, when the athletes performed 30 seconds of HV breathing prior to a set, they found that there was little if any decrease from the previous set. In fact, on a few sets they saw an increase in reps!
The researchers also found a secondary affect that lifting speed was maintained when athletes used the 30 second HV breathing technique. They confirmed this effect with blood tests, noting real PH differences in blood after a HV breathing sets, compared to a normal set. This leads us to the obvious question, why does this work?
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How Does Hyperventilation Increase Performance?
As you work out, your body produces energy via the three primary energy pathways: aerobic, anaerobic, and phosphocreatine (PCr). Each system is active all the time in your body, and your physical activity determines in what proportion they’re used. Here’s the technical explanation by the researchers.
In general, physical training for strength and power gains requires a high demand for adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis that is largely met by an increased rate of anaerobic glycolysis. The ensuing release of excessive amount of hydrogen ions (H+) may result in the impairment of the excitation-contraction coupling system (13,15,28,30) and diminution of energy supply from phosphocreatine (PCr) and anaerobic glycolysis (23,25,34,42). These physiological changes are detrimental to muscular performance (fatigue) and may limit the training volume or velocity of muscular contraction.
Hyperventilation-Aided Recovery for Extra Repetitions on Bench Press and Leg Press
If you haven’t read my ebook, “Programming Your Fitness,” this may be a little hard to understand. I recommend checking it out, as it will explain these types of terms, and their importance for functional fitness. However, I’ll give you a brief metaphor to help elucidate what the researchers are saying.
Imagine that your muscles are like a stopped subway train. The train is stopped, and the conductor needs everyone to help pull the train into the station, which is only a few hundred yards ahead. All the passengers get out of the train and begin pulling on a rope attached to the front of the train.
As each passenger gets tired, they stop pulling on the rope. Instead of clearing out of the tunnel, they just stay where they are, making it even harder for other passengers to continue pulling. This is a metaphor for your muscle fiber function.
As you contract your muscle fibers, they require ATP to provide the energy to do so. Once the ATP is used, an extra hydrogen+ ion is broken off from the ATP molecule. These extra molecules are the passengers that have stopped pulling. They’re just standing around getting in the way of useful work, in the form of muscle contractions.
As they build up, it creates an acidic environment where less and less work can be done. Eventually work must stop. This is when you push your sets and reps to failure. You must rest so your body can clear out the waste products from the reps you’ve done, thus returning your bodies PH level to normal.
Hyperventilation might be the best way to force your body to clear out this metabolic waste. This allows your muscles to continue to contract long past the point where they otherwise would be able to. As we all know building muscle size, and strength, are very strongly correlated with increased lifting volume. If you can do more sets and reps, you’re much more likely to get stronger, and bigger!
If you want an awesome program that focuses on building muscle mass and functional fitness then check this out.
Practical Considerations for HV Breathing to Lift More Reps Instantly
HV breathing is one of the best ways to increase lifting performance. The best part is that it’s completely free! Of course, I did experiment with this technique myself. I tried it with some seated dumbbell shoulder presses. Each set was taken to near failure, and I found that I could finish my later sets much more easily than I would normally have done.
Some of this could be the placebo effect. I then experimented with some forced breathing during a longer WOD. I made myself take about 10 forced breaths prior to moving on to my next movement. I do think it increased my overall power output. I know this is far from scientific, but it does indicated that there is some benefit to HV breathing for strength training, and functional fitness. Here are my recommendations.
Training Recommendations
- Use a 30 second breathing window
- Take around 20-25 deep breaths, and then start your set
- Don’t breath so heavily that you’re dizzy
- HV won’t improve 1RM strength directly
- 6+ reps is the best rep range
- Forced breathing during a WOD seems to help
I think this type of breathing technique can help you drastically increase your long term training potential. Not only does it allow you to do more reps, it allows you to do more fast reps. For strength training, practicing moving weight at maximum speed is crucial. You’ll never hear a coach or personal trainer tell you that your rep speed is just too fast!
This technique is great for intermediate and advanced athletes. Newer athlete’s can still use it, but they don’t need to worry about increased volume as much as they need to build skill with each lift. Beginners need to work on proper form, and learning the basics of functional fitness. Any decent training program will build strength and functional work capacity in newbies. Save the fancy techniques for when you hit a plateau and you need an extra muscle gain boost.
What HV Breathing Isn’t Good For
It does bear repeating that HV breathing probably won’t help you set a new weight training PR today. None of the research indicates that it increases the amount of weight you can lift for one or two reps. At those low volumes, blood PH isn’t increasing enough to hamper your performance. It will probably help you set a rep max record, provided it’s a larger set, around 6+ reps.
I do think HV breathing might work for light weights, like you would see in a WOD. Research clearly shows that blood PH goes up during this style of training. It may be more accurate to say that the weight isn’t as important as is the amount of work you’re doing with the weight. If you’re out of breath and your muscle are burning, it doesn’t really matter if you used lighter weights or heavier.
Moreover, this technique doesn’t work well for isolation exercises. Even an intense set of biceps curls or triceps extensions, doesn’t change blood PH by a whole lot. In the study they highlighted other research where they tried this breathing technique with a leg extension. They found no appreciable affect. If it didn’t work for your quads, then no amount of hard work for a smaller muscle group like biceps will matter.
Stick to heavy free weight exercises and olympic weight lifting. You’ll be able to use this method more effectively. I think this would work well on olympic lifts as it allows you to maintain bar speed as you fatigue. Even though HV breathing is increasing muscular endurance, this should ultimately lead to muscle strength gains down the road. The more heavy reps you can do in training, the more likely you are to increase your overall strength.
Finding the Best Training Program for HV Breathing
Being able to do higher reps with the same weight is cool, but you still need a great functional fitness program to take advantage of this technique. Based on the research, it seems that any high volume, strength, or muscle growth program should be a great fit. Wouldn’t you know it, I have several programs just like that.
I will list several different programs, both free and premium programs. Almost all of my training programs are free, but for those athletes that want specific warm ups, coaches notes, and percentages on the lifts, I have included paid versions as well. Here are the links to both.
Premium Programs
These programs are biased towards lifting heavy loads, and building lean muscle. Each of those programs feature several compound lifts prior to the WOD. These are the areas where you can use HV breathing to really increase your power output, and bar speed.
Final Thoughts
As always I encourage you to try this method yourself. This isn’t a more is better technique. Stick with 30 seconds of HV breathing before your set. Use it with big compound movements, and see what effects it has on your training.
You may find even better results as some of the trainees in the experiment saw up to a 60% improvement in total reps completed. If you can put in that much more work, and successfully recover from it, then there is no doubt that you can build bigger muscles and the strength you’re looking for. Now get to the weight room, and get training!
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