Breathing Optimisation for Runners

After giving a talk at the Royal Society of Medicine, Emma was approached by the ‘Marginal Gains’ team at UK sport to ask if she could help one of their athletes improve their breathing. The cyclist in question was a full-time athlete, but struggling to realise their potential, due to asthma and other issues.

Emma put together an intensive, six week programme for her. Sport scientists at the performance centre measured her lung function at the start and end of the programme and discovered that she’d gained a ten percent improvement in lung function after doing these exercises. This was in spite of already using lung training devices. Her training partner, who followed the same programme as she did (minus the exercises), was used as a control and did not achieve any improvements in her lung function at the end of the six weeks.

The cyclist didn’t just enhance her lung function and improve her race performance. The work she did made a staggering difference to her post-race recovery, as well as her confidence. The improvements meant that she moved up an Olympic cycle and took part in the London Games, a full four years ahead of her projected schedule.

After this success, Emma went on to adapt her programme into a series of exercises to help with all types of sports training, including running, rowing, cycling, martial arts, boxing, swimming and more, to optimise breathing. She now teaches online classes two-four times a week that are aimed at helping everyone.