Lung capacity

[jacob360]

I started smoking weed when I was 14, and smoked for a good 8 or 9 years. I know smoking at such a young age probably stunted the growth of my lungs, and with the tar on top of that, my lung capacity isn't the greatest. I never smoked cigarettes, and I quit smoking herb.

What, if anything, can I do to expand my lung capacity? I'm about to start taking Taichi, where breath control is very important.

Thanks for any help

[blooming lotus]

I'm sure you'll get alot of advice about this, but for my 20c worth, I would suggest swimming. There are also some good mediative breathing techniques where you store and sink your breath in various parts of your lung or throat and hold for as long as possible which ups capacity and causes extremely rapid toxin burnoff...it's had some bad raps but ninjitsu kuji kiri has good instruction for these methods. Good luck.....Oh also sounds goofy, but try counting in your head as fast as you can while storing your breath, focusing on seeing the the counting no.s roll by as you get into bigger figures???? Really...lol....worked for me ;)

[inic]

swimming/running you're best bet..... I personally think all those breathing exercises are pointless if you're within 100 miles of a big city..... way too much polution.

[mickey]

Hi jacob360,

In addition to the above, you may want to start healing yourself on the cellular level. I recommend spirulina, bee pollen, and fresh vegetables; especially the green leafy ones. Steamed or raw, depending on the type.

mickey

[Ka]

Seconding Swiming but particularly
Free Diving
http://www.tanyastreeter.com/
http://www.sfdj.com/sand/freedive.html
Cardio work anarobic and aerobic.
Some forms of Yoga and Qigong but I would combine them with the Cardio work.
Ofcause Diet can't hurt but you've already cut out the main cause so Good for You.:D

[IronFist]

Swimming does make you breathe hard. If I'm just sitting around doing nothing I can hold my breath for a minute without trying too hard. But if I've been swimming for a while and then just stand there in the pool and try to hold my breath, it's hard to get even 30 seconds.

[inic]

also try lots of sex! in the water!

[jacob360]

Thanks for your replys!

[Ford Prefect]

The attribute you are talking about called your VO2 Max, or the volume of air your lungs can hold and process at once. There are many ways to increase your VO2 Max which those here have recommended. Basically doing long-sustained activity or interval training in running, swimming, biking, rowing, jump rope, etc etc. Starting with long sustained activity is the best bet as intterval ttraining rather demanding. Remember to keep pushing yourself as you should break through barriers and increase lung capacity that much more quickly. Your body will quickly adapt to a sustained activity like jogging if you keep pushing yourself during your session. Lot's of people refer to this as a "second wind".

Pushing yourself while swimming should be done with less intensity. The reason why swimming winds you so quickly is because of the breath holding component of it. This also makes it quite dangerous. While holding breath and continuing activity your blood becomes hypoxic. This means that your blood becomes saturated with CO2. You can pass out with very little warning while doing activity and holding your breath and the last place you want to pass out is in the middle of the water. If you don't have a life guard or swim buddy, then don't push yourself hard while swimming.