Edited by Julia Maureen, Krystle, Jack Herrick, Nicole Willson and 116 others Three Methods:Increasin !un "a#acity $uicklyIncreasin !un "a#acity %ith &hysical E'ercisesIncreasin !un "a#acity %ith !on(Ter) E'ercises Many s#orts in today*s action(#acked %orld re+uire you to use a ,ast a)ount o- air in order to be success-ul. While there are %ays to increase the si/e o- your luns, there are also )any %ays to increase the a)ount o- air taken in by your luns, and the e--iciency %ith %hich they ca#ture o'yen. &ractice these e'ercises daily, and you are bound to see an increase in your lun ca#acity. Ad Method 1 of 3: Increasing Lung Capacity Quickly Increase Your Lung Capacity Step 1 Version 2.jpg 10reathe dee#ly. 1ou can increase the a)ount o- air your luns can absorb in a short a)ount o- ti)e, %ithout a lon(ter) in,est)ent in e'ercise or trainin e+ui#)ent. The trick is breathin steadily and dee#ly.213 E'hale co)#letely and slo%ly. &ractice it a -e% ti)es be-ore you start. 4on*t let any air liner in your luns. This allo%s you to inhale )ore air on the ne't breath. Allo% your dia#hra) to descend by kee#in your abdo)inal )uscles rela'ed. 1our abdo)en %ill e'#and as your dia#hra) descends, )akin )ore roo) around your luns, and allo%in the) to -ill %ith air. Widen your ar)s, holdin the) -arther a%ay -ro) your body, to hel# o#en u# your chest. Ad Increase Your Lung Capacity Step 2.jpg 5Inhale a dee# breath. 1ou #robably %ant to -ill your luns to about 678(698 ca#acity, to i,e your body roo) to rela'. 1ou do not %ant to -ill your luns to -ull ca#acity i- it )eans that your )uscles tihten u# and you*re unco)-ortable. Ha,e a -riend %ith you, )onitorin your breathin, i- #ossible. 1ou could #ass out, in %hich case you*d %ant your -riend to res#ond a##ro#riately. 1ou don*t need to #u-- your cheeks out. 1ou %ant the )uscles in your -ace to be loose and rela'ed. The )uscles in your sto)ach and dia#hra) are oin to be the ones %orkin. Increase Your Lung Capacity Step 3 Version 2.jpg :;#lash %ater on your -ace. 4o this %hile you*re holdin your breath. ;cientists ha,e -iured out that s#lashin %ater on your -ace accelerates bradycardia, or the slo%in o- the heart rate, or the -irst #hase o- the )a))alian di,in re-le'. 1our body is #re#arin to di,e under%ater, %here it %ill need to reulate its heart beat e--ecti,ely and #ass o'yen throuhout the blood in order to kee# you ali,e. Try to kee# the %ater cold, but not icy. Icy %ater %ill trier another re-le' in your body that causes you to hy#er,entilate, or try to breathe +uickly. Hy#er,entilation %ill hurt your ability to hold your breath -or a lon ti)e. Increase Your Lung Capacity Step 4.jpg <=ela' your )uscles and hold your breath. Try )editatin, or closin your eyes. The less enery your e'#end, the loner your body %ill be able to hold its breath. "ount to 177 in your head. >nly -ocus on the nu)ber you are recitin )entally, and on your oal o- reachin 177. Kee# a note o- %hich nu)ber you et to until you can*t hold your breath any loner. That nu)ber %ill be the bench)ark -or your ne't atte)#t. Increase Your Lung Capacity Step 5.jpg 9E'hale slo%ly, and re#eat :(< ti)es. 4on*t let your air out too +uickly. E'hale as slo%ly as #ossible, in a steady strea). >nce you*,e #racticed one re#etition, do the %hole e'ercise o,er startin -ro) the beinnin. A-ter :(< ti)es, your luns %ill be able to hold )uch )ore air than they could ?ust t%enty )inutes be-orehand. &racticin this e'ercise reularly %ill also hel# train your luns in the lon ter). 6Try si)#le breathin e'ercises. 1ou can do these e'ercises around the house, at your o--ice, hanin out %hile %atchin T@, the list oes on.253 0lo%in balloons is a ood )ethod -or increasin lun ca#acity. While you*re %alkin, at ho)e doin chores, or ha,e a s#are second, #ractice blo%in u# a balloon and lettin it de-late. 4o this o,er and o,er aainA you should notice your luns* ability to #u)# )ore air, stroner and loner. Another )ethod is to ta#e a lon, liht sli# o- #a#er Bor a tissueC to the ti# o- your nose and try to kee# it in the air by blo%in it as lon as #ossible. Ti)e yoursel- and i- you #ractice this, e'ercise reularly, you %ill be able to kee# your sli# o- #a#er in the air )uch loner thus, increasin lun ca#acity. 0reathin e'ercises durin e,eryday acti,ities can be hel#-ul. 0reathe in -or 5(57 seconds, breathe out -or 17(57 seconds, and slo%ly increase the rate. ;oon you %ill -ind yoursel- breathin out <9 seconds(5 )inutes i- you #ractice enouhD 1ou can easily do it %hile dri,in, sittin in the o--ice, %atchin tele,ision, #layin ,ideo a)es, doin #a#er%ork, at the desk at school, or %hen you are si)#ly boredD Try hy#er,entilatin be-ore holdin your breath. Hy#er,entilatin si)#ly )eans breathin in and out ,ery +uickly. Note: hy#er,entilatin be-ore di,in can be danerous because the ure to breathe can be delayed beyond the #oint %here you #ass outD Method 2 of 3: Increasing Lung Capacity with hysical !"ercises Increase Your Lung Capacity Step 6.jpg 1E'ercise in %ater. E'ercisin in %ater %ill add an ele)ent o- resistance trainin to your rei)en. 1our body %ill ha,e to %ork o,erti)e to su##ly enouh o'yen into your blood, )akin -or a ood lun %orkout.2:3 4e,elo# a nor)al stretchin and %eiht li-tin routine out o- the %ater. Make sure that you co)#ensate -or the -act that %eihts %ill -eel lihter %hen you ha,e the %ater around you. &ractice this routine -or a -e% days until you are co)-ortable %ith e,erythin. Take it to the %ater. ;ub)ere yoursel- u# to your neck, and do the e'ercises %hile in the %ater. This )ay not see) like it is doin anythin to hel# you at all, but don*t %orry. 4ue to the blood shi-tin into your chest ca,ity and the co)#ression on your body, you %ill ha,e to take shorter, +uicker breaths %hen e'ercisin in the %ater. =esearch sho%s that your air ca#acity %ill be cut by u# to E98 durin this ti)e, and your body %ill try to co)#ensate -or that. I- your e'ercise in the %ater lasts lon enouh, and you do it reularly, your res#iratory syste) %ill beco)e )ore e--icient, increasin your lun ca#acity. Increase Your Lung Capacity Step 7.jpg 5&artici#ate in riorous cardio,ascular acti,ities. E'ercisin is a reat %ay to increase lun ca#acity. For at least :7 )inutes, #ush your body to e'haustion so that your luns are %orkin hard. This hard %ork %ill #ay o-- in better lun ca#acity.2<3 Try aerobics. It can sur#risin ho% )uch lun ca#acity you can de,elo# doin short bursts o- intense trainin. 4o cyclin. &e##er your route %ith ele,ated cli)bs. Goin u# hills )eans your body needs to #u)# )ore blood to your lesA your luns su##ly the o'yen to the blood.293 Go runnin. =un on a #added track or tread)ill to be kind to your knees and ?oints. Mi' in s#rints to )ake sure your luns are %orkin e'tra hard. ;%i))in ( The best s#ort to i)#ro,e on your cardio,ascular -itness. At their #eak, s%i))ers* luns %ill use o'yen three ti)es )ore e--iciently than an a,erae #erson. Increase Your Lung Capacity Step 8.jpg :Work out at hih(ele,ation. Workin out at hiher ele,ations is a sure-ire %ay to boost your lun strenth. Hiher ele,ation air contains less o'yen, )akin the %orkout touher, but ulti)ately )ore re%ardin, on your luns.263 I- you*re serious about increasin your lun ca#acity, li,e in hih altitude -or the duration o- your trainin. At 6,777 -t B5,977 )C abo,e sea le,el, the o'yen content in the air is only E<82E3 o- %hat it is at sea le,el. This )eans your luns ha,e to %ork harder to et as )uch o'yen out into your blood. When you tra,el back do%n to lo%er(ele,ation, your body still has increased le,els o- red blood cells and he)olobin H -or u# to t%o %eeks H %hich )eans that your o,erall lun ca#acity is increased. 0e care-ul not to train too hard at hih ele,ation, as you could de,elo# altitude sickness. Method 3 of 3: Increasing Lung Capacity with Long#$er% !"ercises Increase Your Lung Capacity Step 9.jpg 1"reate resistance. 1our luns %ill res#ond to trainin, so et so)e resistance trainin in your routine and %atch your lun ca#acity increase.263 0reathe in nor)ally throuh your nose. Take dee# breaths. 0reathe out throuh your )outh %ith your li#s still close toether. >#en the) ?ust slihtly so a little bit o- air can et out, and %ith resistance. Try and do this as o-ten as #ossible. It )akes the sacs in your luns )ore used to ha,in to hold air loner, stretchin the) out. Increase Your Lung Capacity Step 1.jpg 50reathe in )ore than your brain thinks you can. 1our brain, o- course, looks out -or the sa-ety o- your body, and is a,erse to stretchin the body*s li)its. 0ut the body can do a)a/in thins %hen the brain is #ersuaded that e,erythin is okay. Make sure you try this. For eiht counts, breathe until your luns are totally -ull. A-ter each count you should be able to breathe in )ore. For the ne't eiht to si'teen counts, take s)all si#s o- air. Feel your belly e'#andin. 1ou shouldn*t -eel your shoulders )o,in. Hold your breath -or a -e% seconds and release -orce-ully. A-ter you -eel Ie)#ty,I )ake a ItssssssI sound -or as lon as #ossible. BThis is called ti//lin, and it )i)ics the resistance o- #layin a %ind instru)ent.C &ractice this #eriodically. When you train your brain to stretch the body*s li)its, your breathin intake %ill s#ike. Increase Your Lung Capacity Step 11 Version 2.jpg :&lay a %ind instru)ent. &layin a %ind instru)ent is a reat %ay to i,e your luns a reular %orkout and ha,e -un )akin )usic in the balance.2J3 !earn ho% to #lay a %ood%ind or brass instru)ent such as a tuba, tru)#et, tro)bone, oboe, clarinet, sa'o#hone, or -lute. This acti,ity %ill hel# you control breathin and e'#and your lun ca#acity to utili/e all the al,eoli. &lay in a )archin band or a 4ru) and 0ule "or#s. This acti,ity re+uires )ore and )ore lun ca#acity utili/ation -or your )o,e)ent and #layin and is +uite healthy. 1ou can also learn ho% to sin. ;inin really %orks the dia#hra), and can aid in continuous breathin e'ercises. ;iners, o- course, need to ha,e really stron luns.