Breath Coaching for Performance Athletes

“It’s very underrated.  There should be more talk about that. Breathing and the power of the brain are two things in hockey that don’t get enough attention.”

– Duncan Keith, Edmonton Oilers

The Breath Control Training (BCT) program is comprised of breathing exercises and techniques for elite athletes scientifically proven to enhance physical and mental sports performance, reduce the risk of injury & expedite recovery.

The difference between breaking a personal best and winning or losing is often a matter of seconds, inches and goal posts.  Breath Control Training (BCT) can provide the edge that will set an athlete apart from the rest of the field.

Our breath coaching methods are the only in the world that help high performance athletes reach peak oxygenation levels safely, effectively, and in the shortest amount of time while simulating high altitude training at sea level.

Our breath coaching program will train breathing exercices and techniques that can help any athlete to drop oxygen saturation within one week and see substantial improvement in terms of reduced breathlessness within two-three weeks. Additional benefits of the program include a reduced risk of injury, less pre-game anxiety and a delayed buildup of lactic acid preventing fatigue. 

Read a little further down the page to view the full list of benefits for high performance athletes.

Breath Control training has delivered results for high performance junior and next-gen provincial athletes as well as both professional and national olympic athletes.

Breath Coaching Delivery Methods

• We work directly with athletes to form custom Breath Control Training programs.
• We collaborate with clubs to provide in-depth analysis and supplemental breath training that integrates seamlessly with current organizational development and programming. Feel free to get in touch to discuss team based program options.

Book Breath Control Training With a Professional Breathing Coach

At opening puck drop or as you stretch to cross that finish line our scientifically proven breathing exercises and techniques will enhance sports performance:

• Reduce breathlessness during physical exercise
• Reduce the risk of injury
• Increase oxygenated blood volume
• Improve balance, mobility and flexibility
• Help with acute and chronic pain management
• Significantly reduce exercise induced asthma
• Improve nasal breathing to improve arterial oxygen uptake
• Alleviate and manage stress, anxiety and panic associated with pre-game jitters.
• Encourage functional breathing patterns and proper posture
• Simulate High Intensity Interval Training – HIIT eliminating the risk of injury
• Simulate High Altitude Training
• Increase Erythropoietin – EPO production naturally and legally
• Improve tolerance to reduced oxygen and increased carbon dioxide
• Improve oxygen carrying capacity in the bloodstream
• Improve your V02 max
• Delay the onset of fatigue and lactic acid
• Improved repeat sprint ability for team sports- hockey, soccer, football etc.
• Improve diaphragmatic and respiratory muscle strength
• Stimulate anaerobic glycolysis
• Boost energy levels
• Improve the delivery of oxygen to muscles and organs
• Improve breathing efficiency
• Increase focus and concentration
• Induce vasodilation of the blood vessels to improve circulation
• Improve anaerobic threshold tolerance
• Open and expand airways
• Increase lung capacity and flexibility of respiratory muscles
• Improve oxygen uptake from the bloodstream to your muscles and brain
• Improve aerobic capacity and anaerobic capacity
• Improve sleep patterns
• Increase physical strength and mental toughness
• Improve aerobic economy and endurance
• Reduce oxidative stress
• Reduce recovery time and expedite injury rehabilitation

Yes, these sport performance enhancement benefits sound miraculous but we will thoroughly explore the science behind our breathing exercices, techniques and training methods with you.

With Breath Control Training (BCT) it is possible to significantly enhance sports performance in athletes.  With a professional breathing coach there is a lot to be gained from training the entire respiratory system, es­pecially if we consider the lungs as the “filter” and “tank” of the human body.

When you enhance the delivery and absorption of the air that reaches the cells of the muscle tissue, the body will be able to increase performance in the short as well as the long term, becoming more explosive and capable of sustained effort.

Establishing a functional breathing pattern along with specific breathing exercises and techniques provides the means to complete mental control which every high performance athlete desires – par­ticularly for pre-game jitters or in stressed situations.

Exercise Induced Asthma (EIA)

The most common dysfunctional breathing pattern in athletes is the condition known as overbreathing.  Overbreathing will result in constricted airways, a reduction in the amount of CO² in your blood, and a lower Body Oxygen Level Test or BOLT score. For people with asthma, overbreathing during rest leads to overbreathing during exercise, which in turn leads to exercise induced asthma.

Positive Psychology – Flow State

In order for a high performance athlete to perform at their optimal level they must enter a state of positive psychology that is referred to as Flow.  In a state of Flow an athlete is performing at their sport to which they are full immersed, focused, creative and productive. In this state of Flow the athlete has a loss of time and space with complete absorption in what he or she is doing allowing for strategic execution at any moment.

Visit our Flow State Training page and view details on upcoming Intro to Flow State Workshops.

Flow is defined as a peak state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best. It is the state where every action, movement or thought flows inevitably from the previous one. Elite athletes must enter a state of flow to attain peak performance.

There is absolutely no better technique to strengthen an athletes ability to enter the state of Flow than being coached through our breath holding exercises paired with mental performance visualization and imagery techniques.

Breath Control training for sports and athletic performance employs a combination of several innovative and powerful breathing modalities including hypercapnic (high Carbon Dioxide Co2) techniques from the The Oxygen Advantage and hypoxic (low oxygen o2) apnea techniques the Breatheology method. We will first assess each clients unique current breath to identify functional and dysfunctional patterns.  We will then develop a personalized Breath Control Training program for each individual athletes unique requirements to achieve peak performance.

Breath Holding Exercises and Retention Techniques

Our unique breath holding techniques derived from the sport of Freediving and specific breathing exercises can alter the biochemical composition of your blood to equip you with razor sharp judgement, focus and clarity as well as ensure your body is functioning at peak performance.

Performing breath holds and breathing exercises provides our clients with more energy, calmness, resilience to stress, mental stability, a greater focus on priorities and goals, a closer connection to the body and more attention to the moment.

 Book Breath Control Training For Sports Performance Now