BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Exercise Exercising with your mouth taped shut

I got a trip to the Rockies for my b-day and I'm kind of freaking out about the whole altitude thing especially because I've been slacking on cardio for months.

I've only been doing enough to maintain my cardio fitness not to improve it. Been soooo focused on hip rehab and core stability and flexibility that something had to get set aside.

But I'm working on more cardio endurance this whole month and one of the things I might be doing is exercising with my mouth taped shut!

I'll post more about it as I experiment with this. I've already been trying to exercise with my mouth closed for a few weeks. Not easy! If you try this you'll find it virtually impossible to do at first.

A lot of people find it impossible to keep their mouth taped shut!

Happy Birthday, Monica! Hope it was a wonderful day for you.

I am looking forward to hearing about exercising with the mouth taped shut. Would that not be awfully hard to breath properly when exercising?

Apparently competitive athletes do this to improve their CO2. This cyclist who invented the tape said his CO2 went through the roof after a month of taping.

I find it practically impossible to keep it shut the entire time but am getting better at it and find that you get more focused (kind of like in yoga).

My ex-boyfriend was a competitive cyclist and he said he knew guys who used to tape their mouth and place straws in their nose when doing hill climbing workouts outdoors. I thought that was nuts but now I'm trying it so never say never right!

Here's more on Buteyko Breathing if anybody wants to learn more. This method is great for asthma, sleep apnea, anxiety and other conditions.

With the mouth taped and straws in the nose? Would that force one to breath deeper and more regular? It is a scary thought for me because I have breathing problems and sometimes asthma attacks.

Buteyko is great for asthma and people with anxiety and breathing problems and no need to use straws or tape the mouth for that. You should look for classes in your area. Buteyko practitioners often have free workshops for asthma sufferers.

Kept my mouth shut the entire workout today and did not have to tape at all. Even during recovery which is when you are typically gasping for breathe.

Been trying hard to keep my mouth closed since last week and I feel it's already making a difference. The Buteyko guy said it only takes 2 weeks of this for those suffering from sleep apnea to get rid of their meds and machines so I'm thinking a healthy person is going to respond even faster.

So far Buteyko seems to be improving my endurance. I was finally able to swim the full length of the pool in one breathe today (several times) and also cut my circuit workout time by 5 min.

Gotta keep this up all month if I'm going to hike in the Rockies!

I tried Buteyko while hiking yesterday and it was more of a challenge then it is during regular workouts but when I was able to do it while sprinting up hills I could actually tell a difference in VO2 max. My body was more efficient running uphills when I was not breathing with my mouth open or over-inhaling through my nose. My boyfriend tried it too and said he could tell a difference.