Have you ever thought of training your lungs? Yes, you heard that right. Your lungs.
With the Bas Rutten O2 trainer, you can train your lungs to breathe more efficiently by increasing muscle endurance. This can have a lot of benefits such as decreasing maximum heart rate and removing fluid buildup.
But does it really work? Keep reading to find out.
O2 Lung Trainer Specifications
The O2 is a compact breathing device designed by Bas Rutten to enhance inspiratory muscle endurance.
Four minutes of workout with 30 reps can give you:
- Stronger lungs
- A more durable diaphragm shift
- Increased red blood cell concentration
- A decrease in maximum cardiac output along with reduced workout anxiety.
Additional Details
- One mouthpiece consisting of two flexible valves or inserts
- Achieve variable resistance levels using the intake size caps ranging from 1mm-14mm
- While testing them for the perfect workout mechanism, the shorter inhale cap holes will exert more force on your breathing ability, which is a sign that your muscles are under higher strain
Best For
- Durable with easy to use material and nose clip
- Simple and convenient design
How Does the O2 Trainer Work?
When you purchase your O2 Trainer, you’ll probably take one look at the package image and wonder if it’s even legit.
After all, it’s such a small mouthpiece! Well, this trainer is really all you need to build your breathing ability.
Here’s how it works:
1. The inhaling caps make it difficult for you to inhale air
2.This puts pressure on your diaphragm and intercostal muscles, straining them to breathe in as much as possible
3. At a point where the inhalation gradually gets tougher with smaller caps, you add more and more pressure on your breathing muscles, which is a sign of additional endurance
4. The cumulative effect is that your strained breathing increases the resistance of these breathing organs
5. The exercise works in sync with all other endurance exercises; the more the strain, the higher the sign of resistance
6. Once your breathing mechanism is fully developed, you’ll also find it easier to breathe during exercises as well as other activities
O2 Trainer Pricing
As of now, the O2 Trainer isn’t available on Amazon.
However, you can purchase these from Rogue Fitness at a price of $49.95.
The price range at any other shop on the internet is nearly the same for original designs of the trainer
Pros
- Helpful for eliminating asthma symptoms in some patients
- Helpful for your conditions of COPD
- Better cardio workouts, conditioning, and asthma
- Exhalation is just as easy as that in normal life
- Builds muscle endurance through different inhalation caps
- Easy to use, customize, and clean
Cons
- You may sometimes drool while using it
- The delivery service often ends up sending wrong colors
- Somewhat expensive as some users point out
- You may notice a sign of matters allergies because it contains rubber, silicon, and similar materials
User Reviews:
Don't let the simplicity fool you, this device works wonders! Engineered to increase inspiratory (inhalation) muscle endurance, the portable O2 Trainer can be used while doing nearly any exercise.
- 10 different size caps for training
- Compact, convenient, safe for you, and for the environment
What is the Theory Behind the O2 Trainer?
When you take up high altitude activities, it’s a test to see how trained your respiratory system is to deal with strained breathes, irregular breathing, and enduring physical strain with that erratic, uneasy breathing.
You may have noticed you need something that helps you develop your lung and diaphragm muscles so that they can sustain different breathing patterns during different exercises.
The O2 trainer has 14 different inhaling caps that you can use to practice different breathing difficulties, and as a result this helps you train those breathing muscles in your body.
Who is Bas Rutten?
Sebastian Bas Rutten is a 65-year-old Dutch-American actor, wrestler, MMA co-host, martial artist, and a Karate and Taekwondo black-belt.
He’s a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a part of the UFC Hall of Fame, and a three-time King of Pancrase world champion, with a 22-fight unbeaten streak including 1 draw.
He has compiled his whole life account of body endurance and high performance in a collection of books and DVDs, including his Big Book of Combat, MMA Street Fighting, the No-Holds Barred Fighting System, and many others.
During his childhood, Rutten suffered from asthma, which later inspired him to release this asthma-curing wonder.
He now also has a website which sells his variety of products, uploads interview videos, training content, and much more.
Bas Rutten Breathing Techniques
You can practice two exercise techniques with the Oxygen 2 trainer, one for front inspiratory muscles, and the other for back ones.
Alternating between the two on a daily basis points towards healthy muscle development.
Front Core Exercise:
- Form a seat position
- Exhale and lean your body forward at 90°
- Insert the trainer in your mouth and inhale through the diaphragm as hard as you can while returning to the seat position
- Time your inhaling duration so that you avoid any extra exertion
- Repeat 29 reps like this in each session
Back Core Exercise
- Get into an upright seat position
- Wear the trainer in your mouth and lean your body forward at 45° while inhaling
- Place your elbows on your knees and expand your back to complete the inhalation
- Exhale and return to the original position
- Do thirty reps per session
Some Advice
- Start with a cap that gives you maximum four minutes to complete 30 rounds. Caps 9-11 are usually the most helpful ones for this purpose
- Always record your pace
- When you can do 30 reps without going past 3 minutes, it is a sign your muscles have strengthened, so you can move on to a shorter cap and work harder to inhale air
- When the 30 reps with the shortest cap also finish under 3 minutes, you can start doing more reps to build your muscles even further
- Start with 2 sessions per day for the initial 6 weeks, then move to 1 session per day
- Become a part of Bas Rutten’s O2LungTrainer Boot Camp on Facebook for community life updates, training support and guidance videos
Scientific Evidence
The Oxygen Lung Trainer isn’t by some random pseudoscience marketing scam guy you might have heard about.
Instead, it’s benefit driven techniques have been staunchly backed by scientific evidences and reviews.
Here are a few of the many researches that lend credibility to this trainer:
The Influence of Respiratory Muscle Training Upon Intermittent Exercise Performance: 2009
The study divided college soccer athletes into two groups. One used commercially available mouth RMT devices during off season, while the other continues with the usual practice exercises.
After a thirty rep session for five weeks, the RMT had significantly improved intermittent exercise performance of one athlete group as compared to the review group that took no RMT.
Respiratory Muscle Endurance Training in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: 1999
This study took a random sample of 30 COPD patients with ventilatory limitation and divided them into two equal groups. One group practiced breathing exercises at home using an RMT device, while the other took an incentive spirometer for the same time duration.
At the conclusion of the study, muscle endurance in guys through RMT was found to be more feasible and helpful than that with other breathing treatments.
The Effects Of Respiratory Muscle Training On Vo2 Max, The Ventilatory Threshold And Pulmonary Function
This study evaluated the effect of inspiratory and expiratory muscle intensity training on pulmonary function and maximal exercise performance in competitive triathletes and marathon runners.
Besides 7.5 hours per week of swimming, cycling, or running, eight participants also took a pulmonary resistance treatment, while four others took an average inspiratory and expiratory resistance device with a load of no more than 15%.
The reviewers realize that training using the pulmonary resistance device produced significant increases in maximal VE and maximal VT while decreasing RR at maximum exercise intensity.
Bas Rutten O2 Trainer Review for Asthma
The trainer has also been reviewed rather positively for curing asthma.
Below, we’ve given some reviews to account for further information and explain how it’s beneficial for asthma patients:
The Inspiratory Muscle Training For Asthma: 2013 studied inspiratory muscle training in asthmatic people with either a training device or with a threshold loading.
The review looked at five studies and concluded statistically significant difference between the inspiratory muscle training group and the control group for maximal expiratory pressure, peak expiratory flow rate, forced expiratory volume in one second, forced vital capacity, sensation of dyspnea and use of beta2‐agonist.
Another review of 2008, titled Inspiratory Muscle Training and Respiratory Exercises in Children With Asthma, examined 25 asthmatic children who took IMT along with school education on asthma, while 25 other asthmatic children were only confined to monthly medical visits and educational awareness.
The review linked the addition of the Inspiratory Muscle Training to the asthma treatment program with significant improvement in the severity variables of the illness as compared to the other control group.
Bas Rutten O2 Trainer vs Elevation Mask
The Elevation Mask is also designed for helpful exercises in inspiratory endurance the same way as the O2 mask.
However, it is a bit more stringent in the sense that it also restricts exhalation, which is why some people prefer the O2 over the Mask.
Rutten also recommends the O2 because the muscle’s that need training and development are the ones used for inhaling, not exhaling.
The Elevation mask cannot cater to different resistance levels like the O2 Trainer, either, and some people review that inhaling with the Mask is tougher than doing so with the Lung Trainer.
The bottom line here is that your ultimate choice depends on your preference and training endurance.
Bas Rutten O2 Trainer Alternatives
Airofit PRO
This is a breathing endurance trainer that develops respiratory muscles for athletic training as well as for general respiratory health.
Working Details
The Airofit doesn’t require any hard and fast physical activity, so you can work with it in your office chair as well as in your car, or when you rest in your TV room or do yoga in the morning. The mobile app records your data and provides performance feedback.
It also keeps a record of your vitals and specs such as age and gender, and gives you a tailored air fill according to your lung capacity.
The resistance wheels are helpful for controlling inhale and exhale activity and are designed by renowned breathing experts
Pricing:
The net price is $299, and comes with a 45-day money back guarantee, 2-year warranty and free worldwide shipping.
Pros
- Best premium choice for asthma patients as well as athletes
- Easy to manage
- Helpful for both inhalation and exhalation
Cons
- Expensive for the average bank account of most people!
Includes:
- Airofit Breathing Trainer
- Virtual Breathing Coach in an interactive mobile app,
- Allows you to train your Respiratory Strength, Accessible Lung Capacity, Anaerobic Threshold, and other areas of your breathing.
Airofit BASIC
A simplified version of the Airofit PRO, provides adjustable resistance levels to your breathing muscles, primarily the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles.
It also comes with a Quick Guide with three training programs targeting respiration, vital capacity, and stress levels.
Pricing:
Priced at $86, comes with a 45-day money back guarantee and 2 year warranty along with free global shipping
Pros
- Comfortable and convenient
- Exercise on a budget
- Helpful for busy schedules
Cons
- No smartphone assistance, so you have to write down your record
- Not as versatile as the PRO version
Airofit BASIC is a simplified, entry version of the Airofit PRO Breathing Trainer, without smartphone support.
- irofit increases accessible lung capacity to inhale more air at once, reduce your breathing rate and preserve energy.
- Airofit is an effective way of strengthening the respiratory and immune system for better overall health.
Conclusion
The O2 Lung Trainer certainly packs a lot for its limited price and handy design.
Designed by the celebrated actor and wrestler Bas Rutten, the IMT device has an overwhelmingly positive general review for athletes, asthma patients, and the general public that search to build their respective muscle strengths.
It’s also scientifically legit, so you and your gym trainer can feel confident about combining this trainer in different exercises!
Dr. Ahmed Zayed holds a bachelor’s degree in medicine from Alexandria university and is a practicing plastic surgeon. He’s our expert on all things nutrition, medicine, rehabilitation, and flexibility. Dr.Ahmed has been a medical content writer for more than 11 years and his work reached top publications such as the HuffingtonPost