I’M FOREVER BLOWING…A BREATHING MACHINE! West Ham stars use ‘lung training’ to benefit performance and wellness outcomes.
The Hammers performance and medical team are using the WellO2 breathing trainer to enhance the lung capacity of their players to help benefit athlete health, wellness and endurance during matches.
The device uses a combination of resistance breathing and warm steam which strengthens the breathing muscles and moisturises the airways to boost lung function and achieve peak performance, which is beneficial for everyone – not just for top athletes.
It was developed by Finnish entrepreneur Aulis Kärkkäinen who invented it as an answer to a lifetime of breathing problems, and is available online in the UK at Well Pharmacy, Britain’s second-largest pharmacy chain, for £239.
Elite footballers push their bodies to the limit and will breathe more than FOUR TIMES harder than normal during a game — up to 60 breaths a minute during a game, compared to the average person’s 12 to 15.
Richard Collinge, Director of Performance at West Ham United – whose fans sing _“I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles”_ at every game — emphasized the value that WellO2 has brought to their training and recovery programmes.
He said: “This has been a valuable addition to our performance toolkit. The WellO2 breathing device has become a go-to adjunct for players, helping clear airways and supporting their recovery.”
Much of modern football is data driven, and The WellO2 device’s hi-tech mouthpiece helps track and analyse players’ breathing performance.
It allows players and performance teams to monitor lung function, breathing strength, and overall respiratory trends. This real-time digital data provides valuable insights that can be used to tailor training programs, optimise recovery strategies, and ensure that each player is breathing at their full potential.
As well as helping elite athletes, using WellO2 for just a few minutes a day can help people with breathing challenges and enables older people to preserve their lung efficiency as they age.
It is also a vital tool for singers and actors who need to keep their voice and breathing in top condition as it opens the airways and supports vocal recovery.
The WellO2’s warm steam also supports the immune system by activating a defensive reaction in the mucous membranes, to maintain respiratory health. Users can keep track of their lung function data on their phone by using a smart mouthpiece with the WellO2 device.
Well Pharmacy’s Mital Thakrar said: _“This is an amazing product that can help everybody, not just elite footballers. It improves lung health and efficiency and can be life-changing for people with breathing difficulties. _
“We are proud to partner with WellO2 to bring this device to more of our patients and customers online @well.co.uk”
WellO2’s Jamal Butt said: “Our simple yet powerful device is designed to support better breathing for everyone. We are excited that it is now available to more people in the UK than ever before.”
