LET'S TRY SOMETHING: WHEREVER YOU ARE, SIT TALLER AND INHALE AND EXHALE THROUGH YOUR NOSE. Open the stopwatch on your phone. At the end of your next exhalation, start the timer and hold your breath. As soon as you feel the urge to breathe, inhale and stop the clock.
What was your time? Mine was 19 seconds, and we'll get into what's "good" and "bad" in a minute. This is the BOLT (Body Oxygen Level Test) score, or one way to measure carbon dioxide (CO2) tolerance, from Patrick McKeown, CEO of Oxygen Advantage. Much like tracking your heart rate variability or VO² max, CO² tolerance is a metric of fitness and overall health that you might be overlooking. And everyone can benefit from tracking this stat, says strength and conditioning specialist PJ Nestler.
"Breathing influences every system and cell in the body and can either help or hinder you from hitting your fitness goals," explains Nestler. "Your breathing is a weakness or a weapon." A high CO2 tolerance in particular can help you run faster and longer, yes. But, perhaps more important, a poor CO2 tolerance is correlated with a variety of ailments.
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