Breathe Like a Pro

IMPROVING COp TOLERANCE CAN HELP YOU OPTIMIZE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL PERFORMANCE. EVERYTHING TO KNOW ABOUT THIS IMPORTANT NUMBER, AHEAD.

- Caitlin Carlson 

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 COz) tolerance, from Patrick McKeown, CEO of Oxygen Advantage. Much like tracking your heart rate variability or VOz max, CO» tolerance is a metric of fitness and overall health that you might be overlooking. And everyone can benefit from tracking this stat, says PJ Nestler, CSCS, director of performance at XPT.

“Breathing influences every system and cell in the body and can either help or hinder you from hitting your fitness goals,” Nestler says. Your breathing is a weakness or a weapon.” A high COs tolerance in particular can help you run faster and longer, yes. But, perhaps more important, a poor COs tolerance is correlated with a variety of ailments.

And the bigger your number, the more stress of any kind) you can handle, says Emily Hightower, master yoga teacher, and coach at SH//FT.