Like athletes, singers also need to boast good lung capacity. All the variations, dips, and falsettos require a singer to have better lung capacity than regular folks. There is no way to increase lung capacity by increasing the size of the organs. However, you can improve lung capacity by using its residual or dormant power through a range of lifestyle changes and breathing exercises.
This post will discuss a list of measures that help you naturally increase the lung capacity without needing any medications or surgeries.
Lifestyle Changes
If you are determined to sing better by improving your lung capacity, you need to make drastic changes to your lifestyle. To begin with, you have to cut down unhealthy foods from your dietary consumption. Avoid eating deep-fried stuff and all those foods that lead to weight gain. Increasing weight can hurt lung capacity. Also, increase your vitamin D intake because a lack of it can lead to respiratory disorders. Moreover, vitamin D prevents respiratory inflammation and also strengthens the respiratory muscles.
Even if you have a sedentary lifestyle, make sure that you at least have 30 minutes of active physical activity in your daily schedule. It could be brisk walking in the part or light jogging on the treadmill. Also, improve your sleep routine and proactively hydrate yourself.
Most importantly, avoid smoke exposure as much as possible. If you are a smoker, you need to quit smoking immediately. The smoke and tar of cigarettes gradually decrease your existing lung capacity.
The collective effect of these lifestyle changes will set off a gradual increment in lung capacity. The lifestyle changes will also catalyze and improves the impact of exercises discussed below.
Cardiovascular Exercises
If you want to improve your lung capacity while simultaneously complementing it with overall performance and stamina, engage in cardiovascular activities. There is a range of exercises that you can take on to get this holistic benefit. From cycling to swimming and aerobic gym routine to skating and dancing, just pick any high-endurance physical activity that is easy to pull off and already excite you.
To understand how cardiovascular exercises increase lung capacity, take a look at the following pattern.
- Cardiovascular exercises engage big skeletal muscles.
- These muscles need increased cellular oxygen supply to keep up with the exercise.
- The body’s homeostasis directs the lungs for deep inhaling to increase the oxygen supply.
- This deep inhaling and exhaling at a rapid rate stretches the lung walls and improves their capacity to some extent.
Breathing Exercises
If you are particularly focused on improving your lung capacity, then nothing will work like breathing exercises. The great thing about breathing exercises is you can do them anywhere without needing expensive equipment and a trainer. Experts consider these three breathing exercises an excellent way to improve lung capacity.
1. Diaphragmatic Breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing is an exercise in which you strengthen a thin muscle layer sitting on the chest base. A strengthened and activated diaphragm improves your inhaling, which is akin to having greater lung capacity.
What Happens to the Diaphragm When You Inhale?
When you inhale, the diaphragm contracts and flattens. This contraction and flattening are responsible for improving lung capacity.
How to Do Your Strengthen Your Diaphragm and How to Improve Diaphragm Breathing?
You can strengthen your diaphragm by carrying out diaphragmatic breathing. These are the steps for diaphragmatic breathing.
- Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
- Put one hand on the chest and the other on the stomach.
- Deeply inhale from the nostrils and feel the stomach moves against the hand.
- Then exhale through the mouth and gradually tighten the abdominal muscles and let the hand on the stomach moves downward with the belly movement.
- Keep the hand on the chest as still as possible throughout the respiratory cycle.
The idea of diaphragm breathing is to breathe in from the abdomen with the help of the muscle (diaphragm) connecting the chest with the abdominal cavity.
2. Breathing Through Respiratory Training Devices
You can also strengthen your diaphragm and other breathing muscles for better lung capacity with respiratory training devices. A respiratory training device creates different breathing scenarios at different air pressures. When you have to breathe in at lower atmospheric pressure, you need to exert more force through the lungs and other respiratory muscles.
The continuous workout of respiratory muscles gradually improves lung capacity. A respiratory training device comes with a mouthpiece for breathing and a valve for pressure adjustment. You can easily use them on your own without needing any professional help.
3. Play Wind Instrument
This is an interesting breathing exercise and a perfect match for a singer. Wind instruments like saxophone, tuba, mouth organ, flute, and oboe require the artist to have incredible lungs because their tunes primarily work through inhalation and exhalation. Therefore, people who regularly play wind instruments automatically experience improvement in their lung capacity.
We hope that the above discussion helps you improve your lung capacity for better singing. For the device-assisted breathing exercise, you can consider Orygen Dual Valve. The regular and right use of this device strengthens your inspiratory and expiratory muscles and subsequently increases your lung capacity.