Quote Originally Posted by mr brightside View Post
According to 'The Oxygen Advantage' program as outlined on the book, over breathing washes out CO2 which needs to be in, not out. He says haemoglobin requires CO2 in order to offload O2 to be used for energy production. If you overbreath you can find yourself with not enough CO2 to facilitate O2 usage; this is what he reckons.

I was surprised to find that my SPo2 can be up at 98 after a 2min flat out hill rep of Carr Bridge Drive. I don't think it should be that high, and i've always noticed that i breathe more than anyone else racing around me. Based on that i'm going to test the idea that i'm a racing over-breather and see what happens if i commit to the program in the book. I'm reluctant to cherrypick the bits that have no opposing research out there, i'm just going to commit to all of it and see what happens.

I'm a firm believer in experiencing things, even if they are ridiculed as snake oil by others. If i hadn't taken Chinese Acupuncture seriously i'd never have gotten over the fasciitis in my right hip. Something is wrong with my racing performance anyway, something hidden to me, i'm far too slow on climbs and far too fast downhill. There is a white crow in my performance.
If you just let your breathing do its thing, the CO2 level in the lungs and blood is about 40 mmHg. If you hyperventilate at rest it will go down to the mid 20s - so still lots left; during exercise more is being made of course, and that is why we breathe more - to get rid of it.

Unless you are supremely fit, and/or at altitude, you will not drop your O2 saturation during exercise no matter how hard you try - that is not the limiting factor, despite the term "going anaerobic" suggesting that it is. The limiting factor is the enzymes in the mitochondria not being able to use more than a given amount of the O2 that is available - VO2 max.