The Oxygen Advantage

By: Patrick McKeown

Narrated by: Alan Smyth

Length: 9 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

A simple yet revolutionary approach to improving your body's oxygen use and increasing your health, weight loss, and sports performance - whether you're a recovering couch potato or an Ironman triathlon champion. With a foreword by New York Times best-selling author Dr. Joseph Mercola.

Achieve more with less effort: The secret to weight loss, fitness, and wellness lies in the most basic and most overlooked function of your body - how you breathe. One of the biggest obstacles to better health and fitness is a rarely identified problem: chronic overbreathing. We often take many more breaths than we need without realizing it, contributing to poor health and fitness, including a host of disorders, from anxiety and asthma to insomnia and heart problems.

In The Oxygen Advantage, the man who has trained over 5,000 people - including Olympic and professional athletes - in reduced breathing exercises now shares his scientifically validated techniques to help you breathe more efficiently. Patrick McKeown teaches you the fundamental relationship between oxygen and the body then gets you started with a body oxygen level test (BOLT) to determine how efficiently your body uses oxygen. He then shows you how to increase your BOLT score by using light breathing exercises and learning how to simulate high-altitude training, a technique used by Navy SEALs and professional athletes to help increase endurance, weight loss, and vital red blood cells to dramatically improve cardio fitness.

Following his program, even the most out-of-shape person (including those with chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma) can climb stairs, run for a bus, or play soccer without gasping for air, and everyone can achieve:

• Easy weight loss and weight maintenance
• Improved sleep and energy
• Increased concentration
• Reduced breathlessness during exercise
• Heightened athletic performance
• Improved cardiovascular health
• Elimination of asthmatic symptoms
• And more

With The Oxygen Advantage, you can look better, feel better, and do more - it's as easy as breathing.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2015 Patrick McKeown (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Too long and fluffy

Read Andrew Weil audio collection on breathing for actual breathing techniques and explanations. This book is full of stories to make book long when really there's only one main point.

18 of 18 people found this review helpful

Asthma free and Stress-less!

I have suffered from asthma symptoms since I began ice hockey at 4 years old. After following the advice in "Asthma Free Naturally" I was able to control my asthma medication free in just 7 weeks! The massive drop in my stress levels alone would have made me seek out more information! Intrigued, I bought the audiobook version of "The Oxygen Advantage" and completed the book in less than three days! The book was very well written with easy to follow programs and much needed background information on how I might continue to improve my breathing for athletic performance and all other aspects of my life. The book definitely focuses on endurance training, and i am more interested in calisthenics. However, after a brief email, the author (Patrick McKeown) himself emailed me back with ways to customize reduced breathing to strength training. I cannot recommend this book more highly to anyone with performance goals or anyone looking to feel better throughout their lives!

19 of 20 people found this review helpful

Incredibly enlightening.

Dear Patrick,

I heard you on a Podcast with Tina Muir a couple weeks ago, and was very interested. After doing some checking, thought I wanted to learn more. I downloaded your book through Audible. I’ve been a runner for a few years, and have run two full marathons , and ran nine miles of the Boston Marathon, I got heat stroke and was taken off the course. After that, I knew I needed something different to help me with running. And that ’s when I heard the podcast.
After listening to your book, I thought I would give it a try and see if it would help. It all made sense. I used to breath through my mouth, and was exhausted and slumped over after a race. Now when I run, I feel differently. During a hill workout last week, I had to mouth breath on the hills, but I would do a short breath hold between some of the intervals. Upon going back up the hill, the times when I had a breath hold of a few steps, my legs weren’t tired getting up the hill. My BOLT score was about 15 seconds, and now its nearing 25 seconds. When at work, I deliver mail, between houses, I would do breath holds. which are now getting to 30 paces before having to breath.
I’m running with an online group called The Run Experience, and there has been a new interest in your work there. People are all trying it now, comparing how they are all doing with it. I’m running in the Chicago Marathon in October, and am hoping to PR there with the help of your insight. So thanks very much for putting this out there.

12 of 13 people found this review helpful

Interesting

A bit long-winded but interesting and seems legit and not a pseudo science gimmick. I'm encouraged to try the program and see how it affects me.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Excellent

I had been a nose breather for about 50 years, but not anymore. I still tape my mouth at night and sometimes when I exercise. Following the advice in this audio book has done wonders for me. I was having trouble making myself walk, jog and run so I got the audio book Spark and that along with a Garmin vivofit 2 activity monitor was all I needed to get motivated.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

This is a must listen for everybody

The information in this book has to be heard by everybody. It was unknown to me that oxygen, and more importantly carbon dioxide, has such an influence on our life, ranging from appetite to orthodontics. The exercises in the book are well explained and can be started at any current level of fitness.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

back to the basics

worth every penny. exercises included! this is new level science but has been available since the beginning of human kind.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Real deal

This keystone habit will have a effect on every aspect of your life. I'm a major coffee drinker and have now been cutting back because McKeown is right about the effects of caffeine on our breathing. Surprisingly though, the breathing has me mentally alert so I haven't missed it much. I strongly endorse the sleeping tips provided. I have felt more refreshed in the morning to where I don't run to the coffee. Read this book!

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

Interesting perspective on health and fitness

The book is almost too broad at times and goes a little off topic, but the content is interesting. It gives an action plan to follow if desired as well. I don't regret buying it simply for the concept which I haven't read much about elsewhere.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

fantastic info.

this book has helped me tremendously with athletic performance and daily life. a must read for all ages.