There is nothing worse than gassing out in the gym, never mind the cage, so here’s an essential guide on how you can improve your lung capacity.

How do they work?

Most of the time, we’re barely aware of our breathing; it’s an automatic function that our brain takes care of for us even while we’re concentrating on something else, asleep or unconscious.

The lungs are made up of millions of tiny air sacs called alveoli.

Each of these sacs has very thin walls and is surrounded by tiny blood vessels. This is where oxygen from the atmosphere can move into our blood stream and the waste product carbon dioxide from the blood moves back out into the air.

The muscles of breathing

The uncomfortable feeling of not being able to get enough air into our lungs is one that’s familiar to all MMA fighters.

During intense exercise, and when the body is stressed, the demand for oxygen by the muscles increases. The lungs rely on our muscles to move air in and out of them. (They are not muscles themselves, although they are sometimes referred to in that way). 

The most important muscle for breathing is the diaphragm, which is a large dome-shaped sheet that sits below the lungs across the bottom of the rib cage.

It can pull downwards, expanding the volume of the chest cavity and sucking air into the lungs. 

Other muscles assist by expanding and lifting the rib cage, including the intercostal muscles between the ribs. As the going gets tough, we start to co-opt more muscles in our neck, chest and lower back to help out. 

How does training affect your lungs?

As you spend time training MMA your body adapts to become more efficient. With endurance training your lung capacity will expand, the size and number of capillaries increases and endurance of your respiratory muscles improves. 

Altitude training is a hot topic.

Breathing air that contains a lower amount of oxygen than normal affects fitness by increasing the number of red blood cells rather than by affecting the lungs directly.

This shouldn’t be confused with the devices currently on the market for breath training. Gadgets such as the currently popular ‘gas mask’ that makes it harder to breathe during exercise don’t affect the concentration of oxygen, and will not have the same effect as altitude training. 

It has been argued that the use of this kind of device can improve the strength and endurance of the breathing muscles.

Although some fighters have endorsed these products, the jury is still out on whether they have a noticeable effect on performance in healthy athletes. 

The common lung problems that can affect fighters

The most common lung problems affecting fighters are chest infections and asthma. A chest infection is an infection of the airways leading to the lungs or the lungs themselves.

It may be a result of a cold or flu virus, but can sometimes be caused by bacteria. The majority are short lived and require no treatment other than rest, but some can be severe or occasionally even life threatening. 

Fighters can be at an increased risk of developing chest infections, especially during periods of intense training.

Training during a chest infection can cause damage to the lungs, and risks infecting other fighters in the gym. 

Asthma is a common condition that affects the airways, causing them to constrict so that their lining starts to swell and become inflamed.

This makes it difficult to breathe, causing the wheezing, tightness in the chest or coughing associated with asthma.

Attacks can be triggered by various things, with a common one being exercise. Asthma can often be controlled well by medication, and many athletes are able to compete at a high level despite having the condition. It is important to know that many of the asthma medications are controlled substances according to WADA (world anti-doping association) rules, so you may need a medical exemption certificate if your organization or governing body tests for performance-enhancing drugs. Check the rules well in advance. 

Smoking permanently damages the alveoli in the lungs.

This may not be noticeable at first, but over time the damage can accumulate, leading to chronic lung problems and a higher risk of lung cancer.

Can the lungs be injured in a fight?

It is rare that the lungs are injured in MMA, but it is possible for them to be damaged from a blow to the chest that fractures one or more ribs.

A broken rib can sometimes puncture the lining of the lung, breaking the airtight seal that is needed to suck air in to the chest cavity.

This is a type of collapsed lung (pneumothorax), and is a serious injury that requires immediate medical attention.

Symptoms include chest pain and difficulty breathing.

What else can go wrong?

Plenty, but most serious conditions of the lungs are much more common in older people.

Here are a couple of (relatively rare) conditions that may affect younger athletes. 

A spontaneous pneumothorax affected Rory Markham before his UFC 95 fight against Dan Hardy. This happens when, for some reason, air gets into the cavity between the lung and the chest wall.

The symptoms – including breathlessness – can be relatively mild at first, and it can happen in young people with no prior warning signs or previous lung problems and the reason for it is not always known. 

A pulmonary embolism (PE) occurs when a blood clot travels from somewhere else in the body (often the legs) and gets lodged in one of the main arteries in the lungs.

The risk of clots may be higher following injury, surgery, or prolonged sitting (such as on a long flight).

The symptoms of a PE include chest pain and difficulty breathing. 

If you are concerned about any difficulty with your breathing, or pain in your chest, then seek immediate medical advice.

Case Study

Rory markham was struck down by a lung injury ahead of his fight with dan hardy.