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THREE-PHASE WORKOUT: LEVEL 1—GENERAL FITNESS PROGRAM

The workout in this chapter is designed for people who are not exercise fanatics or fitness enthusiasts, but who simply want to start a fitness program, stay healthy, or make their walks around the block more fruitful and enjoyable.

Because this system works for novices and elite athletes alike, all should familiarize themselves with the instructions for Level 1. (You must complete Level 1 before going on to Level 2.) The Level 1 program could stand alone for even the most competitive athletes and should not be disdained as being “too elementary.” The principles outlined here will serve as a basis and prerequisite for the understanding and practice of the Level 2 Athletic Training Program described in chapter 14.

Please recall the case study discussed in chapter 1, in which athletes trained in the principles of Body, Mind, and Sport took two bicycle ergometer exercise stress tests. The first time they took the test, the athletes used conventional exercise techniques, like the ones taught in your local health club. Two days later, they went through the same test, using the nasal breathing principles and procedures you are learning in this book.

Using these techniques, the subjects produced a heightened state of alpha in the brain, representing a degree of mind-body integration that conventional techniques do not produce. (See graphs A and B, chapter 1.) Their breath rates were relatively stable at around 14 breaths per minute (BPM), compared to 47 using conventional methods. (See graph D, chapter 10.) While the breath rates were stable, the brain maintained a state of integration. When the breath rates began to increase (during conventional exercise), the integration was lost.

Subjectively, the experience of the Zone was sustained as long as the breath rate remained slow and constant. When the breath rate sped up, the experience was lost. This tells us something very important: In order to reproduce the experience that goes along with the alpha brain wave pattern, we must maintain the comfortable rhythm of the breath set during Yoga (union of mind and body) throughout the entire workout.

What does this mean in practical terms?

AS SOON AS YOU FIND YOUR BREATH RATE INCREASING, SLOW DOWN YOUR EXERCISE PACE TO RECAPTURE THE ALPHA BREATH RATE. THE COMFORTABLE RHYTHM OF THE BREATH ACTS LIKE A METRONOME FOR A MUSICIAN; IT SETS THE EXERCISE PACE. THIS EXERCISE BREATH RATE IS ESTABLISHED DURING THE SUN SALUTE AND CARRIED THROUGH THE WORKOUT.

WHEN USING THE THREE-PHASE WORKOUT ONE CAN EXERCISE EVERY DAY IF DESIRED. THE PREMISE OF THIS PROGRAM IS BASED ON THE REDUCTION OF STRESS DURING EXERCISE, SO ONE CANNOT OVERTRAIN. ON THE OTHER HAND, TO ACHIEVE A CARDIOVASCULAR BENEFIT, 30 MINUTES OF EXERCISE MUST BE PERFORMED AT LEAST THREE TIMES A WEEK.

WARM-UP: YOGA SETS THE BREATH AND CREATES ALPHA

Throughout the phases of Level 1, the breath rate should not change. The deep, comfortable breathing rhythm generated during the Yoga postures sets the rate for the entire workout, so be sure to establish a good rhythm at the outset. Remember as you go through the postures to take maximal breaths, going to the next posture only when you have taken each inhalation and exhalation to its limit. (See graph E.)

It is recommended by convention that before stretching one should engage in light aerobic activity like walking for 5 to 10 minutes to warm the muscles prior to stretching them. The Yoga, when combined with deep nasal breathing, can be performed slowly and without maximal stretching during each posture to accommodate this requirement. These postures can produce this light aerobic effort when performed gently, slowly, and fluidly for the first 5 minutes. The second 5 minutes can be a time to focus on deeper breaths and more completed postures. If you are very inflexible then a short stretch may be the appropriate way to start your workout. Let comfort be your guide.

THE RESTING PHASE—EXERCISING THE LUNGS

The Resting Phase is the time to start your run, walk, bike ride, swim, or whatever your selected exercise is—but start slowly. For 5 to 10 minutes (the duration of the Resting Phase), go at an unusually slow pace, while maintaining the same deep breath rate established during the Yoga. Remember, this is the breath rate that got the mind and body integrated, and we want to hold on to it during the whole workout. Don’t lose it by exerting yourself too much here.

If you are scheduled to go for a run, take a brisk walk during the Resting Phase. If you’re on an exercise bike, freewheeling with little or no resistance would be sufficient. If you are going for a walk, walk slowly for these 5 to 10 minutes. Be sure to maintain the slow, even, deep Darth Vader nasal breath.

Breathing deeply during light exercise will feel very different from what you are used to. Usually, we breathe deeply only when we have to—when we are short of breath and need more oxygen. In this case, we make a concerted effort to keep up the same depth and rate of breathing established during the Yoga (see graph F), even though our exertion is minimal.

If you are playing tennis, racquetball, basketball, soccer, or any other sport that demands unpredictable full-out bursts of energy that could distract you from your breathing, there are two options for the Resting Phase:

• Warm up with a walk or light jog before entering the court or the field to play. I recommend that you complete both the Resting and Listening phases before starting the game.

• Go through the Resting and Listening phases on the court or field during warm-ups. In tennis, for example, tell your opponent, “I’m not going to chase warm-up balls for a while, just hit them right to me for a few minutes.” In this way, you can focus on your shot and your breathing without being forced to lose your breath rate while chasing balls. Your opponent will probably gain more by hitting the ball right at you than by hitting away with no real sense of control. Tennis players often find themselves completely out of breath within the first 5 minutes on the court, due to chasing wild warm-up shots.

If you can’t arrange to take the time on the court, arrive early and jog or walk nearby.

In the beginning stages of this program, it is easier to use a steady-state exercise such as running, walking, cycling, or cross-country skiing. With these activities, the level of exertion can be closely monitored. This is necessary to properly condition the mind to listen to the needs of the body.

Resting Phase

The exercise level is very low, while breathing is slow and very deep.

The breath rate is set during the Yoga warm-up.

Listening Phase

Gradually increase exercise level.

If the breath rate increases beyond the rate set during the Yoga warm-up, slow down the pace of exercise and maintain the original breath rate.

Performance Phase

As the fitness level and skill increase, the intensity level of exercise can increase while the original breath rate stays the same (see graph D in chapter 10).

THE LISTENING PHASE—BEGINNING TO EXERCISE THE BODY

During the Listening Phase the breath rate again remains the same as during the Yoga. (See graph F.) In this phase the exercise pace is gradually increased as you monitor your body’s response.

If the exercise level goes too high, you will be forced to increase your breath rate. The oxygen intake from the Yoga breath rate will not be sufficient to maintain your body’s new level of exertion, and your breathing rate will naturally pick up. Just at this point, where the breathing begins to become labored or increases beyond the Yoga breath rate, there will be an associated feeling of discomfort. At that point, respect the feeling and slow the pace until you can reestablish the original breath rate.

The purpose of the Listening Phase is to become aware of what happens when the exercise level forces the breath rate upward. This breaking point will be correlated to the heart rate, and to the form and awareness monitors discussed in the Level 2 Athletic Training Program.

By maintaining the Yoga breath rate throughout the workout, the exercise level will be perfect for those who do not want to overdo it and who are concerned about exercise safety. This will also ensure the maximum integration of mind and body, which translates into more enjoyment during the entire workout.

LISTENING PHASE—EXAMPLE

If you are a runner, during the Listening Phase you will keep asking your body to run faster, and you will pay attention to how it responds. If you pick up your pace a little and the Yoga breath rate remains even and steady, you know you can go that fast without any problem. You can then try speeding up still more.

You can continue going faster until your breathing increases beyond the original rate. Then slow the pace to reestablish the comfortable rate. After a minute or two of a stable breath rate, you have the option of again asking the body for more. If the body says no and the breath rate increases, then slow down again and reestablish the original breath rate.

Soon you will become sensitized to exactly how much exercise is beneficial and when you start to strain. The experience of comfort and ease, reported by all the greats when at their best, will become a natural guide to keep you exercising along the high-performance curve.

Actually, this is one of the most important unanswered questions of modern exercise science: What is the correct (i.e., most beneficial) amount of exercise for each individual? For anyone who wants to gain maximum benefits from an exercise program, in terms of both health and performance, knowing the right amount is paramount.

As you develop the ability to tune in to your body, you will find it shouting out the answer. In Level 1, the point of maximum return continues right up until the breath rate established in the Yoga begins to increase, and your comfort begins to be lost due to overaggressive demands on yourself.

The benefits are greatest when exercise and breath rate are matched, and the body is exercising at the maximum comfort level. There is just enough stimulation in the system to remove waste, improve circulation, and help the body repair itself. When the metabolic rate is raised to this stage and not beyond, the body experiences itself functioning with a high degree of efficiency.

On the other hand, when the breath rate becomes labored beyond the original rate, it is because the body is being forced to adapt and compensate to meet the demands of increased exertion. Then the benefits start to diminish and stress starts to accumulate.

It’s like a test drive. You can’t tell what might be wrong with the car until you drive it. When you employ the Listening Phase during exercise, if there are any weaknesses in the system, the body can address them before the increasing demands of exercise shift the system into a higher gear.

The marvelous thing about our bodies is that we have a built-in mechanic who will fix problems on the spot, as long as the system is not overstrained. As soon as the body shifts into its fight-or-flight stress response, all repairs are put on hold until the workout is over. At that time, recovery is the priority and the metabolic rate drops too low to troubleshoot the system properly.

Exercise was originally designed as a stress-reducing, rejuvenating activity. The principle behind this concept is that only when all the stress is cleared out of the system can the body and mind fully integrate and fully express their potential. That is why it is especially important not to incur new stress at a time when the system could be becoming increasingly stress-free. The Listening Phase of the Three-Phase Workout will help you know exactly how much exercise will support this growth to higher potential, and how much will oppose it.

It is simply a matter of repeatedly asking the body for more without crossing over the line into discomfort and strain. The procedure is based on the belief that the body’s capabilities are essentially unlimited, and that the best way to access its potential is to give it a chance to accommodate to your performance desires naturally, in its own time, without forcing it. The result is a graceful upward performance curve that produces a permanent level of fitness.

This is altogether different from the rubber-band effect well known to conventional exercisers. Many people have been shocked to discover, after months of getting into shape by driving themselves, that they were back almost where they started after just a week or two of not exercising. When the body is forced, it will snap back to its original condition as soon as the stressor is gone. On the other hand, if exercise is gracefully expanded, the body will have a chance to assimilate the fitness gains gradually and develop a fitness level that becomes a way of life rather than a burned-in temporary experience.

THE DURATION OF THE LISTENING PHASE DEPENDS ON ONE’S BODY TYPE:

• FOR THE WINTER TYPE, THE MINIMUM TIME NEEDED IS 10 MINUTES.

• FOR THE SUMMER TYPE, THE MINIMUM TIME NEEDED IS 15 MINUTES.

• FOR THE SPRING TYPE, THE MINIMUM TIME NEEDED IS 20 MINUTES.

(SEE CHART AT END OF CHAPTER 14 FOR DETAILS ON ADJUSTING LISTENING PHASE TIMES.)

As your body becomes more fit and stress is removed, it will respond more and more positively to your requests. When you ask your body for more, it will say yes, and your performance will soar while your breath rate remains stable. When this happens naturally, you can flow smoothly into the Performance Phase.

THE PERFORMANCE PHASE—MAXIMIZING MIND AND BODY

There is no time limit or requirement in the Performance Phase. This is when you would start the actual race, tennis match, or other competition. Now the body begins to perform at its highest levels, while the breath rate and feeling of comfort and balance continue with you into the competition.

If you look back at the graphs in chapter 10, you will notice that the breath rate during the Three-Phase Workout decreases slightly at the maximum workload. While the “conventional” breath rate is going through the roof, the nasal breath rate is actually coming down. Having the breath rate come down as you increase workload is the goal of Level 1. This indicates full respiratory efficiency. You should not move on to Level 2 until you have this experience on a regular basis.

When we exercise at a competitive level, we begin to require more oxygen. In order to get this oxygen into the lungs, the body can either breathe faster, as it tends to do with conventional exercise, or breathe more efficiently. The subject in graph D (see chapter 10) was breathing more efficiently. I can tell you from experience that there is nothing more enjoyable than to watch your breathing become slower and more efficient while your legs carry you faster and faster.

We are accustomed to correlate high-level exercise with more strain, yet when Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile, he trained only 45 minutes a day. Of his historic run, Bannister said, “There was no pain. There was no strain”; for him, it felt as if he were moving slow. Effortlessness is a new experience for most people, but it is the common testimony of those who have found themselves performing in the Zone.

It is the experience of opposites: The faster you go, the more composed physically and mentally you become. We can condition ourselves to have that experience on a regular basis.

Warren Wechsler, the 38-year-old runner whose rise from sedentary businessman to marathoner was described in chapter 1, told me that he would marvel at how he would pass people in the last miles of a 10K race, watching them huffing and puffing in pain while he would be pushing almost to sprint speed. Even toward the end of a race, he would still be breathing quietly through his nose, feeling absolutely comfortable and composed.

Warren said that even during his sprint workouts on the track he never had to breathe through his mouth. “You reach a point where your lungs are not the limiting factor to how fast you can go,” he said. Such a statement, from a runner committed to nasal breathing, is possible only because of the high degree of respiratory efficiency that comes quite naturally when you let the body and the breath, not your desires, dictate the performance curve.

In the beginning weeks of your new workouts, if you listen carefully to your body, you may find yourself never going beyond the Listening Phase. If this happens, it is because your body is protecting you from yourself. It won’t let you hurt yourself if you listen to it.

In the Listening Phase you are repeatedly asking the body for more and monitoring its responses. In the Performance Phase you are on cruise control at an exercise level you established as your maximum comfort zone in the Listening Phase, just before your exertion level reaches the breaking point. That subjective experience is then carried into the Performance Phase. The level of performance may differ from one person to the next, but the exercise high will be experienced throughout.

If you are exercising on your own, you can stay in the Performance Phase as long as the experience of comfort remains. If you are involved in a competition where your exertion level is dictated by the game, then you must go with that. As long as you successfully completed the warm-up and the Resting and Listening phases, the body is ready for competition and short bursts beyond the comfort zone will be fine.

Ultimately, when you become truly fit, the experience of comfort will be with you every step of the way, even into the most intensely competitive situations. (Sprint training and competition are discussed in detail in chapter 14, the Level 2 program.)

THE COOL-DOWN

Just as horses are walked extensively after a race to ensure a proper cool-down, you need to spend some time cooling down, too. Basically, you cool down the same way you warmed up.

STEP 1 • Begin with 5 to 10 minutes in the Resting Phase, where you combine deep nasal breathing with low-level exercise. (Review the instructions given earlier in this chapter.) This will ensure the removal of any accumulated blood lactate or other postexercise circulatory waste products.

The cool-down not only discourages next-day muscle stiffness, it acts as a preparation for your next workout. If waste products are completely removed from the muscles after each workout, the body can spend more time on rejuvenation, repair, and increasing performance levels during subsequent workouts.

STEP 2 • After 5 to 10 minutes of the Resting Phase, immediately move on to 5 to 10 minutes of Sun Salute or the Yoga series. The best flexibility gains can be made when the muscles are warm, immediately after a workout. The Sun Salute, because of its counterposing flexion and extension postures, is one of the most effective means of gaining flexibility.

Johnny Ray had been training for flexibility for years in a gym, to improve his karate form and kicking ability. He was a Summer-Spring type whose muscles were fairly bulky and not overly flexible. He would train for at least an hour every day using different stretching exercises. He improved quite a lot, but he could never perform splits or sit in the lotus posture (the cross-legged Yoga position in which the ankles sit on opposite thighs), which he wanted very much to do.

I taught Johnny the Sun Salute sequence, and after doing two 15-minute sessions per day for just two weeks, he sat in the lotus posture for the first time in his life.

The Yoga positions are not just generic Yoga exercises stuck in the front and back of the workout. They provide strength, flexibility, and endurance to each of the major muscle groups, completely naturally, while increasing the flow of circulation throughout the body. They also provide a greatly heightened state of neuromuscular integration. Ending a workout with 5 to 10 minutes of Yoga is the best way to train your body to take the alpha state into your daily life.

LEVEL 1 FINAL EXAM

Graph D in chapter 10 shows that during vigorous conventional exercise the breath rate rose up to 47 breaths per minute. With nasal breathing techniques doing the same exercise the breath rose to only 14 breaths per minute. At the end of the nasal breathing workout the breath rate slowed down as the intensity of the workout increased to 200 watts of resistance. When you develop full respiratory efficiency the body will naturally choose to breathe deeper, longer, and slower into the oxygen-rich lower lobes of the lungs. Since it takes longer for the air to reach the lower lobes of the lungs and takes more time for the vast number of capillary-rich alveoli to exchange oxygen, the breath rate naturally slows down as the breathing becomes more efficient. Over time, the breathing becomes deeper and deeper and the calming parasympathetic nervous system becomes more and more activated during exercise stress. This means that while under stress the body is not burning emergency fuel—sugar and carbs—but steady and stable nonemergency fuel—fats. This makes exercise less stressful, more efficient, and more enjoyable.

During the Listening Phase as you increase your exertion, watch your breath rate carefully. As your rib cage opens and becomes more flexible, the breath rate will slow down rather than speed up while you increase the workload. Look for the breath to initially slow down as you increase the exertion. Of course, if you continue increasing exertion the breath rate will once again speed up. You are looking for that initial slowing down of the breath rate during increased exertion. When this happens, you have what I call full respiratory capacity. This means while under stress your body chooses to be more calm and efficient rather then immediately pushing the emergency panic button.

If you try to master Level 2, where I teach you about heart rate monitoring using these principles, you will find it difficult to keep your heart rate down in the range that I am requesting. In fact, if you try Level 2 without first establishing full respiratory capacity the heart rate will temporarily go up since the heart has to work much harder. Once the sinuses and rib cage open up the heart rate will come down and nasal breathing will be the preferred way of breathing.

The initial slowing of the breath rate during increased exertion is a prerequisite for Level 2. It might take one day, a week, or 3 months to master Level 1 and gain full respiratory capacity. Once you have mastered this, your health and longevity benefits of exercise are covered. If you have competitive desires, then you can move into Level 2. For most recreational exercisers the Level 1 benefits are all you need.

TREADMILL OR EXERCISE MACHINE WORKOUT

My favorite way to teach Level 1 principles is with the help of a treadmill. This workout works with any machine that has a manual setting, meaning you control the exertion level rather than the computer controlling it for you. Follow these simple steps and you will be able to measure your success each day. This procedure works for world-class athletes and non-athletes alike. It is always the first thing I do when working with a client.

1. Perform the Sun Salute or a stretching program that incorporates coordinated nasal breathing for 5–10 minutes.

2. Set the treadmill, bike, or exercise machine to the lowest possible manual setting. For the treadmill, walk at 2.0–3.5 mph (depending on age and fitness level) at zero degrees elevation. During the next 5–10 minutes walk or ride slowly while you breathe maximally through the nose, using the Darth Vader exhale.

3. As you walk slowly and breathe deeply tune into the natural space between each breath and memorize the breathing rhythm you set.

4. After 5–10 minutes, raise the treadmill elevation one degree every 15 seconds as you hold on to the exact same breathing rhythm. If you are on a bike or stepping machine, just increase the intensity levels one intensity point every 15 seconds, keeping the speed constant.

5. As you increase the elevation or workload, ask yourself, “Am I breathing in the exact same rhythm as I walk up this hill as I did in the beginning?” The first sign of breath shortening and the loss of space between each breath means you are activating an emergency response. If this happens, let’s say at 4 degrees of elevation, lower the treadmill back to zero degrees, keeping the speed the same. If you are on a bike, adjust the intensity back to the initial setting, level one or level zero.

6. Now you are at the original setting—zero degrees elevation or zero intensity—and walking or riding slowly again. This is a very important part of the workout. While walking or riding slowly, again breathe deeply and go slowly. But this time try to breathe even deeper—longer and slower than the previous rhythm. The benefits you gained while pushing (nasal breathing) the breath into the lower lobes of the lungs at higher elevations will become permanent when you breathe even deeper at the lower intensity. So at this stage you should first catch your breath from the higher elevation and then reset a bigger, deeper, longer, and slower breath rate. This indicates you are accessing more of the oxygen-rich lower lobes of the lungs and you are ready to handle even more stress (exertion) with the next push.

7. Now start to increase the intensity once again. On a treadmill, and for the bike as well, raise the elevation or intensity one degree every 15 seconds, same as before. This time, you will notice that instead of the nasal breath shortening at 4 degrees of elevation you will find yourself effortlessly walking and breathing with the same rhythm up to 7 or 8 degrees of elevation. You will beat your old score. You are handling more stress with the same or less exertion as before.

8. As soon as the new deeper breathing rhythm you carried up to 7–8 degrees start to shorten, lower the treadmill back to zero degrees again. It is important you go all the way to zero. The respiratory gains are made permanent at this level. Here again, catch your breath and reset an even deeper, slower, and longer rhythm of the breath.

9. Note: The most difficult part of this exercise is tuning in to the rhythm of the breath and catching the exact moment when the breath shortens. Many of you will exercise right past this place and never glean the full benefits of the program. Tune in to the space between each breath, and know when that space shortens your intensity level is too high and you should go back to zero and start over.

10. Once you have a new calm and comfortable rhythm of the breath established, then start to raise the elevation or intensity once again as before. Remember, always keep the speed on the treadmill constant and keep raising the elevation. This way you can always monitor and measure your progress. Once you reach an extremely high elevation such as 10 or 12 degrees, the next time you come back to zero degrees of elevation increase the speed one-half or one mile per hour. At this new speed start the process over again, raising the elevation and beating your old score. When the breath shortens, always lower the elevation back to zero, resetting the breath and keeping the speed steady at the new speed.

11. As your rib cage opens, the ease of breathing into the lower lobes of the lungs improves greatly. Soon you will find yourself breathing into these calming lower lungs naturally while going about your daily activities. Breathing this way soon will become a way of life. In this way your body has activated a natural antidote to stress with each breath, 26,000 breaths per day.

12. This workout can last anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes depending on the time available. Finish with the Sun Salute or stretching coordinated with nasal breathing.