M&F<\/em> sat down with the athlete and entrepreneur to find out how he came to develop the product, and why everyone should consider getting their beathing \u201con the nose.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need a health or fitness guru to tell you that breathing is non-negotiable if you want to make it to the end of this feature, but for those who want to maximize their performance<\/a> instead of just dialing it in, there\u2019s a lot more to breathing than just inhaling and exhaling. \u201cIf you\u2019re not breathing and utilizing oxygen correctly, it doesn\u2019t matter how hard you train, how well your diet is, or what supplements you take! Your overall health and endurance starts by the way you breathe,\u201d reads the intro at elvtbreath.com<\/a>. ELVT (pronounced \u201celevate\u201d) breath control patches are the brainchild of Phil Lembkey, the grandson of a bodybuilder who became a sportsman in his own right through exercising with his dad, and eventually moving toward surfing, wrestling, and jiujitsu.<\/p>\n He also now partners in the ownership on a San Francisco-area MMA gym. \u201cI was always looking for ways to improve my performance and just the sports that I gravitated toward,\u201d says Lembkey. \u201cYou\u2019re put in uncomfortable positions\u00a0\u00a0in jujitsu and surfing and being held under. So, you\u2019re always looking for ways to not only improve your performance, but how to stay calm under pressure in those uncomfortable positions.\u201d<\/p>\n Breath control was always an aspect of Lembkey\u2019s athletic development, whether it be via meditation or taking cold plunges. Then, he read Oxygen Advantage<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Patrick McEwan and says that this was a game-changing moment for him. By tweaking the way that he breathed, Lembkey was able to not only improve his personal records, but was also able to beat sleep apnea. \u201cI tried keeping my mouth shut with athletic tape, and I pretty much cured my own sleep apnea and little anxieties by just optimizing my breathing<\/a> and being aware, and nasal breathing specifically.\u201d<\/p>\n Along with his ELVT co-founder, Sean Fitzgerald, Lembkey set about helping improving our health and athleticism, one breath at a time.<\/p>\n \u201cBreathing is a subconscious act\u2026\u201d says Lembkey. \u201cBut we\u2019ve evolved over time to become chronic mouth breathers in the high stress environments that we live in: pollutants, diet, toxins, (so) there\u2019s a demand for oxygen, and the easiest way to do that is to open your mouth, but that\u2019s not an optimal way. [Mouth breathing] was actually designed for \u2018fight or flight\u2019 situations and as a backup. The nose is how you\u2019re supposed to breathe, so the tool that we created was the breath control patch, to help optimize and restrain the respiratory system and subconscious mind toward nasal breathing.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, finding the best breath tool took around one year of research, and a glut of prototypes. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to rush into it,\u201d reflects Lembkey. \u201cWe tried athletic tape, you know, we\u2019re putting women\u2019s nipple covers over our mouth\u2026 it was hilarious,\u201d laughs the innovator. \u201cEven the cleavage tape, bamboo tape, everything, but one wasn\u2019t strong enough and one would peel off. We really wanted to find something that was like a hybrid model that you can wear while you sleep and wear while you workout. So, a lot of research and development went into, until we finally partnered with a manufacturer and took some things that we liked from the different tapes, and were able to blend it all into one. \u201cA lot of people open their mouth because it\u2019s the quickest way to get air into your lungs,\u201d explains Lembkey. \u201cBut it\u2019s like pouring a glass that\u2019s half full, you\u2019re not actually absorbing all that oxygen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Man-wearing-a-ELVT-patch-and-performing-nose-breathing-exercises.jpg?w=200&quality=86&strip=all\")
Why Your Breathing Might Be Broken<\/h3>\n