60s CP in one month

Breathing, sleeping, running, meditation, yoga, relaxation
Post Reply
dime
Posts: 1238
https://cutt.ly/meble-kuchenne-wroclaw
Joined: Mon 14 Feb 2011 09:24

60s CP in one month

Post by dime »

Originally started by Kasper: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2877&p=31966#p31966

We set on a goal to reach CP of minimum 60s (at any point of the day) in one month. Starting tomorrow, Monday is a pretty good day to start things.

This thread we can use to log our progress, keep us motivated and consistent, share things that you discover to increase CP, etc.
We are all on the wai diet, so nutrition is as good as it can be, so we mainly need to get rid of some bad habits, become more active and breathe slower.

Let's do it then! :-)
dime
Posts: 1238
Joined: Mon 14 Feb 2011 09:24

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by dime »

I actually already started yesterday on the goal of increasing CP in general. Right now it's pretty bad (and I need to start measuring better)
  • MCP: around 10
    CP: around 20
here are some things I started practicing:
  • measure MCP/ECP every day
    breathe slower and always with the nose
    cold shower every morning and just before sleep
    avoid the heating and keep a cold, well-ventilated room
    • proud to say, today at 0C outside I didn't turn on the heating at all, just had a heating pad for the feet. It was around 18-19C in the room
    spend as much time outside as possible, especially when it's sunny (which is not very often here)
    • this will be hardest I think..
    sleep on left side
    tape mouth before sleep
    • tried with a scarf yesterday, it was off in the morning
    take at least 20 minutes walk before sleep
    hard bed?
    inclined bed
    • already 20 cm higher at the head
    go to bed only for sleeping
    sit on a chair with no back support
    • I've already started doing this since a few weeks ago (it's actually a small table, but works perfectly), just need to stick to sitting on it instead of going to the bed. It's really hard but I almost got adapted to it
    throw away carpet
    • done since a month ago
    chew food extremely well (or juice/blend it)
    don't eat 2 hours before sleep
    • I'm pretty skinny for my height.. I'll at least stay off protein/fat and stick to fruits just before bed
    start some aerobic (right now I'm only doing strength training)
Only problem I see for now, in two weeks I'll be on the road for a week which will set me back for sure.. but I won't give up.
Kasper
Posts: 899
Joined: Sat 24 Apr 2010 12:48
Location: Utrecht; The Netherlands

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by Kasper »

Looks good dime!
Going from 10MCP to 60MCP in one month is going to be a tough journey, I guess (also depends on your age), but it would be an absolutely awesome achievement.
What's your age if I may ask ?

I actually meant to say 60CP every day for one month. But what about this:
Goal: Trying to get 60 CP in one month (14 december 2011) and maintain this CP 24 hours a day until 1 january 2012.
Does that sounds good to you ?
hard bed?
I think, that's essential for natural sleep pattern.
I won't go directly for a wooden plate, but just an old-fashioned hard mattress.
spend as much time outside as possible, especially when it's sunny (which is not very often here)

this will be hardest I think..
Well, if you are outside and it's too cold. The only way to get it warm, is to start running, which is a great buteyko exercise.
I just ran 8.15 km in 0:44:31 in 3 degrees celcius, not feeling cold at all.
http://www.jogtracker.com/HistoryDetail ... me=Kasperp

Of course, width only nose breathing. This is by far the best single run I did width nose breathing (11km/h).
This morning, 4 km in 30 min, I also took one cold shower, so it's going great today.

Other habits:
- I sleep on inclined hard bed (18 cm)
- two windows open, no clothes (and other things which attract dust) in sleeping room while asleep
dime
Posts: 1238
Joined: Mon 14 Feb 2011 09:24

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by dime »

I just turned 24. Used to be very active, but university and computers, easiest way to lower CP :)
Goal: Trying to get 60 CP in one month (14 december 2011) and maintain this CP 24 hours a day until 1 january 2012.
Does that sounds good to you ?
Yep, I was even thinking of setting a higher goal when we reach 60 CP. Panacea said it should become easier once you break this 40-60 barrier.
But you seem very close no, if running 8km in 3C and sleeping with two windows open at this temperature otside! Very impressive.
I'm going a bit slower with cold shower/open windows until I'm sure MCP is above 20 (wouldn't want to get sick).

When it comes to jogging: wouldn't running faster (closer to sprinting) for less time be equivalent to running slower for longer? Or maybe some interval training. Only problem I see with that is it might be very hard to keep breathing through the nose

I'll go for this regarding exercise: 3 days strength training, 3 days running outside + maybe rowing machine inside, 1 day vacation. Will be interesting to see how much I can run, pre-wai I think my max was around 30 minutes normal pace.
Kasper
Posts: 899
Joined: Sat 24 Apr 2010 12:48
Location: Utrecht; The Netherlands

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by Kasper »

I surely wouldn't sleep in too cold conditions width 10 MCP. But your body will give clear signals about this I think.
My body doesn't feel cold at all in the night in cold conditions (since inclining bed).
When it comes to jogging: wouldn't running faster (closer to sprinting) for less time be equivalent to running slower for longer? Or maybe some interval training. Only problem I see with that is it might be very hard to keep breathing through the nose
That's right. Running faster in less time is equivalent to running slower for longer.
But it's very very hard to run fast width nose breathing when low CP. I couldn't do it for more than 3 mins I think..

I think I started off width pretty similar conditions as you. Im 21, I also used to very active, than went to university and computers etc .. MCP was around 10-20 when I began.
I think you will be suprised how hard it is too keep breathing to your nose when running..
I began width sessions like: 25 mins (fast)walking 5 min light jogging.
The easiest way (read: won't need much discipline) to increase CP is to do much (3-6) sessions like this a day, but you will need much free time.
Of course, you can increase jogging/walking ratio when you feel comfortable.
dime
Posts: 1238
Joined: Mon 14 Feb 2011 09:24

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by dime »

12 MCP this morning. An even better goal I figured (which doesn't seem so far as one month does) is to increase MCP by at least 2 every day.
I think this will keep me even more consistent and dedicated. If I don't keep up with this pace it will be pretty hard to reach 60.

Just run 3.4km in 22:45 (8.9km/h) at -3 C outside, only nose breathing. 3-4 layers of clothes on me :D Had to shortly stop a few times and mixed walking and running in the end, the knee started hurting too much. I have to start doing some stretching and warming up beforehand probably.

Running goal: do these 3.4km without any walking.

In the evening I'm going for 1km rowing. Full body and quite intensive, I think this would be a really good exercise for increasing CP.
I think you will be suprised how hard it is too keep breathing to your nose when running..
Nose breathing for me was more annoying than hard, because it was constantly getting full and running.. I had to stop often to clean it up :)
The easiest way (read: won't need much discipline) to increase CP is to do much (3-6) sessions like this a day, but you will need much free time.
Yeah this would be much easier to do, but take way too much time. I'll stick for now to those 3.4km, and then either move to 5.4 or add some sprints.

What's your MCP now btw?
panacea
Posts: 989
Joined: Wed 23 Jun 2010 22:08

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by panacea »

This is a great idea, but maybe our buteyko stuff should be moved to 'everything non wai', this technically isn't wai discussion
I'll be joining in on this though, a couple of notes:
some things to keep in mind is that
(1) proper nose breathing exercises or physical exercise is the main (95%) factor in what ***increases*** CP
(2) sleeping the minimum amount you need is the main (60%) factor in ***maintaining*** CP and not losing progress
(3) when you progress rapidly with higher CP, you will feel more energetic than your body is able to handle - you will want to jog or run too hard and you will cause yourself injuries, you must take it slow and gradual, your muscle growth will lag behind your CP increases
(4) the harder the surface of bed you are able to sleep on the less you will need an alarm clock and the earlier you will wake up naturally, hard surfaces cause you to turn and move occasionally during the night (a good thing) and you won't sleep too long, but it's not a good idea to sleep directly on the floor if it's carpeted or made of some 'odd smelling' material, an airbed which can be inflated to a pretty stiff level is fine, and is what I use, it's also easy to take with you and adjust for incline
(5) cold showers should not be used until you are over 20 CP and 15 MCP or so
(6) how well you tolerate cold temperatures will also be based on how much brown fat you have, so that for some people who have been in relatively warm climate their whole life will not tolerate cold as well


So, if you do no or little exercise, don't expect a CP increase the next day
If you sleep too long, expect a CP drop or no increase
If you do everything right but don't get aerobic exercise enough, don't expect your CP to increase really without breathing exercises

The number one pitfall I have found that sneaks under the radar is prolonged slouching, whether it's at school, an office type work setting, or relaxing at home,
if you have nothing to do, are physically tired and need to relax, then the best thing for it is to walk around - if at school/office and feel tired of sitting without support, you need to take a short walk, your postural muscles are not yet built for long term self support and walking will help release their tension, don't give in to slouching
if you're like me at first you will be going for walks quite a lot but then only 1 or 2 a day
overkees
Posts: 598
Joined: Fri 05 Aug 2011 14:20

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by overkees »

I said I would quit smoking entirely for ever, but I still smoked this weekend when I had a few drinks and couldn't stop afterwards. So I'm now not drinking alcohol for at least 2 weeks and see if that helps me to not fall back to smoking. Smoking is terrible when considering CP.

My CP is 24 at the moment. I'm starting to practice reduced breathing again, and my goal is to be on 60s before the old year is over. I already take cold showers for 1.5 month, so that's not a problem. Cold showers are extremely beneficial for well being. I always feel rejuvenated after a cold shower. I always was a belly sleeper so that's also no problem for me.

My excercises are swimming, I swim every other day, 20 minutes (3.5 km/h) followed by 10 minutes rest and drinking OJ followed by an interval training with now 3 sprints at 80-90 % of my max speed with pauses of 2 minutes in between. I'm going for swimming 2 kms in 20 minutes followed by an interval training with 4 sprints with pauses of 1 minute. But this will take some time, and I'm going to take things slowly.

The problem with swimming excercises is that I can't do them with nose breathing. So for nose breathing excercises I train on my bike, i cycle to the university almost every day (6 kms back and forth) and I cycle to my girlfriends place at least 2 times a week (13 kms back and forth). When I do this i have a speed around 30 km/h and I only do nose breathing. It's not much, but it's something.

I'm still struggling with being 100 % wai, I had some social occassions this weekend and I eat a mushroom soup, a fruit salad, lasagna and lemon bavaroise. I didn't eat so much non wai food in one setting for a really long time. I felt extremely drowsey, had diarria after 3 hours and felt a bit sick. Next day it was, thank god, over.

Tomorrow I will measure my MCP also, I never recorded that one because I always forget it. Good luck guys with getting your CP's higher than 40s at least.

Oh and my sleeping time was 9 hours this night..
dime
Posts: 1238
Joined: Mon 14 Feb 2011 09:24

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by dime »

panacea wrote:The number one pitfall I have found that sneaks under the radar is prolonged slouching, whether it's at school, an office type work setting, or relaxing at home
Yeah indeed, it's so hard to keep sitting straight. I have to get up quite often, just walk around the room at least, stretch or do some exercise. Which is a pretty good thing to do anyway, especially for the eyes.
The problem with swimming excercises is that I can't do them with nose breathing.
I think it's not that essential to do the nose breathing.. I see it as a simple way to force slowing your breath. With swimming you could try taking breath (moving the head out of the water) less often, that should work just as well.

But biking is great, I increased my CP enough for my allergy to disappear completely after only around 200-300km biking in totals. It kept me for 2 more weeks after I stopped biking, and now the allergy is back. And if you're maintaining 30km/h average speed.. you're doing great!
overkees
Posts: 598
Joined: Fri 05 Aug 2011 14:20

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by overkees »

overkees wrote:I'm going for swimming 2 kms in 20 minutes followed by an interval training with 4 sprints with pauses of 1 minute. But this will take some time, and I'm going to take things slowly.
What i meant was 2 kms in 30 minutes and 1.5 kms in 20 minutes. If I was able to pull 2kms in 20 minutes I could immediately go to the olympic games ;)
dime
Posts: 1238
Joined: Mon 14 Feb 2011 09:24

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by dime »

16 MCP this morning. Running 3.4km and rowing 2.5km yesterday had quite some effect :) Also I woke up after only 5 hours.. my eyes feel a bit tired but otherwise it's ok.

Today is vacation day, plus I need to let the knee heal. Let's see how no fitness will affect the MCP
overkees
Posts: 598
Joined: Fri 05 Aug 2011 14:20

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by overkees »

I practiced reduced breathing three times yesterday in long sessions. Forgot to measure my MCP again. I did some swimming and my CP is 28 atm. Going to do some more reduced breathing excercises today. Especially before going to bed. I always force myself to do reduced breathing when going to sleep.

Still having trouble with cigarettes. Smoked 1 yesterday, smoked 2 today and I'm giving myself 1 more cigarette today. It's due to very heavy reactions to the quitting I bought a pack. On my previous no more smoking attempts I did better when I limit myself to 3 cigarettes for 1 week and then totally quitting. So to keep the people around me happy I still smoke, a bit :(. Everyone around me says it's fooling yourself because it's harder to limit yourself with only 3 cigarettes than to completely stop smoking. I have experienced actually the opposite.

The wai diet is going pretty good. Had 2 croissants this morning because I ran out of OJ and was very very hungry, it's my only munch food so far and it wasn't on a social occassion. To remember you people and myself, the rule I have is: I only eat munch foods on social occassions where I can't order anything wai-ish.

Had no alcohol since 3 days, yay \o/

Slept for 8.5 hours today, hoping I wake up by myself in the next couple of days after 7.5 hours. With the wai and the breathing I'm sure it's going to work.
panacea
Posts: 989
Joined: Wed 23 Jun 2010 22:08

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by panacea »

Remember guys -
When taking your CP or MCP, it's very important you do it in the exact same way every day.
For example when taking CP, you must be completely at rest, not after exercising. Wait about 30 minutes after exercising at least to take a CP measurement. You should normally take a CP measurement while in a relaxed sitting position.

If you took a CP measurement while standing, your CP will generally be less than if you took it laying down (because your metabolic rate increases from the effort it requires to stand up). Sitting CP measurements are somewhere inbetween these, so that's the one that is most commonly used. When taking MCP, it's ok to do it as soon as waking without moving, so that you take every MCP while laying down.

You will get false CP readings if you take them after exercising, moving around a lot, eating (especially a bunch of egg yolks), speaking, etc.
dime
Posts: 1238
Joined: Mon 14 Feb 2011 09:24

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by dime »

Yeah, this is why I don't measure CP at all, but only MCP exactly when I wake up before even getting out of the bed.
panacea
Posts: 989
Joined: Wed 23 Jun 2010 22:08

Re: 60s CP in one month

Post by panacea »

It can be useful to know your CP throughout the day to know if something you do in the day is hindering progress. Example: take CP before going to school. take CP after being at school. If CP is lower, then it's probably because you slouched too much
Post Reply