POWERbreathe: work your lungs as well as your body

I'm not averse to a new fitness fad or two, but I do have to draw the line at what Boing Boing Gadgets hilariously labelled "dumbells for your diaphragm".

The POWERbreathe Inspiratory Muscle Trainers are units designed to "restore breathing power". You blow into the tube, pushing on a spring-loaded valve, and this gives a workout to the muscles that control your breathing. The theory is that this will increase your lung capacity. Remember those blowing-into-a-loo roll tube style tests you did in Biology at school? It's that principle, but with springs. Hmm. The manufacturers also claim this could assist with respiratory problems such as asthma, although they wisely don't claim to cure it. And yes, the Iron Girl version comes in pink. £30.

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