All About Lip Guards

All About Lip Guards

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What is your maximum capacity of oxygen levels? There is a test every athlete can take that will tell you what your maximum oxygen level uptake is or the maximum volume of oxygen your body can process. The test is called VO2 Max. It tests the volume of oxygen your body consumes per minute. It will also measure how fit you are. As the intensity of an athlete increases during exercise, so does their oxygen consumption. Your VO2 Max is the level at which the amount of oxygen your body processes hits maximum and then plateaus. Knowing your current VO2 Max could be the key to improving your fitness. It gives you your current level today and can also help you step up your training to improve your reading in the future. You can get a VO2 Max test done at sports medicine facilities or medical labs that also do stress tests to evaluate heart health but it will set you back $100 to $250, depending on where they are done. If you don't want to spend the money on the test, you can also purchase and use a fitness tracker that you wear on your wrist. Here are just a few that are rated high on Amazon.

Fitness Trackers That Calculate Your VO2 Max

*Amazfit Stratos Buy Now amazon.com

*Fitbit Charge 2 Buy Now amazon.com

*Apple Watch Series 3 Buy Now amazon.com

*Fossil Gen 5 Buy Now amazon.com

* Garmin Forerunner 45 Buy Now amazon.com

* Casio G-Shock GBD-H1000 Buy Now amazon.com

You can also improve your endurance with breathing fitness exercisers. These devices strengthen breathing muscles while also opening airways for both inhaling and exhaling.

Top Breathing Fitness Exercisers

1. Ultrabreathe Buy Now amazon.com

2. Breathe Easy Buy Now amazon.com

3. Expand-A-Lung Buy Now amazon.com

4. The Breather Buy Now amazon.com

5. Live, Love, Breathe Buy Now amazon.com

6. Nemstar Buy Now amazon.com

Ok, ok, enough of that. lets talk about lip guards and why your VO2 max is an important key to this post. But first, a little history lesson.

Lip Guards are called many different things by everyone. some people call them Lip Protectors, Pacifier Mouthguards or even Binky Mouthguards. Believe it or not but the first "lip Guard"was invented in 1950 with a patent granted in 1952 for a "protector for lips and teeth." The inventor of the first lip guard was Oliver Scott Miller. His inventionwas designed to be attached to the chinstrap because the invention occurred at the same time that face masks were arriving on the scene.

Today, the benefits of lip guards (with a breathing channel) are endless. This type of mouthguard is mainly seen on the American football field, but is starting to gain popularity in other sports such as mens lacrosse and karate. I believe these types of mouthguards should be mandatory in women's, high school and college lacrosse and high school and college field hockey.

A wide range, not only in price but in style of lip guards can be purchased today to show your individual style. You can purchase one with fangs, 3D fangs, camouflage, diamond plate, United States flag, college logos or even a spinning object on the front of the lip guard.

So now lets talk about the performance aspect of the lip guard mouthguards. All of the companies that make these types of mouthguards claim that, because of the breathing channel, you will get more oxygen to the muscles for faster recovery, clearer thinking and faster reaction times on the sports field. Another benefit to these mouthguards is the fitting process or lack their of. All you do is take the lip guard out of the package, clean it and put it in your mouth and your ready for action. Getting an impression of your teeth or going through the boil-and-bite fitting process can be an unpleasant experience for some people. These types of mouthguards eliminate those processes.

Battle oxygen mouthguards were one of the first lip guard mouthguards with a breathing channel. It has a patented design that leverages SCUBA breathing innovations which which delivers more oxygen to the muscles. The Battle Oxygen lip guard has the largest breathing aperture when compared to Nike, Vettex or Loudmouth. While most lip guard mouthguards with a breathing channel increase oxygen intake, a new company has designed an innovative lip guard that, in studies, outperforms the competition. Enter the GO2 Device with Lip Guard. The first of its kind, designed by doctors, the device works by putting a certain amount of resistance on the exhale through the design of the air channel. The inhale is natural. GO2 had their mouthguard and the Battle Oxygen Lip Guard tested by independent lab test, supervised by PhD physiologists from Texas A&M University and Houston Methodist Hospital. When testing the GO2 device against the BATTLE Oxygen Lip Guard the GO2 had an increase in endurance by 6.0%, an increase in VO2 Max by 6.5% with the GO2 Device For Football With Lip Guard and an increase in VO2 Max by 4.1% with the GO2 Device For Endurance.

Top Lip Guard Mouthguards With Breathing Channel

1) GO2 Device Buy Now

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2) Battle Oxygen Buy Now

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3) Shock Doctor Max Airflow Buy Now

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4) Loudmouth Buy Now

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5) NXTRND Buy Now

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6) Under Armour Buy Now

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7) GY Pro Buy Now

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8) Phenom Elite Buy Now

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9) Oral Mart Buy Now

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10) Coollo Buy Now

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11) Markwort Vettex Doubleguard

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12) Damage Control Buy Now

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13) Soldier Sports Buy Now

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14) SLEEFS Buy Now

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15) Nike Gameday/Hyperflow

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16) Ginyia Buy Now

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Don't forget to purchase a case with your lip guard. The Coollo lip guard case is the only mouthguard case that I know of that is specifically designed to hold lip guard mouthguards.

COOLLO Sports Lip Guard Case

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HOW I (The Author) TEST MOUTHGUARDS & WHY I CAN BE TRUSTED

My name is Ken Mitchell. I Have been fabricating custom mouthguards for more than 15 years and have been a dental technician for over 20 years. I also, have owned my own dental laboratory for over 20 years.

Besides having work experience with mouthguards, I know first hand the importance of mouthguards in the sports world. I have played several sports throughout my life at the hight school level, including basketball, football, baseball and beach volleyball. I am also a father to two sons and a daughter who have played Soccer, Football, Basketball, Volleyball, Lacrosse and Baseball ever since they were in the first grade. From time to time I have used my children to test mouthguards to get a first-hand, real-world experience with custom mouthguards and store bought mouthguards.

I search for every mouthguard on the market. Then, I purchase (with my own funds) every mouthguard I review through places like Amazon, eBay or directly from the manufacturer, just like you would, then evaluate every mouthguard based on my expert opinion. I also comb the internet to find other reviews on durability to develop a better understanding of specific mouthguards pros and cons over an extended period of time.

Every mouthguard I review, is fitted and examined by me. The only time a mouthguard is fitted by another person besides me, would be my son, who plays college football. I used him mainly to fit and use mouthguards for weight training.

When I review a mouthguard it must pass certain criteria to rank in my top 10.

• FIT- I believe this is the most important factor in evaluating a mouthguard, because without a tight fit, all of the other criteria can be thrown out the window.

• Comfort- Comfort goes hand in hand with the fit, if the the mouthguard is comfortable you wont get distracted by focusing on your mouthguard, instead you will be focused on the game and perform at your highest level.

• Protection- With advancement in materials, mouthguards that are thick, aren't necessarily more protective than thinner mouthguards. Brands like SISU and Game On, provide thinner mouthguards that are 40-100% stronger than EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) that is used by most mouthguard manufacturers.

• Sport- Almost every mouthguard on the market is made for use in multiple sports but there are a few mouthguards that are designed for weight training or exercising. I will break down which sport each mouthguard is better for.

Remember to always take into consideration that every mouthguard may not suit your specific requirements. Each person is different and everyone's mouth is unique to that person. The Mouthguard Review can only evaluate the initial fit of a mouthguard and only "real world" use can show long term durability and other design flaws.

*The Mouthguard Review has no connection to any mouthguard manufacturer and has no financial incentive to rate any brand over another. All of the reviews are written and performed by one person and are 100% unbiased.

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THE MATERIALS AND INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE HAVE BEEN PREPARED OR ASSEMBLED BY THE MOUTHGUARD REVIEW AND ARE INTENDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR ADVICE FROM A LICENSED HEALTH-CAR PROFESSIONAL. YOU SHOULD NOT RELY SOLELY ON THIS CONTENT, AND THE MOUTHGUARD REVIEW ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR INACCURACIES. ALWAYS READ LABELS AND DIRECTIONS BEFORE USING A PRODUCT. SOME OF THE INFORMATION MAY BE DATED AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE MOST CURRENT EVENTS. I WROTE THIS ARTICLE MYSELF AND IT EXPRESSES MY OWN OPINIONS.