This article explains the evolution of LiveO2 from it’s original oxygen only system to the LiveO2 Extreme.
LiveO2 Standard
In 1997, LiveO2 created the original oxygen only reservoir. We still sell this product as an affordable reservoir only or with a 10 LPM air separator.
LiveO2 standard remains the most affordable oxygen only system in the market. It can be purchased as a reservoir only, and paired with any oxygen generator.
Oxygen-only trainers are obsolete for most users because:
- Oxygen only air mixture prevents athletic training benefits;
- Users become bored using the system and abandon usage after about about a month;
- Peripheral oxygen delivery is inhibited because rich oxygen air mixture causes the body to restrict blood flow;
- Are inferior for detoxification because they limit blood flow, thus tissue flush effects;
- It is impossible to activate maximum blood flow to the brain so they do not enable brain-O2 effects;
- User progress stalls out after about 12 sessions;
- High oxygen limits heart rate they do not create cardiovascular / aerobic training benefits;
- Vasoconstriction limits blood flow throughout the body thus limiting benefits:
LiveO2 continues to sell and support our oxygen only model to support health challenged users but urge users to consider adaptive contrast before purchase.
LiveO2 Adaptive Contrast
LiveO2 invented the Adaptive Contrast feature to overcome the physiological limits inherent in oxygen-only reservoir systems.
Our adaptive contrast systems used medical grade air separators modified to capture oxygen-reduced air. These units removed about 25% of the oxygen from the air and produce yielded a hypoxic mixture with about 16%. The hypoxic mixture was adjustable from 21% down to 16% by adjusting the oxygen flow rate downward.
We were surprised to discover that there was no demand for hypoxic air less than 16%. Users used systems on maximum hypoxia, then to switched to oxygen to recover. First time or beginner users oxygen only setting, but quickly transitioned toward hypoxic air because they quickly realized this maximized benefits.
The early LiveO2 systems units produced about 120 Liters Per Minute of low oxygen air, and produce 10 Liters per minute of oxygen rich air.
The high volume of hypoxic air output meant we could allocate the majority of the reservoir to oxygen. The lower right corner is partitioned and holds about 15 liters of hypoxic air.
This design enabled us to maximize the oxygen storage, about 900 Liters in the larger reservoir compartment which occupies the majority of the reservoir.
The small compartment included an opening to permit excess hypoxic air to escape.
This design enabled most users to exercise indefinitely on low oxygen ‑O2.
This design accommodated 1 user per hour. Beginners tended to a 15 minute workout, experienced users used the system to satisfy their exercise needs and worked out for 30 minutes or more.
Only a few high level athletes required hypoxic air over 100 – 120 Liters Per Minute of air during maximum exertion.
As this was happening we observed profound results with cognitive performance and optimization of brain function. These results were primarily driven by the switching effects from hypoxic to hyperoxic respiratory mixtures.
This chart documents a 29% increase in brain oxygen utilization, hence energy production during a single 18 minute workout.
Click graph for more info.
The exertion level required to produce these effects were limited to competent athletes. The Adaptive Contrast Feature was a game changer:
Switching enabled next-generation protocols:
- Anti Aging
- Ultra Performance
- Aerobic and anaerobic
- Dramatic gains in energy production
- Normal user gained between 5 – 15% measurable gain in cognitive performance
- Normal user experienced 15 – 25 year rollback in functional age
Adaptive Contrast eXtended (ACX) System Purpose
LiveO2 released the ACX version in about 2017 to accommodate users who were pushing the limits of endurance training.
The system was limited to 16% or about 11k feet as safety features for inexperienced users.
As experienced users got stronger, their respiratory capacity increased, and their recovery speed increased. Their oxygen use during workouts decreased so that strong users would breathe oxygen less than 5 minutes during a 30 minute workout.
Experienced users trended to use very little oxygen over time, eventually decreasing to less than 10% of their workout, and their use of hypoxic air spend 90% or more of their exercise time.
As their bodies adapted to hypoxic challenge, their exertion capacity increased dramatically, often exceeding about 25% increase in endurance and strength.
To accommodate this trend, we allocated a large percentage of the reservoir to hypoxic air. This enabled stronger users to train longer and harder on ‑O2 without depleting the hypoxic air supply from a single air separator. Most users could not deplete the hypoxic reservoir because their respiratory capacity was below 120 LPM.
The ACX model allocates approximately 1/5 or about 20% of the reservoir capacity. This permitted users with over a 120 LPM respiratory capacity to dwell for longer times on hypoxia without needing to add a 2nd air separator.
This experiment showed that VO2 max could be rapidly increased. VO2 max increase of 29% over 11 weeks with a 15 minute per day HIIT workout.
LiveO2 Extreme
In late 2021 LiveO2 released LiveO2 Extreme which uses a variable hypoxia feature which enabled low oxygen concentration from about 16% down to about 8%.
LiveO2 Extreme has base (minimum) altitude is about 11k feet. This is the same as the Adaptive Contrast predecessor. LiveO2 Extreme is adjustable up to 22k feet. This adjustability enables users to increase the challenge level as they adapt.
We initially refrained from this release because we were concerned that availability of the high altitude option would present a safety risk for users. LiveO2 with Adaptive Contrast had become the cornerstone technology in cognitive recovery clinics.
Advanced users started with the adjustment at 16% and over the period of about 6 months progress to normally about 12%, and eventually beyond as their bodies adapt.
Later we discovered that by the time users challenged themselves to this level they were very comfortable switching to oxygen as needed. We have maintained the simple and reliable switching mechanism to avoid introducing failure modes related to electronics. As users push their own limits — the ability to switch to oxygen reliably and quickly became is key safety feature. All electronics depend on a power supply which presents an failure mode.
While at 16% the hypoxic generator produced about 110 LPM, but when at 8% it only produced about 60 LPM. At these levels we adopted the geometry from the ACX reservoir because the majority of users relied primarily on hypoxic.
Users seeking endurance and high-altitude conditioning experienced profound improvements in athletic capacity.
This 6 month blood test hows that the liveO2 user increased blood oxygen carrying capacity by about 25% over 6 months.
Click on the chart for more info.
These results show why LiveO2 Extreme has become the secret weapon of many professional sports teams, resulting in the ability to supercharge athletes by at least 25%.