Achieve your peak health. Get expert health advice from Tony
Download nowEver wonder how Tony Robbins is able to have enough energy to keep 4,000 people engaged for over 50 hours over four days, then jet off to his next location and his next event the very next day?
His physical vitality is not only the result of immense mental and emotional fitness, but of his deep commitment to achieving a peak physiological state. And one of his secret weapons to creating this vitality and health is the Cyclic Variations in Adaptive Conditioning machine, or the CVAC for short.
The CVAC looks like what can be described as a futuristic pod. No, this pod does not fly, nor does it feature any virtual reality technology, but the idea behind it is no less ambitious.
What is a CVAC?
Unlike hyperbaric chambers that work by increasing the air pressure in order to saturate the blood with oxygen and stimulate healing, the CVAC is based on the benefits created by constant and rapid pressure changes. As you sit in the pod, an external vacuum pump adjusts the barometric pressure inside, simulating increases and decreases in altitude that range from sea level to over 22,500 feet.
Your entire body — blood, organs, muscle — is rhythmically compressed and relaxed, as a computer screen outside the pod charts the peaks, plateaus, valleys and drops. The standard session is a brief 20 minutes, which means that the types of negative side effects that can afflict ascending and descending climbers are not a concern, as the amount of time spent at each altitude is so minimal.
