Alison McConnell PhD FACSM FBASES - Respiratory Muscle Training: Theory and Practice, 1e

There are so many people who have contributed directly and indirectly to this book. These include the academic colleagues and PhD students with whom I have worked over the years, as well as the many scientists whose research has provided the insights that have shaped my thinking you are too numerous to mention individually, but you know who you are, and you have all made some contribution to the development of the ideas that have led to this book.

I have expressed my gratitude to two particularly influential individuals previously, and my appreciation of their contributions is no less heartfelt for being repeated here. In 1996, Professor Mike Caine and Claire Hodson joined me on my perilous journey to create an innovative product that people could use to train their breathing. Without Mike and Claire's faith and talent, the POWERbreathe might never have seen the light of day, let alone commercial success. The insights on which this book are founded were made possible by the collective contribution that all three of us made to the creation of POWERbreathe thank you both (again).

I am also extremely grateful to Research Into Ageing (now part of Age UK), and its former Director, Elizabeth Mills. In 1990, the charity funded my original research on breathlessness in older people; that first step on my long journey could not have been made without the leap of faith required to give a junior lecturer her first research grant.

In terms of the creation of this book, I owe a special debt of gratitude to four individuals who provided invaluable feedback on my draft chapters. They are Professor Rik Gosselink, Cath O'Connor, Emma Hamilton and Dr Bernie Bissett. I'd also like to thank Drs Pete Brown and Graham Sharpe for debating the mechanisms underlying changes in blood lactate concentration after respiratory muscle training with me. Thank you all for your time, your insights, and for enabling me to keep to my submission timetable!

Writing any book is a time consuming journey requiring an obsessive focus that is difficult to achieve amidst one's normal daily routine. I am therefore grateful to Brunel University and to my colleagues for allowing me the time and thinking space to complete this journey.

I am also very grateful to my long-suffering photography model, Michle Bonmati, who withstood two days of filming during a heat wave in Quebec. I am also enormously grateful to Physiotec (www.physiotec.ca), and in particular to Pierre Labont, Jessica Babin and Alexandra Ttreault Ayotte for their assistance with the photography, and to POWERbreathe International Ltd. (www.powerbreathe.com) for donating the inspiratory muscle trainer, as well as for assisting with the production of the book jacket image. The principals at POWERbreathe also deserve a special mention Harry and Anne Brar thanks for your continued support, and for investing so much of yourselves in the slow, but steady process of making respiratory muscle training a mainstream clinical treatment.

This is my second book, but my first for a clinical audience, so thanks are due to the expert team at Elsevier for making it an excellent experience. In particular, I'd like to thank the individuals with whom I've worked directly Rita Demetriou-Swanwick, Carole McMurray and Shereen Jameel.

I'm also grateful and honoured that Professor Rik Gosselink agreed to write the Foreword to Respiratory Muscle Training: Theory and Practice. Rik is a scientist whom I've admired for many years. Recently, I've finally had the pleasure and privilege of collaborating with him on a research project - as we say in Britain, Rik, you're a gentleman and a scholar.

Last, but by no means least, I want to thank my partner Mel, who has yet again endured the obsession, bordering on mania, that accompanies my bouts of writing. Life can now return to some semblance of normality until the next time.