To investigate and compare the effects on the respiratory system of a power walking exercise program with a muscle strengthening exercise program. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups of ten. One group carried out the abdominal strengthening exercises along with upper extremity strengthening exercises, and the other group completed the power walking exercises. Each group performed their exercises three times a week during the entire 4 weeks of the experiment. The upper extremity exercises were 3 sets of 15 push-ups with 30 seconds of rest per a set. The abdominal muscle strengthening exercises consisted of 3 sets of the plank, the side plank, the crunch, and the cross crunch. For each set the exercise was held for 15 seconds followed by a 30 second rest. The power walking was performed for 50 minutes each time. There was no significant improvement of the FVC or the FEV1 in the power walking group. The FVC before the experiment was 3.82±0.62, and 3.85±0.61 after the experiment. While the FEV1 went from 3.41±0.63 before the experiment to 3.48±0.65 afterwards. Meanwhile there was significant improvement in the abdominal muscle strengthening group. The FVC started at 3.24±0.74 before the experiment finished at 3.40±0.81 after the experiment. As for the FEV1, it went from 2.95±0.76 beforehand to 3.12±0.73 afterwards. This study shows that an effective way to improve respiratory function is with an exercise program that combines abdominal muscle strengthening exercises with upper extremity exercises. This knowledge can be used to help design a muscle strengthening program that improves respiratory function. Additionally abdominal muscle strengthening exercises with upper extremity exercises can be used as a component of a self exercise program or a clinical intervention program.