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Research shows that we don’t breathe properly when we exercise. We tell you how to breathe correctly when doing basic exercises!
The ability to breathe properly during exercise prevents dizziness and fatigue, improves athletic performance, and accelerates fat burning.
Principles of correct breathing and running
It is possible to fully saturate the muscles with oxygen and cleanse the body of carbon dioxide while running only with a ratio of inhalations and exhalations of 3:2. Inhale with three successive pushes (left, right and left again), and exhale with two pushes (right and left). It’s not that hard to turn this pattern into a habit, but it may take you slowing down for a few runs to master the technique. You will certainly notice a lower heart rate as you can get more oxygen and, more importantly, expel all the carbon dioxide from your body.
Important: Sometimes you may notice that you naturally drop the ratio to 2:1 as you accelerate. This is normal, but keep in mind that it is difficult to maintain a pace that requires you to breathe in 2:1 for a long time. The level of CO2 in your body will increase if you breathe short and fast. This, in turn, will increase your heart rate and lactic acid production, as well as reduce your endurance in any cardiovascular disease. See also: Correct running technique
Principles of proper breathing and lifting
Proper breathing during exercises where you strain, such as lifting a barbell, pushing or pulling, barbell training, etc., is much easier to remember and control than a 3:2 ratio during running. Stew Smith’s advice: Always breathe out of tension. For example, when you do a pull-up, you exhale on the way up and inhale on the way down. Breathing during exercise is important to prevent internal injury such as hernia, stretched blood vessels, and high blood pressure.
Important: Because heavy lifting and exercise can be potentially dangerous if done incorrectly, a doctor’s consultation is recommended. To reduce pressure in time, focus on proper breathing both during training and in everyday activities. Read also: Proper warm-up before training
Learn how to breathe properly while doing basic exercises!
- Breathing and deadlift. An exercise in which you just need to strictly follow the rules of execution and control your breathing, otherwise all your efforts will be useless. With a deadlift, the correct breathing pattern is as follows: grab the bar, take one deep breath, tighten your abdominal muscles, hold your breath and straighten up. As you lift the bar, exhale. Then take another deep breath and lower the barbell.
- Breathing and squats. In this exercise, inhale through your nose as you bend your legs. At this point, the lungs fill with air, which helps keep the spine in the correct position. The exhalation should last as long as it takes to return to the starting position. If the exercise is performed intensively, then the rhythm of breathing should correspond to the speed of execution.
- Breathing and cardio. In any cardio workout, it’s “how” you breathe, not “when.” Cardio exercises load the body, therefore, when performing them, it is necessary to breathe rhythmically without delay – inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. On average, one breath should take two steps, the same number – to exhale.
- Breath and plank. This exercise loads almost all muscle groups, which becomes a real stress for the body. Holding your breath during a plank interferes with the effective execution of the exercise. The correct breathing pattern is as follows – slowly take a deep breath through your nose. Exhale in the same rhythm, while trying to strain all the muscles, especially the legs, buttocks and abs.
Breathe and drink
Oxygen plus water is the perfect combination for burning fat. For this purpose, the body needs water and an increased amount of oxygen as an energy source. Water consumption should be about one and a half liters per day for women and up to three liters for men. And increased oxygen intake will help with the other part of the equation.
As you add water and oxygen to your body system, your body will be able to use these substances to burn and eliminate toxins. It’s not the same as sitting in a sauna and sweating, which actually dehydrates you. Combining enough water with proper breathing will help you rehydrate and allow your body to burn more fat.
Try to use the optimal breathing rhythm while running or lifting and make sure you can do it with a lower heart rate and save more energy for a powerful finish. All of these breathing activities can help strengthen your cardiovascular system:
walking;
swimming;
a ride on the bicycle;
sports walking;
gymnastics;
Important: in no case should you hold your breath during exercise, as this leads to oxygen deficiency in a situation where the body needs it most. See also: How to recover after a workout?