SO, WHY FOCUS ON BREATHING?
It prevents you from feeling short of breath when you run!
If you feel like you can’t catch your breath, it’s not a good sign.
If you’re finding yourself short of breath every time you go for a run, try one of the tips below to see if you can improve your condition.
BENEFITS OF FOCUSING ON YOUR BREATHING PATTERN WHILE YOU RUN:
1.BRINGING IN MORE OXYGEN INTO YOUR BODY WILL ULTIMATELY HELP YOU TO STAY IN YOUR AEROBIC ZONE.
When you are running a long distance, you want to be able to finish the race.
Breathing too fast or too shallowly can cause your body to overwork, making it harder to endure physical activity and increasing muscle soreness.
2. BREATHING IMPROPERLY WILL CAUSE YOUR HEART RATE TO INCREASE AND YOUR INTENSITY LEVEL.
You should be aware of your heart rate while running, and know what range it should be at during each type of run that you perform.
Most recreational runners have a target heart rate of 60-70%.
If you are working harder than you should, you will feel it in your heart rate. You will feel like you are working much harder than you need to be.
3. BREATHING PROPERLY REDUCES THE STRESS PLACED ON YOUR BODY AND KEEPS YOU MORE RELAXED AND CALM.
If you are a runner, you are probably looking to get all of the benefits that running can bring, including reducing stress.
Breathing properly will help you enhance this benefit!
It is also beneficial to remain relaxed and calm throughout your muscles and body as this will help to prevent unnecessary muscle soreness and potential injury.
4. YOU CAN RUN LONGER!
Yes!
If you want to be able to run for longer periods of time, you need to make sure you are using the proper breathing techniques. This way, you will have more stamina and energy while running.
5. IT WILL HELP TO INCREASE YOUR RUNNING ECONOMY.
You can improve your running economy by exhaling properly and releasing most of your carbon dioxide. This will also help to relax your body.
6. IT WILL HELP YOU TO STAY ON TARGET WITH YOUR GOAL PACE FOR THAT RUN OR RACE!
Breathing properly can help keep you on pace and make running races more successful.
HOW TO BREATHE PROPERLY WHILE RUNNING?
THE BEST BREATHING PATTERN FOR RUNNERS:
When running, you will breathe in more oxygen if you take two steps for each breath in, and two steps for each breath out.
This can be signified as a 2-2 breathing pattern.
The breathing pattern will change depending on speed and intensity.
WHEN TO CHANGE YOUR BREATHING PATTERN AS A RUNNER:
BREATHING TIPS & PATTERNS FOR SPEEDWORK, HILL TRAINING, TEMPO RUNS ETC:
A 2-2 breathing pattern can be used during speed workouts, hill workouts, tempo runs, etc.
You may find it more effective or natural to use a 1-2 or 2-1 breathing pattern when you increase your speed or intensity.
If you keep breathing at this rate, it’ll be tough to carry on a conversation, if you can even manage that.
Creating a speedwork routine that is tailored to your individual needs will help you to improve your running form and efficiency which will, in turn, help you to run faster and further with less effort. Speedwork will help you to improve your running form by increasing your pace and breathing pattern.
BREATHING TIPS & PATTERNS FOR MARATHONS, LONG RUNS, EASY RUNS, AND RECOVERY RUNS:
If you are doing a long, consistent run, such as in a marathon or 10k race, you can breathe in a 3-3 pattern.
Keeping your breathing rate down and steady will help you to:
- stay in that aerobic zone
- increase your endurance capacity and
- push back fatigue.
This breathing rate is comfortable for having a conversation.
BEST BREATHING TIPS FOR INHALING AND EXHALING WHILE RUNNING
1. THE NUMBER ONE OF ALL THE BREATHING TIPS IS TO REMEMBER IS TO BREATHE DEEPLY .
Breathe deeply through your stomach, not your chest.
While you are running, take note of whether your chest is expanding and contracting.
It shouldn’t be!
If you are hunched over and not running tall, you are more likely to be chest breathing.
Every once in awhile, do a posture check and notice how you are breathing.
2. IT IS MORE NATURAL FOR US TO BREATHE IN THROUGH OUR NOSE AND OUT THROUGH NOSE
It’s more natural to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth with your tongue resting on the roof of your mouth slightly behind your teeth.
Breathing in and out in a certain pattern for a long time, such as when running a marathon, can be tiring.
You can vary your breathing by inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth, or by breathing in and out through your mouth.
It all comes down to proper posture, running form and breathing in a way that is most comfortable for you.
3. HOW TO BREATHE WHEN RUNNING IN COLD WEATHER
When you take a deep breath in of cold air, it can cause the feeling of a “sore throat.” This is common after running, when you’re out of breath and taking deep breaths.
When running in cold weather, it is best to breathe in through your nose to warm the air before it hits your lungs.
When you breathe in cold air through your mouth, it can cause soreness in your throat.
4. FOCUS ON EXHALING TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE GETTING ALL OF YOUR CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2) OUT.
You will need to breathe in and out through your belly to increase your running economy and efficiency.
When running at faster speeds or doing hill or speed training, it becomes even more important to exhale all of your CO2.
5. What is the rhythmic breathing technique?
Breathing in a rhythmic way can help keep you from getting injured. There are many stresses that come with running, which can make it difficult to enjoy. The force of impact on your feet when they hit the ground is two to three times your body weight. The stress of impact is greatest when your feet strike the ground at the beginning of an exhalation, according to research by Bramble and Carrier from Utah.
The diaphragm is a muscle that helps you breathe. When you exhale, your diaphragm and the muscles associated with the diaphragm relax, which can make your core less stable. A perfect storm for injury is created when there is less stability at the time of greatest impact.
If you always land on the same foot at the beginning of exhalation, it causes one side of your body to constantly take the brunt of the impact force from running. This wears down that side of the body and makes it more susceptible to injury. This type of breathing coordinates your footstrike with your inhalation and exhalation in an odd/even pattern, so that you will land alternately on your right and left foot at the beginning of every exhalation. This will help reduce the impact stress of running on your body by sharing it equally between both sides.
If you were to load a backpack with books and carry it over your right shoulder, that would be an analogy. If you have a lot of weight on one side of your body, you will have to adjust your body to make up for it, which causes more strain on that side. If you have a heavy backpack, it is better to put it over both of your shoulders so that the weight is divided evenly. If you put your body in a position to better manage stress, your back will stay healthy.
If one side of the body takes on more impact than the other side, it makes sense that the more stressed side would break down and be more susceptible to injury. The rhythmic breathing technique allows both sides of the body to take a slight break from the impact of running. There is more to avoiding injury than just a pattern of footstrikes, exhales and inhales. This type of breathing allows you to focus on your breath patterns, which can help you during training and racing.
The benefits of rhythmic breathing
Breathing has been a focal point of Eastern philosophy for a long time. Dennis Lewis, who has been studying Taoism and other Eastern philosophies for a long time, teaches breathing and leads workshops at places like the Esalen Institute and The Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. In his book, The Tao of Natural Breathing, Lewis talks about how Taoists believe that breathing properly is key to living a full life and tapping into our full potential.
In Hinduism, yoga teaches pranayama—breath work. The breath is known as a life-giving force because it provides the body with the oxygen it needs to live. And that work is accomplished through diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing, which means that as you inhale, you contract the diaphragm fully to allow maximum volume in the thoracic (chest) cavity for maximum expansion of the lungs and maximum intake of air. Rhythmic breathing has the same effect, drawing the breath—the life force—into the body through controlled, focused diaphragmatic breathing. When we feel the joy of our breathing, our steps naturally become light and fast, echoing the heartbeats that pulse throughout our bodies When we run rhythmically, we breathe fully and realize our vitality, as the Taoist would say. When we feel the joy of our breathing, our steps naturally become light and fast, echoing the heartbeats that pulse throughout our bodies.
Breathing rhythmically also creates a path to feeling deeply centered. Anyone who practices yoga, martial arts, relaxation, or meditation uses breath work to improve the connection between mind, body, and spirit. This inner connection and centeredness allows for more immediate and precise control of the physical body in martial arts.
You can improve your running performance by practicing rhythmic breathing. You can become more centered by focusing your mind on your breathing and how it matches your footsteps. Your awareness of your breathing links your mind and body, helping you to gauge the effort you’re putting into running. Controlling your breathing can help you control your body and quiet your mind, which is something that yoga teaches. When you’re running, rhythmic breathing helps you feel your running more, and this then allows you to have immediate and precise control. We become distracted from the mind/body connection when we try to match our running effort to a pace we see on a watch. We allow stress and tension to enter our lives when we create a space for it. We interfere with the smooth flow of running, which harms our ability to succeed and enjoy it.
How to establish a breathing pattern
Many runners develop a 2:2 pattern of breathing, meaning they inhale for two footfalls and exhale for two footfalls. Some people breath in for three steps and then exhale for three steps. Exhaling on the same side regardless of which nostril you inhale through. Breathing patterns that make the inhale longer will also cause the exhale to alternate from side to side, from one side of the body to the other. The thing to remember about all breathing patterns when you’re running is to exhale on alternate footstrikes. You should never keep exhaling on the same foot.
We are going to use a 5-count or 3:2 pattern of rhythmic breathing while we run. Inhale for three steps and exhale for two. Practice first on the floor:
1. Place a small rolled towel under your lower back. Relax your arms at your sides. -Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. -Place a small rolled towel under your lower back. -Relax your arms at your sides. 2. Put your hand on your stomach and check to see that you are breathing from your stomach. 3. Breathe through your nose and your mouth. 4. Breathe in slowly for a count of 3, then breathe out slowly for a count of 2. You could count it like this: “in-2-3,” “out-2,” “in-2-3,” “out-2,” and so on. 5. Inhale for three counts and exhale for three counts, focusing on a continuous breath. 6. After you get used to inhaling and exhaling following a pattern, start tapping your feet as if you are walking.
Conclusion
When you use rhythmic breathing while running, both in training and racing, and focus on your breathing efforts and paces, you will eventually learn to run based on how your body feels, rather than what your mind is telling you. You will find the idealspeed for your running abilities, giving you better results as well as the pure enjoyment that comes with running.
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