Breathe Better, Run Faster!
Ever find yourself out of breath during the first few minutes of a cardio workout? If you – like me - train consistently and think you should be fit enough to run further than you actually can without falling in a gasping heap, you’re not alone! I recently visited my Chiro to figure out why this was going on and the answer was my breathing! Not only was the way I was huffing & puffing affecting my workout, a lot of the pain and tightness I was getting through my neck and traps was a direct result of it too. Who would have thought?As it turns out, very few people use their lungs to full capacity. In fact, at rest most of us use just 10%-15%, usually due to developing a habit of taking quick, shallow breaths that make the chest rise and fall, rather than full belly breaths. And if you’re not breathing fully at rest, what chance have you got when you start picking up the pace?This got me thinking… we’re constantly thinking about technique when training our bodies but rarely when training our lungs.It's a simple equation: better breathing equals more oxygen for your muscles, and that equals better endurance and a more comfortable run.So how can you become a better breather? Here are a few quick tips I picked up from my chiro – I hope they help you learn to love running just that little bit more…
1. Be A Belly-Good Breather
To test what type of a breather you are, place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen (just above your waistline). Now breathe as you normally would. The hand that moves the most indicates whether you are a chest or a belly breather.I bet at least a few of you are just like me and use your upper chest to breathe! This kind of shallow breathing can be a hard habit to break - especially while you're preoccupied with keeping up the pace during a group workout.One way to make the switch easier is to work on belly breathing when you're not running or exercising. Just like engaging your core while sitting at your desk, practicing the skill as often as you remember to will eventually carry over to your running and you’ll start belly breathing on auto-pilot.When starting out, practice in front of the mirror ensuring your shoulders don’t rise when taking a breath and that your belly is expanding instead of your chest!
2. In through the nose, out through the mouth?
This is a good general guide but it’s not always the best thing to do – you’ve got to tailor your breathing to the level of cardio output and what works best for your bod.It’s true that if you’re struggling to catch your breath, it often means you’re building up too much carbon dioxide and you’ll correct the imbalance a lot more effectively by focusing on blowing the air OUT, rather than taking more IN. This is part of the reason the general recommendation to breathe in through your nose and blow out strongly through your mouth is a good one.However, at the end of the day, your mouth is much larger than your nostrils and as the oxygen demands on your body increase, some of us would be better off just opening our mouths and sucking that good air in! Keeping your mouth open also keeps your face more relaxed, which makes it easier to breathe deeply.The bottom line: listen to your body and get that O2 in whichever way is more effective for you.
3. Breathe in patterns
Coordinating your inhales and exhales with your footfalls develops diaphragmatic strength. Start with a 2-2 pattern - breathe in while stepping left, right; breathe out while stepping left, right. Advance to 3-3 (breathe in, step left, right, left; breathe out, step right, left, right), and then a 4-4 pattern. This also turns your run into a mini-meditation practice, so it’s a bit of a double bonus really!
4. Try a Pilates class
This kind of body training was originally developed as a rehabilitation program for World War I soldiers. Pilates aims to strengthen the core, increase flexibility, and most importantly, improve breathing.Try to include Pilates twice a week if your goal is to improve running technique. It stretches the intercostal muscles and lengthens the spine, which helps breathing and in turn helps you run faster – totally keeping my fingers crossed this one works!Let us know how you go and which technique gets you across the line just that little… bit… faster.