FitSugar

Breathe Deeply, Improve Your Running

Susi May — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 02:40:24 PST

Breathing. You're doing it right now without even thinking about it. Put a little thought into the action, and you just might find yourself soaring through your next tempo run. When you're going the distance running, swimming, cycling, and even rowing you need to power your muscles with fresh oxygen. To do this, you need to breathe deeply. Unfortunately, most of us are just breathing into our chest and not fully utilizing our lungs. Cross-training with the noncardio workouts of yoga and Pilates can help. Along with strength and flexibility, these forms of mind-body exercise help you learn to breathe deeply and effectively.

Basically, your lungs are just a bit smaller than your rib cage, but we all tend to breathe in just the top third of the lungs. One reason is that, like all muscles, the intercostals, which run between the ribs, can get tight and inflexible, limiting the expansiveness of your lungs. With a little training and some stretching, you can breathe to your full potential and increase your endurance.

Learn a supersimple breathing exercise, simply read more.

Winter Running Woe: Burning Lungs

FitSugar — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:22:30 PST

Temps across the country are plummeting, but a little cold (or even snow) won't keep die-hard runners indoors. Layering up with wicking clothes is the key to staying warm and dry while sweating it out, but what about breathing in that frigid air? It's not only painful to inhale, but since the air is often dry, it causes your airways to narrow, making it harder to breathe.

If running in the cold makes your lungs burn or causes you to cough, try this simple solution: wear a moisture-wicking neck warmer, like this Smartwool Neck Gaiter ($25), over your mouth. It'll not only keep cool air off your neck, but the gaiter also traps the natural water vapor you exhale, making the air you inhale moist and a bit warmer, which is easier on your lungs. A regular scarf could also work, but who wants to wrestle with slowly unraveling loose ends, especially on a windy day? Another benefit is that a neck warmer can be lowered below your chin or easily slipped off, bunched up, and stored in your pocket after you warm up, while a scarf is much too bulky.

When temps dip really low, you'll probably prefer a balaclava that covers your nose, mouth, ears, and head. It may look a little scary, but at least you'll be warm and comfortable. Plus it's a great option whether you breathe through your nose or mouth, although you might find breathing through your nose may ease the burning in your lungs - just bring along tissues in case your nose runs.

Keep reading to find out other ways to relieve your burning lungs.

How to Breathe When Running

Heather Dale — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:57:35 PDT

Ever wonder why some days you feel like an energizer bunny and can keep running and running, while other days your legs feel like lead and you have zero stamina? Certainly the amount of sleep you got the night before, stress levels, and diet play a role in how you perform during your runs, but how you regulate your breath during your jogging session also effects your energy levels. Here's how to power your muscles with fresh oxygen on each stride.

Learn to breathe deeply: Your lungs are just a bit smaller than your ribcage, but we all tend to use just the top third of the lung. One reason being that, like all muscles, the intercostals, which run between the ribs, can get tight and inflexible, limiting the expansiveness of your lungs. When you take a deep breath, you are expanding the lungs, pressing down the diaphragm, and causing your abdomen to expand as your lungs fill with air. Learning to breathe this way helps you take in lots of oxygen while running, preventing dizziness and nausea. With a little training and some stretching you can breathe to your full potential to increase your endurance. Cross-training with noncardio workouts like yoga and Pilates can also help you learn to breathe from your diaphragm. Here are some tips for how to conquer diaphragmatic breathing.

Here's what else you can do to control your breathing during runs.

Check Your Breath

FitSugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:40:16 PDT

Breathing is fundamental to every form of exercise I can think of; the first concept I teach new Pilates clients is how to breathe. I might know this intellectually, but Hannah my swim coach at Equinox decided my freestyle breathing needed an overhaul.

To prove her point, she even took a video of my form. Since my swim lesson last week, I have been paying extra attention to my breathing in all forms of exercise, from yoga to running, as well as when I am in the pool and I urge you to check your own breath. Are you unconsciously holding it at any point when you're working out? Are you raising your shoulders to inhale? When you inhale are you only filling the top portion of your lungs? This is a great little tool and if you're feeling bored with your workout, it gives you something productive to work with rather than watching the clock.

Breathe For Your Skin

FitSugar — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:00:00 PST

I am firm believer in deep breathing. It is the cheapest way to relax when you're stressed out. Unfortunately, stress can bring on shallow breaths. These little gulps of air decrease the amount of oxygen in the blood. Ann Pardo, a director at Canyon Ranch spa, told Fitness magazine that shallow breathing can even affect the skin, making it appear "dull and sallow." Don't let the end-of-year stress wind you up and negatively impact your skin tone. Take the time to breathe deeply when you feel the tension coming on. Inhale slowly for five counts and exhale in the same manner. You won't only look better, but you will feel better, too.

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Pilates Tip: Avoid the Head Rush

FitSugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:00:00 PDT

When I am gardening and move from a deep squat to standing, I get a little lightheaded. It is not really disconcerting, but when it happens when I'm doing Pilates, well that is a different story. Exercises where you move from horizontal to vertical quickly can create a sudden lowering of blood pressure, which can make you dizzy. The most simple way to avoid the head rush is to move more slowly. And moving more slowly will emphasize the element of control central to the Pilates philosophy. This will also increase the difficulty of the move. Think of that as a perk brought to you by your desire to avoid a head rush.

The expert at About.com: Pilates also thinks that increasing the "scoop" of the deep abs on the inhale can help keep the blood pressure from dipping too low. Keeping the low and deep abs engaged while you breathe in means you need to focus on breathing into the sides and backs of your ribs - an element of Pilates we can all work on.

Try these two fixes and see if they keep getting dizzy at bay.

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Fit Tip: Don't Hold Your Breath

FitSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:30:00 PDT

The next time you're lifting at the gym, take a minute to focus on your breathing or lack thereof. Unknowingly many of us, myself included, have the tendency to hold our breath and tense up during the hard part of an exercise. It's time to break the habit.

It may sound strange to remind you to breathe, but try to avoid holding our breath during the strenuous part of a lift. The problem is that breathing improperly while lifting can increase blood pressure potentially leading to light headedness, dizziness, nausea, hernia, heart attack or even stroke. Holding one's breath can be especially problematic for someone who is pregnant or for someone with hypertension. To avoid this, inhale with eccentric (the easy part) and exhale with each concentric phase (the hard part - when the muscle you are working is shortening) of a repetition.

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Learn to Love: Breathing Both Ways

FitSugar — Tue, 06 May 2008 03:30:00 PDT

Have I mentioned lately that I love swimming and that it feels like I am dancing a duet with the water? Another thing to love when it comes to swimming is breathing to both sides – it is really helpful if you are swimming for exercise. I know trying to breathe on the side you aren't used to feels extremely awkward and uncomfortable, but in the long run it is well worth conquering the skill of bilateral breathing.

The benefits of breathing to both sides might just convince you to try it, and they are:

Balancing out your stroke, so you are not working out lopsided.
Building symmetrical musculature on your back and arms (asymmetrical strength can lead to over use injuries).
Easing neck pain from always rotating to just one side.
If you swim in open water (as you would in a triathlon), you will be able to check for landmarks, avoid splashes from other swimmers as well as waves.

So next time you are swimming laps, practice breathing to the other side - once you are in the pool you will know immediately which side that is.

To see a few drills you can use to practice your bilateral breathing,

read more. Here are a few approaches to the learning process:

Breathe to your right side for one length of pool and to your left as you swim back. This way you can still breathe in all the oxygen you need but still develop a symmetrical stroke.
Breathe to your weaker side on warm-ups and cool-downs.
Experiment with three breaths to the left, then three to the right and you will have it down.
When you feel comfortable try breathing every five strokes to work on stroke and breathing efficiency.

Fit's Tip: I remember when I was learning this skill, it felt almost like I was drowning. Pay attention to how it feels to breathe on your usual side and try to re-create that feeling on the other side. Most days I cannot remember which one side I used to breathe on. Source

Breathing and Exercise

FitSugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 02:30:00 PDT

You breathe in. You breathe out. You rarely think about it, except when it comes to exercising. You know breathing is important; it supports your effort and can help make you more efficient. Here are a few simple tips to help you with the simple act of breathing, broken down by exercise type.

Cardio: Avoid shallow breaths since they are often an indicator that you are working too hard. Shallow breathing also indicates that you haven't established a suitable breath pattern for your activity. You want to take stronger and deeper breaths when doing cardio, so take the time to find your rhythm.
Strength training: Generally you want to breathe out on the difficult part of the lift or move to help stabilize your body during exertion. So you exhale when you are lifting a hand weight to your shoulder during a bicep curl. This helps you engage your core to help prevent your from swaying into your heels, which is cheating and could set you up for a lower back injury. In Pilates classes, we often start exercises with the phrase, "Inhale to prepare" to remind people to breathe in before they "work."
Stretching: Slow steady breathing is preferable when stretching and will help you relax. Try to focus on breathing from your diaphragm, which will make your belly move out on the inhale and not your chest and shoulders.

Ready. Set. Breathe.

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Breathing and Running

FitSugar — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:00:00 PST

When it comes to breathing while running, you need to focus on the rhythm. Coach Jenny over at Runner's World says you can even think of it as a dance between the two elements if you'd like.

You should match your breathing to your steps. For an easy-paced run, inhale for three or four steps then exhale for the same amount. Count the steps in your head while you adjust to breathing on tempo. If you are running more intensely, your breathing tempo will increase to support your increased energy output. So the rhythm is more like a breath in for one to two steps and out for one to two steps. If you can't match your steps to breathing tempo then you are trying to run too fast, slow down, and get back into your rhythm.

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