How To Breathe While Running? Follow The Next 4 Steps To Run More Effectively:
When we think of running, a whole range of things come to mind. We want to wear the right shoes, the right clothes, we think of the correct posture to run, and so on…
But in all the zeal we often overlook the most important part of running. Here’s a free guide to running by TrainForA5k.
4 Right Breathing Techniques:
If you don’t breathe right, no matter what you eat, no matter what you wear, your performance won’t be up to the mark.
So, how to breathe while running? Keep these points in mind the next time you are out for a run:
1. Belly Breathing–
When you inhale, the air should fill in the lower part of your lungs pushing out your belly. And when you exhale, you fill the air in the upper part of the lungs, expanding your chest and the belly should go in. This ensures a full deep breath.
2. Use Your Mouth & Your Nose –
While running, your body’s oxygen requirement spikes up humongous. So the nostrils, being small, can’t get in as much oxygen. When you breathe through the mouth, you can meet an additional supply of oxygen.
3. Take in Longer Breaths –
When you breathe in more air, it helps to get more oxygen which goes from your lung alveoli to the blood. Thus, oxygenating the blood helps provides a steady supply of oxygen to the muscles. This helps to prevent early fatigue.
4. Have A Pattern –
For this, you may have to go with a trial & error method. Go for a walk, to begin with, and inhale as you take one step and exhale and you take the next step. Then increase your pace and inhale as one foot hits the ground. Exhale on the following stride. However, as your speed increases, you may need to inhale & exhale for a longer time. Many prefer doing an even 2-2 or 3-3 pattern which means, inhale for two strides & exhale for two strides. So, every time the same foot hits the ground when you inhale and the other foot hits the ground when you exhale.
Others prefer a 3-2 pattern where you inhale for three strides and exhale for two. Here your breath is shorter when you exhale. And every time the opposite leg hits the ground when you exhale. This ensures that the same side of the body is not stressed. The principle behind inhaling longer is to stabilize the body. On an inhalation, the muscles expand, giving your core more stability. And on exhalation, the muscles contract, which makes the body slightly unstable. So instability should last for a shorter period.
However, it is up to you which pattern suits you best, whether it is even or odd counts.
Finally, Do The Talk Test – While running, the breathing should be such that it allows you to form a full sentence without huffing & puffing. If you can’t talk without panting, its time to slow down and breathe deeper. Being unable to talk only means that you are not getting enough oxygen to fuel your performance and you would soon give in to muscle fatigue.
Now that you know how to breathe while running, remember that practicing the right breathing technique can remarkably improve your running performance. It’s important not to overlook this aspect of your health.