Breathing might seem like the most natural thing in the world, but when it comes to running, there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Making sure you do proper training is key to managing your breathing whilst running. As you condition your body, you’ll notice improvements in your breathing, circulation, and muscle adaptation. But it’s not a quick fix – you can’t go from 0 to 60 overnight.
Whether you’re a seasoned runner or a beginner, improving your breathing technique can significantly enhance your performance and improve breathlessness.
Understanding the Importance of Breathing While Running
Breathing plays a vital role in your performance while running. Deep breathing before a high-intensity exercise can significantly impact your stamina. Engage in slow, maximal inhales through your nose, strategically placing one hand on the upper chest and the other just below your rib cage. As your stomach moves out against your lower hand, ensure the hand on your chest remains still. Engage your stomach muscles, letting your abdomen retract while exhaling through pursed lips. Proper implementation of this technique offers you maximum stretch to the elastic muscles and lung tissue, preparing them for the run ahead.
An essential aspect of preparing for your run includes a warm-up session. Initiate this using movements that involve the specific muscle groups you’ll be using during the run (check out youtube for loads of videos for running warm ups). Make sure you include plenty of stretching as part of your warm up routine.
Core Breathing Techniques for Runners
There are two breathing techniques popular among runners: Diaphragmatic or belly breathing and Rhythmic Breathing. These techniques can drastically improve your running performance and comfort.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing, often referred to as “belly breathing.” It’s a technique all about taking those deep, lower lungfuls of air rather than the shallow chest breaths most of us resort to during running.
Whilst running, you’ll require a greater volume of oxygen. Engaging in diaphragmatic breathing allows maximized oxygen intake, with every breath meeting a larger portion of your lungs, hence aiding in more efficient fueling of your body. Deep breaths leverage your diaphragm’s power, tending to stabilize and contract it during the inhalation phase. Moreover, those with lung conditions such as Asthma or COPD can especially find this technique helpful in achieving full lung expansion.
To start to incorporate this technique into your running routine, it’s important to start practising it in a relaxed setting before applying it during a run.
Begin by lying down or sitting comfortably in a quiet place. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly. Breathe in slowly through your nose, aiming to direct the breath downwards so that the hand on your belly rises more than the hand on your chest. This helps engage the diaphragm rather than the chest muscles, leading to a deeper, more efficient breath. Exhale slowly through your mouth or nose, feeling the belly lower. Practice this technique regularly in a static position until it feels natural and easy to perform without concentrating intensely.
Once comfortable with diaphragmatic breathing at rest, start applying it during your runs. Begin your run at a slower pace to focus on your breathing technique. As you inhale, concentrate on filling your belly with air and as you exhale, focus on expelling the air from your diaphragm, which can also help in stabilizing your core. This might feel challenging initially, especially as the intensity of the run increases but with practice, diaphragmatic breathing can become a natural part of your runs, improving both your lung capacity and the efficiency of your oxygen use. As you train, periodically check in with your breathing technique, especially as you tire, to ensure you maintain diaphragmatic rather than shallow, chest-centric breathing.
Rhythmic Breathing
The other breathing technique is Rhythmic Breathing. This creates a specific correlation between your breathing and your gait, in other words, the way you run. Practising this technique can result in a higher awareness of the time required to take in the much-needed oxygen.
Here’s something interesting – each time your foot hits the ground, it takes a force equal to two to three times your body weight. This stress is most profound at the footfall. So, if your foot strike coincides with the beginning of breathing out, it catches your body at the most vulnerable instant since the core muscles aren’t at their most stable.
By establishing a rhythm between your breathing and your running, you can work around this issue. Aim to time your inhalation with your foot strike. This rhythmic pattern can reduce the impact on your body and lead to more efficient running.
These techniques take practice and time. Start slowly, and steadily increase your intensity, keeping in mind the importance of warm-up exercises and stretching. Tailor your training as per your individual capacity.
Breathing forms an integral part of your running rhythm. As per Belisa Vranich, a clinical psychologist and founder of The Breathing Class, you must continually exercise your breathing muscles to delay fatigue. It is, therefore, essential to separate it from your regular exercise regimen to exhaust your breathing muscles fully.
Optimizing Breathing Through Posture
We’ve established the imperative role of breathing techniques in enhancing your running skills, but another key factor often overlooked by many runners is the impact of posture.
The Role of Posture in Effective Breathing
Posture influences not only how you use your running muscles but also how deeply your lungs can inflate. That’s because poor posture can constrict your lungs’ full capacity and inhibit optimal functioning of your respiratory muscles. If you’ve ever found yourself out of breath after a run, it’s possible your posture is to blame.
Poor posture can even affect your deep transverse abdominis muscle – a significant core muscle that aids breathing. Ignoring your posture could lead to underlying instability in your lower spine too. This can also weaken the contractibility of your diaphragm and increase fatigue time, particularly over long distances.
Practical Tips for Maintaining Good Running Posture
Getting into the habit of running with a poor or incorrect posture can not only detrimentally affect your breathing but may also lead to injuries in the long term. Implementing some simple changes can help rectify posture inefficiencies and improve your performance.
- Stay Upright: Keep your body tall and straight, maintaining a slight lean forward from your ankles, not your waist.
- Shoulders: Keep your shoulders relaxed and square. Tightening them during a run can lead to inefficient and shallow breaths.
- Head: Ensure your head is straight, keeping your gaze levelled and focused at least 20 feet ahead.
- Arms: Maintain a 90-degree bend at your elbows, swinging them forward and back, not across your chest. Avoid clenching your fists too tight.
- Striking: Land softly on your mid-foot and roll forward smoothly for propulsion, effectively distributing your weight with each stride.
Remember, like any other change, adjustments in running posture may initially feel awkward, but once you get there you will see impressive results.
It’s never too late to make beneficial changes.
Advanced Breathing Strategies
Breathing effectively during running doesn’t just end with executing diaphragmatic breathing or maintaining your posture properly; it involves a bit more of the advanced stuff. And by “advanced stuff”, we’re talking about creating specific breathing patterns, learning how to tailor your breathing to suit different running conditions, and understanding how these techniques can impact your performance.
Breathing Patterns and Their Impact on Performance
Breathing isn’t just an ‘in-out’ mechanism. Much like your running pace, your breathing should follow a calculated pattern. Consider the 5-step pattern to start. In the 5-step pattern, you strike the ground in a 3-to-2 rhythm, taking three foot strikes as you inhale and two as you exhale. This rhythm not only aids in stabilization but also helps in reducing the impact force caused by running.
Incorporating this pattern significantly enhances your performance. It’s believed that synchronized breathing and foot strikes reduce the impact of running, potentially reducing the risk of injuries.
Adjusting Breathing in Different Running Conditions
When you’re running under varying conditions, simply sticking to a one-size-fits-all breathing approach isn’t the best idea. Different terrains, climates, and intensities demand unique breathing adaptations. For instance, running up a slope or in the colder weather may render you breathless faster. In such situations, slowing down your pace and taking longer, deeper breaths could come to your aid.
Remember, it’s all about attuning your body to the circumstances and making reinforcements as required! For now, just keep in mind – listen to your body; it knows what’s best for it. With time and practice you will learn what works for you and in what environment.
Key Takeaways
- Breathing techniques play a vital role in running performance, notably diaphragmatic or belly breathing, and rhythmic breathing.
- Correct posture has a direct impact on breathing efficiently during a run. It aids in lung inflation, supports core muscles, and helps in maintaining a healthy running rhythm.
- Incorporating breathing patterns, such as the 5-step rhythm, can enhance your performance. This technique reduces the impact of running, increases oxygen intake, and boosts endurance.
- Depending on different running conditions such as climate and terrain, adapting your breathing can significantly improve performance and endurance.
- Starting slow and gradually increasing training intensity helps to build stamina and prepare the body for high-intensity exercises like running.