My latest article... Breathe Smarter to Run Better I recently read a book called “Running on Air”, it’s a great read and I recommend it to anyone looking for an edge in their training. The basic premise of the book is that you can optimize lung function, decrease your risk of injury, and have a good way to gauge exertion by simply learning to breathe rhythmically. This technique got my attention with the claim that it can help decrease injury. Now, that can be a tough sell – decreasing injury risk by breathing differently? Once it was explained it made complete sense. What do you do prior to lifting a really heavy weight? You take a large inhalation, then briefly hold your breath as you lift, correct? But why? You do this because when you inhale, your diaphragm and other breathing muscles contract, which brings stability to your core. Most runners have an automatic rhythm to their breathing, and it is usually a 2:2 rhythm – inhale for 2 steps, exhale for 2 steps. The problem with this is that you are constantly exhaling on the same foot, the same side of the body. With every exhalation you lose some core stability. If you are continuously exhaling on the same side you will likely overuse your other stabilizing muscles on that side. Does anyone else have one side of the body that is always dealing with injury while the other side seems to be as solid as a rock? It’s very common. So how do you go about doing this? Step number one is learning how to breathe correctly. Does your chest move up and down with each breath? Do you only ever breathe through your mouth? These are two clues that you may not be using your diaphragm the way it was intended. Start with this easy exercise – lie on your back with your knees bent. Place one hand on your stomach and one on your chest. While breathing through both your nose and your mouth (also recommended while running), focus on feeling your stomach rise and fall without much movement in your chest. Perform this for about 5 minutes. This is not only a good warm-up/reintegration for the diaphragm but it is also very relaxing. A great time to do this is right before a workout, or right before bed. Step number two is fitting your breathing to your footstrikes. The greatest impact force of running occurs when your foot strikes the ground at the point of exhale. By controlling your breathing with good rhythm, you can distribute that force evenly across your body and prevent injury. The main take away from this technique is that you exhale on alternate foot strikes as you run. It is best to avoid continuously exhaling on the same foot, as you are forced to do with even numbered breathing patterns (2:2 or 3:3). If your breathing pattern is based on odd numbers, i.e. inhale for 3 steps, exhale for 2, it will shift the point of exhale alternately from left to right or right to left throughout the duration of your run. The inhalation should always be the higher number because, with injury prevention in mind, it’s best to hit the ground more often when your body is at its most stable. There are 2 basic rhythms – a 5 count (3:2) and a 3 count (2:1). For most distance runners, the 5 count rhythm will be used the majority of the time, inhale for 3 seconds, exhale for 2, repeat. If you have trouble integrating this into your runs, try practicing on the floor first. -Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. -Place your hands on your belly and make sure that you are belly breathing (as described earlier). -Breathe through your nose and your mouth. -Inhale to the count of 3 and exhale to the count of 2. -Concentrate on a continuous breath as you inhale over the 3 counts and a continuous breath as you exhale over 2 counts. -Once you become comfortable with the inhale/exhale pattern, add foot taps to mimic walking steps. -When you feel confident with this, take it for a walk – inhale for 3 steps, exhale for 2, and repeat. You should notice that you are inhaling on alternating feet. Once you have this down, try it out with your next run. Here are a few key points to keep in mind from the author of the book, Budd Coates: 1. Inhale and exhale smoothly and continuously through both your nose and mouth. 2. If it seems difficult to inhale over the full 3 strides, either inhale more gradually or pick up your pace. 3. Do not listen to music while learning to breath rhythmically. The beats of the music will confuse the heck out of you. Now go out and give rhythmic breathing a shot. Your aches and pains will thank you for it! Evan Hagen, ATC/L, PTA, CPT The Running Injury Clinic facebook/TheRunningInjuryClinic
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 16:01:57 +0000
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