Janes PT tip! When you are walking, running, biking, Spinning, or doing any other form of cardiovascular exercise, try to breathe deeply. As to whether you breathe through your nose, mouth, or a combination of the two, is a personal preference, Most runners find that mouth breathing provides the body with the greatest amount of oxygen. Make a conscious effort to keep your breathing both deep and relaxed. Ideally, we should all practice diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing during cardio activities, which contrasts considerably with the shallow chest breaths we do while at rest. Diaphragmatic breathingallows for deeper, fuller breaths and better oxygen delivery during intense exercise. Heres how to do it: Relax your abdominals slightly. Pulling them in too tightly or sucking in your stomach will limit how fully your can breathe. Breathe deeply enough that your belly—not your chest—rises and falls as you inhale and exhale. Continue this technique at your own pace to meet your oxygen needs during exercise. If this does not come naturally, you can practice belly breathing by lying flat on your back with a book on your abdomen. Slowly inhale as you watch the book rise, then lower the book by slowly exhaling. This takes focus, but over time you will find it easier to do this type of breathing during your workouts. If your breathing is short and shallow, you might be working too hard or you may have not developed a good breathing pattern for your activity. But keep in mind that your breath will not always line up perfectly with your movements when doing cardio, and you shouldnt try to force it to. For example, a swimmer may take a breath on one arm stroke and exhale after three arm strokes, but there is no rule that you have to breathe in for three steps while walking and then out for three steps. The key is to find a breathing pattern that is comfortable for you and stick with it.
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 21:00:01 +0000