Breathing when doing sports: 5 infallible techniques

Mar 23, 2023Sofia Francès0 comments

Know how to breathe correctly when doing sports is essential so that you can meet your goals without losing your breath. For this reason, we have compiled some of the best breathing techniques that can help improve your performance and efficiency during your workouts.


Is It is important to consult a professional to personalize your training according to your profile, your physical state and your personal goals.

WHY IS IT SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO BREATH WHILE DOING SPORTS?

When we do sports and above all, high-impact cardiovascular exercises, our body demands a lot from the heart and lungs. The lungs are the that bring oxygen to the body and remove carbon dioxide and the heart pumps oxygen to the muscles.

During a run, or a workout on the elliptical or rowing machine, our muscles need to work harder and therefore consume more oxygen and produce more carbon dioxide, and therefore, breathing intensifies and becomes accelerates, just like circulation.


Due because the body demands more oxygen and a more efficient functioning of the system circulatory system, it may become more difficult for us to breathe and sometimes we feel some shortness of breath, or tiredness, or our side hurts and even we are forced to interrupt our training ahead of schedule.

EACH SPORT REQUIRES A TYPE OF BREATHING

In long-distance runners, walking, jogging or swimming, breathing should be  regular, unforced, and rhythmic . In general, the expiration should be longer than the inspiration. Double exhalations should not be done.

According to the rhythm of the exercise we must find the respiratory rhythm. They are cardiovascular activities and  the breath should have cadence for maximum oxygenation to occur  and avoid cramps.

5 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR BREATHING

Lose breath can be one of the great obstacles to our performance in training and as we want to help you meet your goals, we We explain 5 techniques for correct breathing that can serve both the beginner to the most experienced athlete.


1. BREATHE THROUGH THE NOSE AND MOUTH

Breathe through the nose and through the mouth can help you improve training since breathing only through the nose is more tiring.

Breathing out through your mouth, or even breathing in and out like this can help you keep up, especially in sports and running or sprints high intensity.

This technique allows a greater amount of oxygen to enter the body, which is a key factor in maintaining comfortable and stable breathing during your workout.


2. TRY BREATHING DEEPLY WITH YOUR BELLY

The deep breathing, which is also known as diaphragm breathing, helps strengthen the muscles that support us while we breathe, which allows you to inhale more air.


This technique could help you use oxygen more efficiently and, as As a result, avoid those sharp pains in the flank that can arise during the race in the area of ​​the abdomen, the so-called "flatus".

Flatus: why does it occur?

Sometimes during exercise the appearance of flatus may occur, which is due to the  lack of oxygen from diaphragm  in people who are little used to excessive training intensity. This lack of oxygen is caused in turn by insufficient expiration. The diaphragm is irrigated at the time of expiration, and if it is short, the amount of blood in the irrigation is less. Another factor that can provoke the appearance of flatus it is because it is done  exercise after a meal, since digestion needs a large amount of oxygen and there is not enough for the irrigation of the diaphragm.

Before Before trying to use this breathing when playing sports, it is important that the have mastered, to train, lie on your back and inhale through your nose, filling the chest with air and pushes the diaphragm down and the air out, with a long exhalation.


He The objective of this technique is to feel the air deep in the lungs and avoid breathing shallowly.

3. GOOD POSTURE

Another simple technique that can help us a lot is to maintain a good posture, try to keep your body straight and your head aligned with your spine, avoiding leaning forward, for example.

relax shoulders away from your ears, don't slouch and stretch your head... think that maintaining an aligned posture facilitates breathing correct.

4. BREATHE RHYTHMICALLY

The Rhythmic breathing is easy and can help you improve your goal by doing sport, and it can be as simple as synchronize the strides with the inhalations and exhalations, as it is more comfortable. For example, we could take two strides while inhaling, and others two while we exhale.

With this running breathing technique, we help the body absorb more oxygen and reduce the stress caused by the impact of our feet on the ground while we run.

5. WARM UP YOUR MUSCLES AND YOUR DIAPHRAGM

Many Sometimes we get out of breath or have pain in our sides because we don't we remember to breathe correctly and that is why it is so important to pay attention and be aware of our breathing during the training.

A important advice is to warm up the diaphragm before our routine, especially if you are going to run.

You must practice deep breathing with one hand on the chest to feel how fills with air and pay attention to each inhalation and exhalation to you control the rhythm If you warm up the diaphragm beforehand, it will be much easier for you. breathe deeply and correctly.

Know how to breathe correctly can even help you get better. There are many other different techniques that can help you, such as the techniques of breathing in yoga

However, there are other factors that are also important to achieve our goals in a healthy way. We must always remember the importance of hydrating well during exercise, eating a good diet in general, sleeping well, managing stress, and, of course, never giving up! 

References:

(1) European Lung Foundation. Lungs and exercise. :

https://europeanlung.org/en/information-hub/factsheets/lungs-and-exercise/

(2) Red Bull Running. Breathe better, run more. (2020). Available at: https://www.redbull.com/es-es/running-respirar-bien-para-correr-mejor

(3) American Lung Association. Breathing basics for runners. Available in:

https://www.lung.org/blog/breathing-basics-for-runners

https://www.saludmasdeporte.com/como-respirar-deporte-respiracion/



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