Thursday, March 24, 2011

Breathe Efficiently While Running



An efficient pattern of breathing while running is essential for personal comfort, which leads to endurance. For many people, the pattern is involuntary. For others, conscious thought is involved until a comfortable and unique rhythm can be attained. Start out with the basic pattern described below and adjust for personal preference.

Running requires fuel. Oxygen is your fuel source and you need lots of it when running. Breathing through your nose restricts air intake when running, and thus, will cause you to run with less running power. Breathe with your mouth and, push the air in and out of your body with your stomach. Take slow deep controlled breaths, this will help improve on your running efficiency.

Long distance runners can change up from nose to mouth breathing with no substantial change in their position while racing but the principles mentioned earlier still hold true.

Long distance runners may not loose a race due to breathing methods but sprinters might.

# Try slowing down before attempting to change your breathing.
# Focus on longer, deeper breaths.
# Breath more from your diaphragm (belly) than your chest (chest breathing is more shallow).
# Focus on exhaling more fully. This will remove more CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) and allow for deeper inhalations of O2 (Oxygen).
# Allow air to enter through both the nose and mouth. This will allow for maximum O2 intake.
# Aim to take three footsteps for every inhale, and two footsteps for every exhale (3:2 ratio).

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