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Breathing techniques while running

Lonestar155

Lonestar155

is good to go
Anyone have some good advice on breathing techniques while running? Often times I find myself breathing sporadically. I searched through Google and found the “cadence technique”, but I figured many of you would have some solid advice.
 
I've been running a long time, and i've never found or subscribed to any wierd breathing techniques (especially "in through nose/out through mouth" crap)...but I can tell you this...

a warmup jog of a mile or two followed by stretching that involves some deep, lung expanding breaths will give you a great edge on your run. oxygenate your body as best as possible and concentrate on relaxing. Stretching out real good while breathing deep breaths will get oxygen to the crevices, nooks and crannys in your body, while prepping your lungs to be expanded to their max for the run (at least the end of it!) When running, concentrate on opening your lungs with good posture and staying relaxed, same time don't be afraid to breath hard and SUCK AIR...your body needs it..
 
Lonestar155 said:
Anyone have some good advice on breathing techniques while running? Often times I find myself breathing sporadically. I searched through Google and found the “cadence technique”, but I figured many of you would have some solid advice.
Click to expand...

After breathing in...I breath out.

Inhale
Exhale
Repeat as necessary
 
I read a bunch of stuff on weird breathing techniques a while back, but it seems to me the best method is whatever you're comfortable with. I tend to breathe in and out through my nose and mouth simultaneously as it seems to help with total volume, but other than that I just try to stay comfortable. Overthinking your breathing technique sounds like a surefire way to make things worse before they get better.
 
If anything, try to slow your breathing a little. Take slower, deeper breaths, rather than quick shallow ones.
 
^^ Agree with above. I find that if you try to relax, your body will regulate your breathing so that you are getting the oxygen you need. If you find yourself gasping uncontrolably...slow down. Another thing that seems to help me is that if I am focusing on my breathing, I try to focus on just the exhaling, and let the body take care of the inhaling.
 
Years ago, I used to synch up my breathing to my cadence, but I've found that it gets in the way of your body's natural demand cycle. I run exclusively to music these days and it really helps your mind dissociate from breathing. By not focusing on your cadence and allowing your body to breathe as it needs to, it will be operating in a more efficient manner. Concur with others about complete inhales and exhales. This is something I do when I'm really pushing it and it also helps with efficiency and prevention of abdominal/shoulder cramping (which are neurologically interrelated).

Brett
 
gasping, wheezing coughing and hawking work for me.

But seriously. I follow the cadence thing. Breathing OUT on your left footfall tends to reduce cramping from jarring of your organs, so I follow that. I had bad cramping no matter what I did, so this method really helped me. The cadence of breathing with a certain rhythm helped me control the breathing to prevent short quick breaths or hyperventilating. By following a certain cadence and timing my breaths are deep enough and often enough to be useful but not too often to cause problems.

I would definitely suggest a rhythm to the breathing and try to breath out on the left footfall to prevent cramps.
 
When I did some searching on breathing about a year ago I read about alternating which foot you exhale on. When you contract your diaphragm with the rest of your body consistantly hitting the same position (right or left foot) it can gradually push blood. I read that it was best to take an odd number of steps per full breath cycle (inhale+exhale). I do 4 steps on the inhale, 3 steps on the exhale. So: inhale(L) exhale(L) inhale(R) exhale(R). Supposedly this cuts back on cramps, and I can say I certainly noticed a difference. I have no proof that the breathing was what did it, but I don't think it hurt.

edit: I should add that I found the 4/3 to be nearly impossible to maintain on hills, so I'll sometimes drop to a 3/2, even if only for a few breaths.
 
"Breathe through your mouth. Breathe through your nose. Suck the air in through your ears, if you can." Arthur Lydiard.
 
ItsTurboTime said:
When I did some searching on breathing about a year ago I read about alternating which foot you exhale on. When you contract your diaphragm with the rest of your body consistantly hitting the same position (right or left foot) it can gradually push blood. I read that it was best to take an odd number of steps per full breath cycle (inhale+exhale). I do 4 steps on the inhale, 3 steps on the exhale. So: inhale(L) exhale(L) inhale(R) exhale(R). Supposedly this cuts back on cramps, and I can say I certainly noticed a difference. I have no proof that the breathing was what did it, but I don't think it hurt.

edit: I should add that I found the 4/3 to be nearly impossible to maintain on hills, so I'll sometimes drop to a 3/2, even if only for a few breaths.
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Jesus Christ! Why don't you solve differential equations while you're at it. There's no miracle formula for this - just run and breathe as required. We're not talking about breaking world records and shaving hundredths of seconds off your PRT time.

Brett
 
That said I've also occasionally found myself "overbreathing" if such a thing is possible.

I agree with Brett...I prefer to just focus on regulating breathing according to what your body wants/needs rather than on a fixed cadence.

For that reason, I actually prefer running when it's raining/snowing with music...I pretty much only see 10 or so feet ahead of me, focus on regulating my "engine" and just tune all the other mental crap out. I hate when I can see/think about how much I have left to go.
 
If you're thinking about your breathing you probably aren't comfortable enough. Just relax. I don't know your situation, but you may just not be in that good of aerobic shape. Just keep running and think about other things. I've found that in races when I actually start to think about how hard Im breathing I do a hell of a lot worse. Just run every 100 yards as if you're running to the mailbox. Act as if theres nothing to worry about cause you don't have that far to go anyway. The more relaxed you are the less energy you burn because your body loosens up and your shoulders arent tense. Wearing sunglasses has actually been proven to be beneficial because it causes you to relax your facial muscles which also leads to a more relaxed kneck and shoulders. Good luck, and listen to Thull hes pretty damn fast.
 
I'd agree with brett on this one...music can be a great way to forget about the head games of breathing thus, letting your body do what feels right. Just do what comes naturally. there is no tried and true method that will make running easy...it all depends on you...no one else.
 
thull said:
a warmup jog of a mile or two
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A warmup jog of 2 miles? :knockout_

I've found that when I run my breathing tends to follow a pattern that is in good sync with my footsteps, so I try to focus on my breathing and it helps take my mind off how much running sucks.

I think that unless you can run run run like a kenyan or already have your own thing, then syncing your natural breathing to your footsteps (or something) to take your mind off the running will help...
 
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