How to breathe properly while running – important tips

Breathing feels so natural that we don’t think about how to breathe while running. Meanwhile, the correct breathing technique while jogging helps prevent side pain, increases the capacity of the body, allows you to cover long distances and does not allow you to choke. We at joy-pup.com give you tips on how not to get out of breath while running.

How to breathe while running

When you first start your running workouts, you definitely don’t think about breathing. However, during any physical exercise, the body’s need for oxygen increases, which becomes fuel for the body. At rest, the body consumes about 6 liters of oxygen, and while running, this figure increases to 100 liters. Normalized breathing during running prevents stabbing pain, allows you to overcome the expected distance, helps maintain the correct heart rate, and most importantly – reduces the feeling of fatigue after it is completed.

Warm up the body

Strength training sessions always begin with a warm-up, because warmed up muscles work better and the body adapts more easily to the exercises. It’s the same with running. It is extremely important to warm up the whole body, paying special attention to the muscles of the legs. Breathing during a run preceded by a warm-up is better than breathing without a warm-up. Then the body takes oxygen not in jerks, but slowly, as needed. Therefore, the lack of a warm-up leads not only to a greater risk of injury, but also to a deterioration in well-being after running and poor-quality training.

Use Aperture

The diaphragm is a muscle located between the abdominal cavity and the lungs. This allows better absorption of oxygen in the body and prevents pain in the side. If you don’t know how to breathe with your diaphragm, learn this breathing technique. Place your hands on your ribs and take a deep breath. You should feel how the ribs diverge to the sides. As you exhale, you will feel how your waist has decreased in volume.

Adjust your breathing to the pace

Not everyone is born a professional runner. You must pre-determine the distance and pace that you can walk. Several training sessions may be required to develop the respiratory rate; there are special breathing techniques for this. Running at a pace of 3-3 or 3-2 is extremely popular. This means that you inhale for 3 steps and then exhale for the next 3 steps. This is how you inhale as the left, right, and left feet touch the ground again, and then exhale with the right, left, right (or right-left in a 3-2 tempo). When you run, you match your breathing to your pace.

Breathe through your nose and mouth

During breathing exercises, which are part of relaxation techniques, you need to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. This statement is so ingrained in our heads that we breathe the same way when we run. But this is not correct because the nasal cavity has less surface area than the oral cavity. While nasal breathing works well for low-intensity workouts, oxygen supply is important when running. Proper breathing while jogging is done through the mouth and nose at the same time – this way you provide the necessary amount of air for all the muscles.

Down with the stoop

It will be difficult to run if you do not maintain a healthy body shape – the correct angle of bending the knees, closing the shoulder blades and, most importantly, keeping the torso in an upright position. Proper breathing while running requires you to do your best to get the maximum amount of oxygen. But this will not happen if you slouch, and thus put pressure on the diaphragm. Torso tilt is most common during uphill running. A hunched silhouette seems like an easier way to get uphill, but it’s not.

See also: running for weight loss.