Is There a Right Way to Breath When Exercising?

amberlynwellbeing
Mar 14, 2023
3 min read

Updated: Apr 14, 2023

It seems like the smallest things that are easily overlooked are often the most important and have the biggest impact on the process.

Growing up I was one of those kids that almost constantly got side-cramps or stitches during my soccer games. When I ran cross country, trying to keep my breathing regulated was either at the back of my mind or all I could think about (depending on how to run was going).

It wasn't until I started to incorporate a yoga practice into my life I that realized, not only the importance of breathing through movement, but also the benefits.

Your breathing rate can impact your blood pressure, heart rate, and stress levels. When you breath fast and shallow your stress response is activated which results in increased muscle tension and heart rate. When you breath deeply and slowly your relaxation response is activated, resulting in muscle relaxation and body processes to continue.

So how do we make sure that our breathing isn't harming us when we are working out?

Weight Lifting:

Wanting to hold your breath while lifting is a common reaction and something I have seen in many of my clients, but you may be doing yourself more harm.

The Valsalva maneuver is a common breathing technique in power lifting, you are basically holding your breath while you lift your weight. It is done typically with one rep maxes. To do it for anything but very short heavy lifts can dangerously increase your blood pressure.

You can experience feelings of dizziness or blurred vision, you can faint or get a hernia

There is no reason to hold your breath while lifting beyond a one rep max.

Diaphragmatic breathing is the way to go when lifting weights. Your diaphragm is a muscle that powers most of your breathing, located between your chest and your abdominal cavity. Diaphragmatic breathing involves, slowly breathing through your nose, filling your abdominal area, then slowly exhaling.

Timing wise when you are lifting weights, a good rule of thumb is to exhale as you lift (when your muscle is shortening/concentric phase) and inhale as you lower or extend the weight. Being mindful with your breath helps ensure that your muscles are getting enough oxygen.

Body Weight Activities

Just like with lifting weights our initial reaction is going to be to hold our breath when we are exerting ourselves, but breathing through exertion actually helps us hold positions for longer. I’ve experienced this when it comes to yoga.

A common breathing technique in yoga is box breathing. You are inhaling or the same amount of counts that you are exhaling. For example, you will inhale for 4 counts and exhale for 4 counts and so on, this one in particular is good for relaxation.

You want to make sure you are engaging your core and diaphragm when you’re exhaling this can feel like your rib cage contracts and moves back towards your spine

Running or Walking

Typically when you are running or walking your breathing will fall into a natural rhythm with your pace. But if you find specifics helpful, then I got you. Focus on belly breathing - expanding your abdomen not only your chest, allows you to take deeper breaths and get more oxygen in.

Timing wise there are a couple of different techniques you can try out:

Time breath with your steps - inhale for one step, exhale for one, slowly increasing the amount of steps you can take in between
In-out-out - inhale, exhale, exhale - not a natural breathing pattern takes some concentration
2:1 ration - inhale for two steps and exhale for one

General tips for breathing while exercising:

Count reps out loud - forces you to breath (weight lifting)
If you experience side cramps/stiches exhale when the left foot hits the ground (running, walking)
If you get winded and you can’t catch your breath stand with your hands behind your head
Takes practice - can do it while warming up or cooling down to get used to how it feels

A proper breathing pattern helps ensure that you are getting enough oxygen into your body and that blood is circulating properly. Being mindful with your breathing can help not only to relax, but can help provide more ease into your workouts.