One of my claims to fame in our little workout group is I have great breathing techniques…..yea…..go me. But in reality proper breathing is important in all forms of physical activity and a lot of people either aren’t aware of that fact, or just don’t take the time to train themselves to breathe properly.

Proper Breathing While Running

The proper breathe in/breathe out ratio while running is 3:2. What this means is that you should be fully filling your lungs in three strides, and then fully exhaling in your next two strides. You might need to slow your pace for a while to get the timing down. What this does is get more oxygen to your muscles, which will lower your heart rate, and it also pushes all of the carbon dioxide out of your body. If you’re taking short, quick gasps for air, then you’re increasing the carbon dioxide in your system and this will increase your heart rate and lactic acid production, which in turn decreases your endurance.

Proper Breathing While Lifting

Proper breathing techniques while lifting are a much simpler exercise. All you really need to know is exhale during exertion. Taking the bench press for example, you breathe out as you push the weight up and breathe in as you bring the weight back down. With bicep curls you exhale as you curl and inhale as you extend back down. One important thing to remember is that you need to be constantly breathing. Don’t start exhaling halfway through your rep, start exhaling the second you start exerting your muscles. Doing this properly will help prevent hernia, blood vessel strain, and high blood pressure…I also feel like it gives you just a little extra burst of strength/energy to get up those tough reps and it puts you in a good rythm which is always important when working out.

Believe it or not proper breathing in conjunction with correct water intake can help you lose fat. You can check out this “Want to Lose Weight?” article by Stew Smith, former Navy Seal and fitness/self defense author, for more information on that.