Breathing is one of the most difficult parts of running. If you don’t breathe correctly, you’ll end up with a debilitating stitch in your side or your lungs will feel like they’re burning after only a few minutes of movement. It’s important to learn how to breathe correctly while you run in order to improve your running form and increase your running speed and stamina.
1. Steps and Breathing Work Together
If you are having trouble keeping a steady pace with your breathing while you run, try to remember that your steps and your breathing are a team and should be working together in tandem to help increase the efficiency of your run.
Focus on matching your breathing to your steps to help yourself control your breathing at a steady tempo without distracting yourself from your run. Try to run three to four steps every time you inhale, and exhale for the next three to four steps. Count your steps and maintain this tempo as long as you can. If you speed up or slow down the pace of your steps during your run, adjust the tempo of your breathing accordingly without falling out of r
2. Keep Your Environment In Mind
Do you run in the morning or at night? Is it going to be hot or cold during your run? Will the air be humid or dry? These are all important questions to consider before you go for a run because the way you breathe during a run should depend on the weather in which you’re running.
When it’s cold, such as early in the morning or in the winter months, the air outside is much dryer than it is when the weather is warm. Breathing in dry air can make you cough and cause your lungs to feel as though they are burning, which can significantly disrupt the efficiency of your run. It’s important to breathe through your nose when you run in cold weather. You should also tie a shirt or bandana around your nose and mouth in order to capture the moisture of your breath and the humidity that is in the air.
3. Stop Breathing Through Your Mouth
Breathing through your mouth is not a good habit to get into when you run. It’s easy to automatically start breathing through your mouth when you run because it makes you feel like you are taking in a larger amount of air. However, this is actually not the case.
When you breathe through your nose during a cardio workout (like a run) you are able to breathe more deeply and more efficiently. You inhale more air and are able to breathe less frantically, which prevents adverse effects like dizziness, nausea, and burning lungs.
4. Breathe Deeply
Deep breathing is one of the most important parts of breathing correctly during a run. If you breathe too shallowly, you will find yourself having to gasp for breath in order to get enough oxygen. This hyperventilation can lead to feelings of lightheadedness, nausea, burning lungs, and can even make you pass out.
It’s important to work on stretching the endurance of your lungs so that you are able to breathe more deeply while you run and maximize the amount of oxygen you take in with every breath. Remember that if you’re breathing deeply while you run, your abdomen should be visibly expanding every time you inhale.
The next time you go for a run and feel yourself gasping for breath too quickly, keep the pointers in this post in mind. Use them to remind yourself how to breathe correctly while you run to get the most out of your cardio workout every time.
http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/How-Breathe-When-Running-19967835
