Workout is a way not only to achieve a perfect figure, but also to relieve emotions and to regenerate after a hard day. Did you know, however, that in order to bring measurable benefits, proper breathing also counts?
Breathing is a physiological activity, so many people are surprised that those who work out constantly debate the issue of proper breathing during exercise. In fact, some people believe that breathing is breathing, we do it naturally and don’t need to think about it. And yet it is possible to breathe in an incorrect pattern (and not only during exercise), and this contributes to, among other things, destabilization of our posture, and as a result may even cause damage to the organs of motion.
The diaphragm, which is the muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. Therefore, it is very important to use it properly. During increased physical exertion we need to breathe “head on”. Inhaling and exhaling are important parts of breathing. The movement of inhaling air should start from the bottom of the chest and end at the top, just below the collarbone
We must keep in mind that when taking air into the diaphragm, it should spread out to the sides, as well as forward and backward. The key is to take in air through the nose and exhale through the mouth. What’s interesting is that many scientific studies, as well as observations by personal trainers, for example, confirm that exhaling increases muscle strength and inhaling decreases it. So if there is a moment during your workout that requires increased effort, remember that it should be connected with exhalation of air, when your muscles will be able to withstand more.
Many exercisers who want their workouts to be effective may place too much, almost obsessive, importance on breathing technique. This is a problem because it can end up making them do it unnaturally
The breathing process itself during training should be as natural and regular as possible. When exercising, you must not hold your breath because the body of a person who is working out needs more oxygen than when you are not doing any physical activity. So, if we breathe artificially, in an unnatural way, it can lead to an increase in blood pressure, and this unfortunately can result in impeded blood flow to the brain and faster fatigue during training.
It is worth knowing that the breathing must be matched to the intensity of the exercises performed. This is another important rule during training. Of course, it is easier when the exercise is relaxing, for example when stretching. Breathing then is relatively slow and steady. On the other hand, if the intensity of the movements increases, so does the intensity of our breathing. Therefore, we need to learn how to keep the intervals between inhalations and exhalations reasonable. It is also important to keep a proper breathing rhythm while performing repetitions of a given exercise. When doing cardio and aerobic exercises, such as running, cycling or a series of jumping jacks, it is also good to try to find a constant rhythm of breathing, for example, one breath every few seconds (the number of breaths will be determined by doing a given exercise).
Training and proper breathing, when they go hand in hand, can do a lot of good for your body. All breathing techniques, adjusted to the pace and intensity of exercise, teach you how to control, for example, various stressful situations. And deep breathing alone can bring immediate relief in times of stress. Before we start to train intensively, we can first do exercises for the breath itself, learn its techniques, this will make it much easier to control it when the effort is increased.
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