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Breathing
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I had a thought occur to me this morning while getting some swimming in at a local YMCA.
Can you train yourself to breath better? The one thing I struggle with in swimming is trying to find a way to feel like I'm not starving myself of oxygen. It's one thing when I bike, run, do classes, anything that keeps you in the air, so to speak, where you can breathe faster if need be. It's a little more difficult when you are working in a different medium like water, though. I feel like it's the one thing holding me back from the goal I need to meet. That goal is to cover 700 meters within 25 minutes. It's a mark I need to meet for the triathlon I'm doing this summer. I accomplished it last year only because I was in a 4-foot deep section of the pool this phase was done in. When I was too tired to swim, I walked for a bit. My preference, however, would be to accomplish this on a strictly swimming basis, so I don't tire myself too soon for the biking phase. Does anyone out there have any suggestions on what I can do to train myself on breathing? Posted on 04/03/08, 07:04 am |
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Absolutely!
Try Pranayama. You can get a book on it to teach you lots of techniques. There is a website that teaches a couple basics http://www.yogasite.com/pranayama.htm We also talk about it in our member group "Yogi Within" http://dailystrength.org/groups/yo... Breathing is so essential. I used to get "runners cramps" all the time before I learned how to breathe more efficiently and really exercise my lungs. 
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I shall give it a try.
Just off the top of my head, it doesn't seem like it would mesh well with high impact exercising, but then again, I really haven't done yoga either. I suspect you would say that what you learn to do here when you are at a settled state, will help when you kick it into high gear. That's enough for me to try doing this and seeing where things go from there. Thanks for taking the time to respond!
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I had some stereotypical ideas of yoga before I started. I never knew how huge of a world it really is in regards to every part of our lives... Physical, mental, and diet.
I am a pretty avid athlete usually, and there is some yoga that makes me feel like I just was run through the ringer.. just very intense physically... but, it is hard to do unless you learn to breathe and balance. Then there is light exercise yoga.. great to work the faschia and the tissues we can't get to with regular stuff (just to deep in the body) check it out. I thought it was dumb before I opened my mind. It changed my entire life!
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A couple of thoughts about breathing from an asthmatic musician:
Singers and wind players work on breath control all the time. For practical purposes the inhale needs to inflate the lungs as fully as possible, which is done by filling up from the bottom first (the diaphragmatic breathing they are always talking about). The easiest way to understand that sensation is to lie down on your back and watch what happens when you breathe in. Your belly rises. Your shoulders don't move. When you're working hard you might try to be mindful of whether you're breathing into your belly or if your chest is rising and falling first. The first kind of breath will be deeper... and is probably the kind of breathing that the suggested yoga practice would help you train.
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Being a singer, avid yoga practitioner and training in the gym with weights and elliptical, I would agree with mkat and Fiddler. It seems counterintuitive but slowing down your breath is the best thing to do when exertion gets very high. I do this with EVERYTHING physical that I do. It calms the nervous system, gets more oxygen flowing through the body and really keeps your attention on what you're doing.
Breath control is important for singing, cycling, lifting, yoga and everyday life for me. Gasping doesn't fuel you enough. Smooth, controlled breaths and it takes practice but everything you do as an athlete will improve. There are actually several studies on this very topic.
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If you don't breathe right... your muscles can't get enough oxygen, they can't run a trach out your skin.
Just like if you don't chew.. your stomach doesn't have teeth to make up for it. And.. do you realize how many NFL football teams have mandatory yoga everyday? There is a reason for this. (if I sound like a smartass, I apologize.. I may be loopy on some pregnancy hormones and hot tea today)
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No, no, believe me when I say I appreciate all of this.
I have had a feeling that it would require, for lack of a better term, that I need to learn how to breathe. I know, I do it every waking moment of my life, but there is evidently much I need to un-learn as well, so I can do better. In humor, it's just going to be fun to see if a 36 year old "dog" can still learn new tricks. Truthfully, considering I've never worked out in my life until last March to begin with, I've come pretty far...and I have so far to go as well. Learning how to do this right will help me to accomplish even more than I have already! So again, thanks for all of your advice. I'm sure it will help!
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Update - The gym I go to does offer yoga classes, so I will be trying one very soon, possibly tomorrow (assuming I can get in, as they are quite popular).
In the meantime, if you see my latest journal entry, you'll see how I did with swimming this morning, just by changing how I wanted to tackle it. And I owe you all a lot of thanks, because the suggestions you gave me are already paying off!
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YAY!! so happy for you!
I would also suggest getting a book (that is written in words you understand- so many of them out there) on Pranayama. It will show you just breathign techniques that you can do with exercise or by themselves. Many yoga studios offer this as a class too. They usually are under $20 for a session. just to see it and experience it once may help you learn how to do them more efficiently. Good Luck with everything!
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mkat, thanks again.
I did try the yoga class last week, and it was pretty nice. I never pictured stretching to be such a strenous activity. I know, I'm oversimplifying it, but it was definitely not as easy as I assumed! Just the same, I must admit that having a good sense of humor is important, because one woman next to me was quite "relaxed". If you have ever heard the term "Mouse with a Tuba", you can draw your own conclusions. Swimming has also garnered some improvement. As of yesterday, I'm at 22 minutes plus for 700m, and I opted up to 1k overall with a total time of 33 minutes. We may crack wise about "slow and steady wins the race", but danged if it isn't the gospel truth sometimes! Pacing has made such a difference!
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