Breathing AND Running? Tricky Combination....

“You mean I am supposed to run a long distance, worry about form and speed AND breathe correctly?”  No, today, it is just about breathing!  Let’s get your breathing technique perfected and the rest will fall into place MUCH easier.  Creating a rhythm to your breathing while running is called entrainment and it will help you to feel better when running, allow you to relax and entrainment will ultimately aid in increasing your speed or distance. 

Entrainment, rhythmic breathing,  will insure that oxygen has enough time to be exchanged in your lungs.  Huffing and puffing and gasping for air all lead to hyperventilation.  In this state, your muscles do not receive oxygen from your lungs because you are exhaling faster than appropriate exchange can take place.  Rhythmic breathing creates a pattern of breathing in sync with your stride/heel strike and therefore your lungs are able to deliver sufficient oxygen to your muscles.

Athletes in many sports use entrainment – running, cyclists, swimmers and others all benefit from finding a rhythm to their breathing pattern.  The breathing rhythm is in sync with their heel strike, pedal stroke or arm stroke.  In today’s workout,  we will be listening to your heel strike and learning how to breathe using a greater amount of your lung capacity and setting a steady rhythm to your breathing.

You will begin slowly just by walking and taking full, deep breaths filling your lungs to capacity, like they are balloons.  Then you will speed up to a fast walk, continuing to fill your lungs to capacity regardless of the increased speed.  Finally, you will pick up a light jog, listening to your heel strike and determining what your entrainment pattern might be at that speed.  The most common entrainment rhythm for slower runners or beginner runners is 4 heel strikes for an inhale and 4 heel strikes for an exhale. 

 Try this rhythm first.  Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. You may even count in your head (in,2,3,4. Out,2,3,4.)  You will occasionally need a “catch my breath” quick inhale and exhale – no problem.  Take one and then get back to your rhythm.  REMEMBER, today is not about distance or speed or form or… it is about breathing and getting a rhythm!  Listen to your heel strike.

So remember these things on your running/entrainment workout:

Be tall.  Especially from your hips to your ribs and keep your shoulders back and chin up, look ahead.  Looking down will cause your airway to collapse.   Avoid talking to someone or listening to music during this workout.  Focus on what you hear your feet doing and your pattern of breathing.

Entrainment workout:

Choose a loop that is about ¼ of a mile.

Slow walk the first lap, deep breathing in through nose/ out through mouth.  Fill up your lunges each breath. (don’t worry about 4 x 4 breathing – that is only with a jog/run)

Fast walk the second lap, breathing will increase with speed; in through your nose and out through your mouth.  Deep breath. (don’t worry about 4 x 4 breathing – that is only with a jog/run)

Slow jog the next two laps, listen to your feet (4 strides in and 4 strides out).  If you have to take a quick “catch your breath”, do so and then back to rhythm breathing.

Slow your feet down if the breathing gets difficult.  Remember, today is not about speed, distance or form… it is about breathing and listening.

It will take several running workouts to get the entrainment pattern established.  

Stick with it, it will be worth it!