Run. Breathe. Run. Breathe. It seems as natural as breathing. But sometimes it doesn’t seem easy and you end up out of breath and have to stop running to catch your breath. Sounds familiar?
Running, in fact any type of exercise, requires oxygen. You see, energy is released to work when our body’s cells consume simple sugars in the presence of oxygen. The more work you do, the more oxygen you will need. Since there is only about 20% oxygen in the air, unless you want to carry supplemental oxygen like an Everest climber, you have to move more air in and out of your lungs when you run. So what can you do to get more air in and out of your lungs without feeling like you’re climbing a mountain without supplemental oxygen?
First, you must get into the practice of keeping your head and chin up, shoulders back. This will help keep the chest as open as possible. I have seen many a runner go down the trail with their shoulders slumped, their eyes fixed on the ground only a few feet from them. This compresses the chest and can even inhibit airflow through the windpipe to the lungs. Maintaining good posture while running will not only make you feel better, it will increase your available lung volume. More lung volume equals more oxygen.
Then as you breathe in, focus on breathing deeply into your abdomen. As babies, we were all ‘belly breathers’ with our abdomens rising and falling deeply with each breath. Somehow, as we get older, we start to breathe mainly in the chest. This actually gives us less lung volume, since the air may not even reach the bottom of our lungs with each breath. Breathing deeply, concentrating on moving your belly in and out with each breath, will make your lung volume even more accessible. In addition to increasing oxygen uptake, abdominal breathing can help prevent cramping while running.
A question that is asked quite frequently is ‘how often should I breathe?’ It’s a great question and the answer is: it depends. It mainly depends on your perceived level of exertion (LOE). LOE is a subjective scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is the level of effort required to sit on the couch and 10 is the maximum, all you have. An LOE of 10 is not sustainable for more than 1-3 minutes.
For much of your run, you should be breathing in a 2:2 ratio, which means you take 2 steps on your inhale and 2 steps on your exhale. At this rate and level of effort, you may be able to talk, but your conversation will be made up of many one-syllable words and will break up as you catch your breath.
During long slow runs or easy runs, a 3:3 ratio is more appropriate. That is inhaling in 3 steps and exhaling in 3 steps. With this ratio, you’ll be able to have a conversation with another runner, or on a cell phone if you’re online. This breathing pattern is appropriate for those running for fitness or weight loss, as the LOE is consistent with aerobic activity. Even a 4:4 ratio can be adequate for low LOE training.
At a very fast pace, such as during interval or hill training, you can transition to a 1:1 ratio where you are breathing in and out with each step you take. This breathing pattern is only for very high LOE activities and is not sustainable for much more than 3 minutes.
Should you breathe through your nose or through your mouth? Some recommend inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. This is a good approach for easy runs, where you want to keep a low LOE. Breathing through your nose is calming and helps keep your heart rate low. However, as the pace increases, it will become impossible to maintain this pattern. During higher intensity runs, I generally inhale and exhale through my nose and mouth. This gives me the maximum ability to move air and fuel my body.
Try these tips. If you’re still having trouble controlling your breathing, you may be running too hard on many of your runs. Slow down, learn to control your breathing, and you’ll enjoy your run more. If you still find breath control a challenge, consider hiring a coach or trainer to work with you directly as you master this new skill. This hasn’t always come naturally to all runners, and you may be surprised to learn that most experienced runners have had to spend at least some time learning to control their breathing.