Breath in, breath out

I have had some strange looks when I tell people what I’m about to tell you now. The chances are 8 out of 10 that you are breathing wrong. What? But how can I breathe wrong Will? I have been breathing my whole life and now you are telling me that I’m doing it all wrong?

A quick test, place your hand on your stomach and take a deep breath in. What movement is there in your belly? Does it stay the same, expand or contract? More than likely it would stay the same or have a slight contraction. But why, what is wrong with that? What should be happening is as you take a breath of air the diaphragm should contract and push down in the stomach cavity, this will push your stomach out allowing a deep breath of air. As you exhale the diaphragm will relax and the stomach will go back to the original position.

Since the discovery of the mirror the modern man has become very conscious of what he/she looks like. To look better to ourselves (and the pretty ladies or lads in the gym) we tend to hold your bellies in to instantly shed a few extra “mental” pounds around the waist. With this happening we have evolved to breath wrong. It is called chest breathing or shallow breathing.

If you look at a baby when sleeping, the most natural form of human life unspoilt by the modern world, how they are breathing. As the baby inhale you just see this massive pot belly pushing out and as the baby exhales it flattens out again.

Now the next question is what does this have to do with exercise? The answer is quite simple and straight forward, EVERYTHING.

By doing the right breathing you can teach your body to maximise your oxygen intake and, what is almost the most important thing to me, to activate the core. The core’s inner unit is very lazy and needs to be reminded on a regular basis that it needs to activate and do some work.

By doing proper core activation the training you do on the core will be more effective and it will respond better to the exercises. You will see results a lot quicker and you will be able to lift a lot more weight. Watch this space for more of that.

Rule of thumb when doing any weight bearing exercise, as you do the work you breath out, again this will aid in core activation that will assist and protect you in the strain under the weight.

Here is a simple exercise for you to do. It will get you in the habit of using the diaphragm for breathing, as you sit in the office at your desk, on the tube, in your car or in front of the telly, force yourself to expand your stomach as you take a deep breath and contract as you exhale out again. You can use your hand and place it on your stomach to guide the movement.

In the beginning this exercise will feel a bit forced, like anything you do for the first time, it will become natural again.