Breathing during exercise is incredibly important. During cardiovascular exercise, correct breathing helps with keeping a good pace and efficiency of movements. During bouts of resistance training, breathing helps with stability and power, and it helps increase relaxation during mind/body routines like yoga and Pilates. Improper breathing, aside from making exercises seem more difficult than they are, can have dangerous effects on your health.
Step 1
Practice proper breathing technique to avoid the health dangers of improper breathing. These include hyperventilating, side pains, increased blood pressure, an unsafe increase in heart rate and bradycardia (a type of arrhythmia). The biggest danger comes from holding your breath, also known as the Valsalva maneuver, in which a "forcible exhalation against the closed glottis (windpipe)" causes an increase in blood pressure, an unsafe increase in heart rate and the aforementioned bradycardia, according to Michael Grant White of Breathing.com.
Step 2
Breathe with the pace of your exercise. The simplest way around these dangers is to breathe with your pace, which helps to create rhythm and increases the efficiency of the exercise.
Step 3
Exhale on the exertion phase of the exercise. A simple way to remember this is the phrase "Blow the weight up." Virtually every exercise, whether it is a machine, free weights or body-weight exercise, can be performed in this manner.
Step 4
Exhale during exertion to position your spine in its strongest alignment and activate your core musculature. Not only is it the best way to prevent the dangers of improper breathing, it also greatly reduces the risk of injury during exercise.
Step 5
Breathe in and out through your nose. Though this may not always be possible, particularly during high-intensity bouts of cardio, breathing through your nose helps you focus on the exercise.
Step 6
Use nose breathing with cardio exercise to create the appropriate pace. During resistance training, this helps relax your jaw and maintain proper spinal alignment.
Step 7
Practice nose breathing in mind/body exercise to facilitate relaxation and increase flexibility by allowing a greater amount of stretch in your muscles.
