When you jog, you may breathe in and out through your mouth, believing this is helping you to get optimal amounts of oxygen and increasing your fitness level. If you teach yourself nose breathing, your body benefits, which means your jogging workouts will benefit as well. Proper breathing techniques allows you to improve your jogging performance, avoiding physical exhaustion after, according to the Authentic Breathing website.
Breathing and Oxygen
Oxygen helps the adenosine triphosphate in your body make energy, which helps increases your endurance as you're jogging. Your breathing takes place in four stages. You inhale, have a full pause, exhale and an empty pause, according to the Authentic Breathing website. When you breathe fully, you have more oxygen in your blood, which gives you more energy. When you're breathing deeply enough, you're also decreasing your stress level.
Breathing and Jogging Technique
Start a slow jog and time your breaths to the number of steps you take. Try to take six steps, then breathe in. Jog another six steps and breathe out. As you increase your speed, increase how often you breathe in and out. Optimally, as you jog, you should be able to hold a conversation without feeling breathless. If you're straining to get enough breath as you are jogging, you're not breathing correctly. If you do become breathless, slow down and walk, but don't stop. Walk until you get your breath back, then resume jogging, according to the Into Jogging website.
Effects of Improper Breathing
If you begin to feel dizzy or exhausted, you're breathing wrong as you jog. Slow down and change your breathing rhythm. Begin breathing in through your nose and control your exhalations. It might feel more natural to gasp, pull air in, then push air out forcefully, but you will tire yourself even more this way, according to the Info Jogging website. As you are jogging, you should breathe in through your nose and take long, deep breaths. As you do so, you're allowing your body to get more oxygen, according to the Stats Sheet website.
Diaphragmatic Versus High Breathing
Some joggers breathe in and expand their chests, known as "high breathing." If this is how you breathe during a jog, try to inhale a full breath and expand your belly so it moves outward. This allows your diaphragm to expand more fully. When you exhale, make sure your belly retracts toward your spine. As you push the air out and allow your diaphragm to retract, this movement helps to empty your lungs more completely. This is "low breathing," according to the Authentic Breathing website.
Pre-Workout Breathing
Before you begin jogging, practice "pre-workout breathing." Walk around the track for five to 15 minutes, relax your belly, breathe deeply in and out, in a relaxed steady rhythm. Make sure that, as you inhale, your belly and diaphragm expand as fully as they can. When you exhale, let the breath out slowly and make sure your belly and diaphragm fully retract. As you do this, you're allowing more oxygen into your bloodstream. Breathe in and out only through your nose, keeping your mouth closed, according to the Authentic Breathing website.
