Exercise stimulates your cardiorespiratory system and starts a cycle that affects nerves, muscles, metabolism and circulation. Physical exertion increases the body's demand for oxygen, which increases your breathing rate. Breathing is an important part of exercise technique since it provides the oxygen needed to drive the body's response to exertion. Proper breathing during exercise involves knowing how and when to exhale and inhale for safety and effectiveness and understanding how to interpret your breathing as a response to physical exertion.
Breathing Guidelines
In general, proper breathing during exercise requires breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth with pursed lips. Breathing should be slow, steady and rhythmic as you take full breaths. These practices allow your lungs to better exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen. Shortness of breath, in the absence of medical conditions, simply means your body needs more oxygen as a result of physical exertion. Slow your breathing rate and concentrate on proper breathing technique to increase the speed at which your body's oxygen is replenished.
Exercise-specific
When performing strength training, or weightlifting, your breathing should be slow and rhythmic. Proper breathing technique for strength training is to exhale as you begin a movement and inhale as you return to the starting point. Specifically, for weightlifting, exhale as you lift the weight and inhale as you lower the weight. Holding your breath while lifting weights is dangerous since it can elevate your blood pressure and affect the return of blood to your heart, according to guidelines from the Sophomore Training Unit at Lake Park High School in Illinois. When performing stretching and flexibility exercises, you should breathe steadily and evenly as you hold the stretch. Warmups before and cool downs after aerobic exercise help your body gradually increase breathing and safely return your breathing rate to normal.
Monitoring Physical Response
Your breathing pattern during exercise can tell you if you should modify your level of activity, should stop exercising and rest, or seek medical attention. The ability to talk without difficulty breathing while performing aerobic exercise, an indicator of exercise intensity known as the talking pace, indicates that you are moving at an appropriate level. Your talking pace should improve as you become more physically fit. Chronic and serious shortness of breath during exercise could signal heart disease and requires a call to your doctor.
Medical Conditions
When exercising outdoors, avoid triggering exercise-induced asthma by wearing a scarf or mask or by breathing through your nose to warm and filter the air you breathe before it reaches your lungs. Lung conditions can cause shortness of breath during exercise; however, exercise can improve your endurance and help your muscles use oxygen more effectively, both of which can reduce shortness of breath during exercise. If you have high blood pressure, breathe normally when exercising and avoid holding your breath, which can increase blood pressure.
Tips
Many participants in exercises, such as swimming and jogging, follow more specific breathing techniques. Coaches, trainers and fitness professionals can provide information about the special techniques.
