Health & Life

Tips for Proper Breathing While Running and Walking for Exercise

Jogging is a simple sport that anyone can choose as a home exercise method. If you know how to breathe properly while jogging and have a correct walking posture, you will not feel overly tired and be able to sustain longer running distances. Regular and steady breathing is good for cardiovascular health and blood circulation. So, what is the correct way to breathe while jogging? The answer will be found in the article below.

Administrator

7 January, 2024

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Proper breathing affects breathing rate and endurance. Therefore, proper breathing when running is one of the most important factors for runners, especially for those who are new to running. When starting out, your body and endurance are still weak, and you can easily get out of breath and give up after a short distance.

The main reason is that the lungs are still weak and not accustomed to the mechanics and speed of running. As a result, breathing is affected and does not provide enough oxygen. Therefore, you need to know how to breathe properly when walking and running to improve respiratory capacity and enhance training intensity.

How to Breathe Properly When Running and Walking?

Actually, there is no specific principle for breathing while running. Depending on each person’s health and physique, the way of breathing will vary. The most important thing is that you need to know how to maintain your breathing rhythm to achieve effective training. Here are the most correct ways to breathe when running and walking for you.

1. Deep Breathing

When running, you should adjust your breathing rhythm to be as deep and long as possible. The breathing process should be slow and regular. Note that you should breathe with your abdomen, not your chest, as it can make you short of breath and make your breath shallow, erratic and inconsistent.

Breathe deeply while running

2. Inhale through the Nose and Exhale through the Mouth

This will help balance your breathing rhythm and maintain endurance while running. At the same time, it ensures the functioning of the nasal and oral organs, which is good for your respiratory system.

3. 3:2 Breathing Rhythm

This is considered a useful tip for training. 3:2 breathing rhythm means inhaling for 3 steps and exhaling for 2 steps consistently. Initially, you may not be familiar with this breathing pattern, so you should slow down to develop the habit of this breathing rhythm before gradually increasing your speed.

2. Inhale through the Nose and Exhale through the Mouth

3. 3:2 Breathing Rhythm

Methods to Improve Breathing When Running

If you are a beginner, be patient. As your physical fitness gradually increases through training, controlling your breathing will no longer be difficult. Your body needs time to adapt to the changes, especially when it comes to running.

Start by running slowly to learn how to control your breathing

Initially, you should run slowly to practice breathing and good control of your breath. You can invite friends to run together and have a conversation while running, as this is a way to check if your breathing rhythm is still well-adjusted.
If you feel out of breath while running, slow down or switch to fast walking to maintain even and stable breathing.
Do not force yourself to follow a specific rule. Choose a breathing method that feels most comfortable to you. Breathing consumes energy, and when you breathe heavily, it can consume up to 10% of your total energy, so you will get tired quickly if you don’t know how to breathe properly when running.
To increase oxygen intake during exercise, you can breathe faster or deeper, or a combination of both. Of course, you should still find the breathing method that works best for you.

Breathe quickly and deeply to increase oxygen intake while running

In cold weather, deep breathing can make your lungs susceptible to the cold because too much cold air enters your lungs. Therefore, pay attention to your breath when running in winter.

Factors Affecting Breathing When Running

During running, there will be times when you feel extremely tired and have difficulty breathing. At this time, some factors have been identified to affect breathing when running, such as:

When the outside temperature is too high or your exercise intensity is too high, your breathing rate will increase faster.
When energy is depleted, your body will start to burn excess fat, and the amount of oxygen needed to maintain it will be higher.
As you go higher, the air becomes thinner, and the breathing rate increases. Therefore, when running at relatively high altitudes such as hills or mountains, you will feel breathless and have to breathe faster. At this time, a higher oxygen content causes a decrease in carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, leading to changes in blood acid levels. This can put you in a dangerous state, and even result in death. If you plan to climb mountains or conquer high peaks, make sure you have good health and physical fitness.

Make sure you have good physical fitness before conquering high mountains

Tips for Breathing When Running

If you are just starting to run, the first thing is to be patient. Because after training for a while, your physical fitness increases, and at this time, you will easily control your breathing. Don’t think that only people with large lungs can breathe more. In fact, your lungs need time to adapt, and every part of our body needs time to adapt to changes.
Start by running slowly to learn how to control your body. This is the optimal solution if you want to learn how to breathe steadily while running because if you run too fast, you will breathe more heavily, and when you are out of breath, you only think about breathing, not about rhythm, right? Use a speed at which you can comfortably have a conversation while running.
If you find that your breathing rhythm is no longer steady while running, slow down but not slower than a pace of 7.3 (7.3 minutes per kilometer). If you can’t maintain this speed, take a break or switch to brisk walking.
You don’t have to stick to any particular breathing theory. Breathe in a way that feels best for you because the faster you breathe, the more energy you consume.
Combine breathing through the nose and mouth (inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth). Breathing through both the nose and mouth will help you absorb more oxygen.
When training, you can increase the air volume by breathing faster or deeper, or a combination of both. Of course, you should still choose the breathing method that is most comfortable for you.
If you feel out of breath, it is not because you are too tired, but it is a sign that you are not providing enough oxygen to your body. At this time, the CO2 level in your lungs is high, while the O2 level is too low. Therefore, breathe deeper to bring in more oxygen and expel more CO2. You can also replenish energy for your body through food or liquids.
In cold weather, pay attention to keeping warm because when you breathe in the cold, it can irritate your lungs when too much cold air enters.
Experienced runners always regulate their breathing rhythm with their running rhythm, which helps them save energy more effectively and optimize their respiration. Depending on the running speed, the breathing rhythm will vary, but you should pay attention to allow it to happen naturally because if you force yourself to follow an unfamiliar breathing method, you will get tired more quickly.

Reasons for Difficulty Breathing

When the weather is too hot, the high temperature makes you breathe faster.
When you’re running out of energy, your body will start burning excess fat, which requires more oxygen, and your oxygen intake will decrease compared to normal.
The higher you go, the thinner the air becomes, and your body will automatically breathe faster to get more oxygen. At the same time, your breathing rate increases. So when running at high altitudes, such as hills or mountains, you may feel breathless and have to breathe faster. This increases oxygen and decreases carbon dioxide (CO2), causing changes in blood acid levels. This can have serious consequences, including death. If you plan to participate in a mountain or high-altitude running event, make sure you are in good health and have excellent physical fitness.
If you have asthma, your breathing will be more difficult.

Now, you probably know how to breathe properly when running and walking, right? With the helpful advice in this article, I hope you are equipped with sufficient knowledge to start a training journey and improve your health through running.