Runner's Training Tips: Breathing tricks while running

This may seem like a silly question, but I wanted to see if anyone had tips for "how to breath" while running. Besides the obvious "in and out" , I wasn't sure if there was a method conducive to longer, more efficient runs.

 Any suggestions, or is breathing as you can the way to go?

I've found that that when I am running nearer my tempo pace I breathe out for 2 steps then in for 2 steps. And running around 180 steps a minute.

 I seem to remember someone having written that is is best to breathe out when the left foot hits. This was to do with the body having heavier innards on the left hand side and this technique helps avoid stitch.  Not sure how accurate this info is though, they could have been making it up!

Those are great tips wino and schmo, I'll have to give them a whirl. I imagine it takes a little practice and persistence to get into a habit of a different way of breathing. I have heard that about breathing from the diaphragm as well, in relation to asthma sufferers (which I also am). The breathing every 2 steps method seems like a great idea to tie into this, it would force me to slow down my breathing just a little and get me thinking about where I am breathing from.

If I can't quite seem to get it to stick, wvhillrunner does have a great point - I'll take whatever oxygen I can get. 

the thing about breathing every time ur left foot hits the ground, ive tried that when ive had a cramp - and it seems to work..

 but that might just be cuz the cramp went away naturally, i dont know.

Well KDogg I guess I will have to take your word for it, I'm new to the distance game and I thought running at 7:25-8:00 was fast enough in training for my first marathon, but if I am able to breathe easily with right foot (in) left foot (in) right foot (in) left foot (in) right foot (out) left foot (out) right foot (out) left foot (out) then maybe I need to up the pace.   I guess I have some experimenting to do.  I'm glad somebody brought this topic up because I have been wondering  about this for quite some time. 

I think anyone who has scuba diving experience is probably more likely to be able to breathe more efficiently, I am a rescue diver and I spend somef time focusing on my underwater breathing efficiency.  I think it has helped a lot in running and visa versa.  Just my 2 cents.

Having said that why not experiment with belly breathing, I'm not a pro but... actively breathing with your diaphragm helps to utilize your maximum tidal volume (the part of air actually exchanged with the outside world). Belly breathing is one way to accomplish this. You essentially think about pushing your gut straight out perpendicular to your spine as you breathe in, and can even contract your abs a bit to help expel the air/ empty your lungs before the next breath. This will certainly feel weird at first, and it'd probably be worth your time to try it while just sitting or standing around first.

I agree with breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.  The number of steps however, varies I believe with 1) how big your stride is.  And as you can pick up from the different responses, naturally everyone's stride is different, and even changes for runners depending on where they are running.  Going up will can take more effort and therefore different strides and breathing.  The more you run you figure out what to do and what works for you and as some other said, it becomes automatic and you don't think of it as much.

 I tell my Physical Education students about breathing about 3-4 steps in through their nose, and 3-4 out their mouth. I've never heard of the start with right foot or left, that may be true, or it could be the fact that you are actually getting the right amount of oxygen, regardless of what foot you are stepping with.

One thing about getting stitches in your side, a common reason is because of incorrect running form. If you lean to far forward you are causing your ribs to not allow as much oxygen get into your lungs and therefore can get a stitch, in which if you place your arms behind your head and stand tall, it opens up your rib cage allowing your lungs to expand more and get more oxygen.  Its important to "stand tall" or have your "chest out" while running so you can get more oxygen into your lungs.  I told this to one my 7th grade kids as they are training to run one mile and a student said to me just yesterday "Coach, I didn't get the stitch in my side. I tried to run tall like you said, I didn't think it would work but I tried it and it did!"

Take deep breaths. Breathe in through the mouth and nose. Expel through the mouth.

(Counting steps helped me in the beginning, but that is too much to concentrate on. Try yoga or pilates or swimming to work on breathing technique and lung capacity.)

(Deep breaths help to alleviate side cramps.) 

This is to kbush08: As for the mucus problem I know it's kind of gross, but don't swallow it just spit it out and that's what helps me to keep my throat clear..:)

 And to comment on the breathing question: I used to hate running because I could never figure out how to do it without being out of breath, I have found that a lot of these suggestions work. I weight train two times a week which helps with upper body posture. I also, teach a yoga, tai chi, and pilates class called Bodyflow which helps improve core and overall body strength as well as gives you good flexibility and some good calming breathing techniques. I have found that these workouts also push me beyond what I would normally do on my own so the my mind and body connection has helped me to push myself with my running when I don't think that I can go any further.

kbush08:Thanks for the information.  My one problem I have with running is that I always get alot of mucus in my throat so it makes it even more hard to breathe.  Does anyone have any suggests?

I had this problem and actually found giving up milk from my diet sorted it out.. I was on soya milk instead because of other reasons and this was a really nice side effect.

 I am a 2/2 person myself, seems to be ok - if I go higher than that I just can't do distance. 

 I breathed so heavily in the last race I did I have really sore intercostal rib muscles! Anyone one else experienced this?

 Love

Emma

I've been running for a few months and really enjoying it, but I've found slow breathing is the only way it works for me. At 2/2 I am would be nearly sprinting; I certainly couldn't sustain that for long at all. I only do it on some hill climbs, a couple of minutes max.

So normally I run about 4/4, like APDuncan27, not thinking about it too much, getting around a 5min/K pace and enjoying it. If I up the pace towards the end of a long run, or go for a quick 5K dash (best time 23m so far) I will maybe have to breathe 3/3, but then I can feel that's really hard work and not so much fun any more. I'll also most likely get stitch.

I'm not a scuba diver like APDuncan27, but I am a swimmer. I think probably the discipline of front crawl, with most of your muscles working quite hard but your lungs only able to breathe every third stroke, is pretty good for developing efficient oxygen use.

When I started running it felt bizarre having these legs beavering away underneath me and getting tired out, whilst my upper body breathed in and out slowly and gently as if nothing was going on down there. I was like two separate people, one hard at work, the other resting. Now my legs are stronger they can sink a bit more oxygen, but 4/4 still works for me.

Is this maybe age-related, too? I'm 41, so not exactly young, but not exactly old either. I certainly feel like running at 2/2 would kill me rapidly! Aren't you meant to be able to hold a conversation on a regular run, anyway? You can't do that at 2/2 can you? It's easy at 4/4.

jkolodin writes,

> I don't get the 4/4 thing.  I swim also and I can't hold an every three breathing cycle, ever.  It's always 123, 123 then same side twice then two 123s.<

I couldn't hold a "two breathing" cycle when I started to swim crawl. The trouble is in swimming your breathing is exactly linked to your stroke: if you swim slowly your muscles don't work so hard and you need less oxygen, but your arms are moving slower so it is longer between breaths. Increase the stroke rate and you get to breathe more often, but you are working harder so need more oxygen! Catch-22.

However I practised for a year and got fitter and my technique improved, and I found I could do it. After a year or so I went over to the every-three-stroke cycle, basically to try and even out my spine, and it was hard to start with - I didn't have enough oxygen to power my arms and legs for three strong strokes. But what you can do is just pull less strongly, and stop kicking with your legs. Legs don't do much in crawl anyway, as long as they stay near the surface you hardly have to move them and you can still swim well (my cruise speed is just over 2miles/h, a lot less than an Olympic freestyler obviously, but enough to be one of the faster ones in the admittedly not very good local pool).

So after a few more months my body seemed to adapt to the three-stroke breathing, I no longer felt like I was drowning all the time, and I could increase arm and leg power with oxygen still spare. I could even fluff a breath here or there and go six strokes between gulps, admittedly with less power for the second three. I can swim reasonably long distances like this - I normally top out at 64 lengths in a lunchtime session (about one mile) but only the need to get back to work stops me.

Now I'm applying this aerobic capability to running, and it is immensely pleasurable to be able to work your legs moderately hard and to cover quite a lot of distance without getting very out of breath. The 4/4 pattern is indeed quite odd, to be breathing in whilst right leg does a step, then left leg, then right leg, then left leg again, and then to breathe out for the same number of strides, makes you feel like you are piggybacked on someone else's legs. But it really does make going for a run enormously enjoyable - you know you are working but you never feel it is hard work.

Having said that I am trying to up my pace and to do that I probably need to increase breathing and heartrate. I'm hoping to run a 10K early next year, and my current "mostly 4/4 but a bit of 3/3 near the end" gives me a time of 50mins in practice runs, whereas I would really like to get down to 45m. That's quite a lot faster and I suspect the only way I'm going to achieve it is to go to a 3/3 or 2/3 pattern for most of the race. But currently that feels far too much like hard work and normally ends up giving me stitch quite rapidly.  Probably I am a lazy person!

im a bit of a novice but seems to me this has gone on far too long and become so complicated. you will all be so busy learning how to 'breathe again' and forget it comes naturally.

Ran yesterday and tried to observe more closely what I was doing with my breathing. When I consciously count breaths, I synchronize exactly to my steps - normally 4/4. But I think most of the time I just breathe fairly randomly, usually a bit shallower so maybe more like 3.5/4, but sometimes more deeply: even 5/5 seems OK at an 11.5K/hr pace, basically 4/4 with the breath held for a couple of strides (lungs full not empty), which I sometimes catch myself doing whilst too deep in thought.

I also discovered that, although I have plenty of breath to hold a conversation at a 4/4 pace, doing *a lot* of talking gives me stitch at that pace, whereas normally I need to be running faster to suffer that. Weird!

I also wonder - is one's breathing rate at an easy pace linked to resting heart rate? My resting pulse is normally 50-55bpm, but is sometimes as low as 45bpm. Do you 2/2 or 3/3 runners have a higher resting pulse?