Exercise - Deep Breathing is a Must - Understand Your Breath

The Europeans state that Americans are shallow breathers. While they may also truncate this statement and simple state that "Americans are shallow", the real truth that is undeniable, Americans don't know how to breathe properly.

One item is clear in all of my fitness classes is my constant mantra at each and every class about deep breathing. Why? Because deep breathing is critical. Not only should you be working on your lung capacity but you also should be exhaling to literally clean your blood cells. Exhalation has been shown in research to actually clean the blood cells! Both of these facts mean we need to learn how to breathe deeply.

Still believe I am full of hot air? Don't trust me - trust Joseph Pilate who includes deep breathing as one of the six principles, trust the body builders who build muscle, trust the Yoga instructor, etc...

Interestingly, one of the first uses of deep breathing was in strength training. Form is critical, however, proper breathing exhaling with the exertion is just as critical as proper form. The goal is to increase the muscle size and the research has proven the muscle demands oxygen.

Exercise professionals across the board from Pilate's to Yoga to Body Builders know the value of the lungs to the human body. We must train our muscles including our heart and our lungs too!

Who Needs Deep Breathing or Power Breathing?

Every single living human being. Remember, it is the oxygen exchange that expels the carbon dioxide and cleanses. On a more practical level, here are the direct benefits for different occupations and avocations:

• Public speakers benefit by having complete control of their breath thus allowing them to speak fully with poise and and self-confidence.
• Singers, and voice-over artists benefit from control of their breath in not only avoiding kicking a word but also serves to eliminate pauses and provide proper emphasis including loudness and vocal tone.
• All athletes benefit from greater lung power.
• Managers benefit from greater stress control.
• Seniors benefit from greater endurance especially notable in taking the stairs or tackling steep inclines. This too, may in turn prevent injuries from falls.

Resistance Training and Proper Breathing

Proper breathing techniques are essential when training. Never hold your breath. Inhale at the beginning of the lift and exhale during the release of each weight.

Aerobics and Target Toning Demands Both The Heart and Lungs

If you are using your heart as you do in all cardio and even resistance exercise, the partner organ to your heart of course is your lungs. Breathe, consciously, breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth.

The Exhale Is Your Cleansing

When you exhale, you are cleansing your body. Think of a vacuum cleaner and blowing all of the bad elements out.

Three Great Tips on Exhaling

Tip#1 Exhaling

When you exhale it should be through your mouth.

Tip #2 Exhaling Twice as Long as Inhale

Your exhale should be longer, preferably twice as long as your inhale. Count and you breathe in and out. Start with a count of 2:4, inhale for 2, exhale for 4; move up to a an inhale of 3 and exhale of double that - a count of 6.

Tip #3 Exhale During Exertion - The Two EEs

This is important in target toning and body building. I remember it by visualizing two "ee"s together.

Fat Loss and Breathing - A Myth - Make No Mistake

This is pure myth. You may hear it from giant celebrities but they are making noise. There is no known clinical studies to prove this. If you consider deep breathing a stress relief and you associate food with stress relief then you may have something but fat loss is simply diet and exercise. There is no magical method other than hard work for fat loss. Additionally, just maintaining your weight is allot of hard work. I often say it is not a daily challenge, it is a challenge poised in front of us each hourly!

True Benefits of Deep Breathing

Deep breathing is great for stress relief and all of us are stressed. Although I did have a wonderful client once confide to me that life for her in retirement was simply wonderful and she hoped someday I would retire and also be completely stress free. Do people like this really exist? She must be one in a 100 billion!

Another benefit is of course our lungs are an organ. If you exercise, if you consciously choose to breath deeply whether you are performing either aerobic or anaerobic exercises, you will increase your lung capacity.

One of the best compliments I have ever received as a fitness instructor (keep in mind, I am teased heavily by my group of clients for my breathing mantras) was a lady who has taken water aerobics for over two decades stated she started the deep breathing and within two weeks of my class she noticed a difference. She stated it was especially evident for her when she was climbing stairs in her house. I was thrilled so therefore, I continue with my constant mantra of breath deeply....in through the nose....out through the mouth.

Tip #3 - Visualize Deep Breathing

Imagine breathing all the way down to your "diaphragm" - see the above image which showcases the diaphragm in your body. Your diaphragm is just under your lungs. Your goal is to completely fill your lungs, breathe deeply through your nose, hold and then exhale through your mouth.

The abdominal muscles protect the spine and act like a supportive corset for our entire trunk. Contracting your abdominal builds muscles but also gives us that protective support that we need for our precious spine. Imagine a full deep breath, visualize lengthening the spine with the breath.

Exercise for Diaphragmic Breathing

"This exercise will help you feel the lateral expansion of the ribcage with the breath:

1. Wrap about 3 feet of exercise band around the lower part of your ribcage. You can also use a length of elastic or just wrap your hands around your ribcage.
   
   
2. Hold the band closed in front of your chest.
   
   
3. Inhale: Let the breath travel down your spine and expand into your back and sides so you feel the band is stretched, side and back, by your breath.

Next: Practice breathing fully with the Pilate's Fundamentals set

While lateral breathing is the technique to use when you want to keep your abs in during an inhale, we are talking about training the abs here. We don't want to have our abs contracted all the time.

Diaphragmatic breathing with a natural extension of the belly on an inhale, is still the healthiest way to breathe regularly.

Breathing very fully, taking advantage of every breath cycle to draw in lots of fresh air and get rid of every bit of stale air. We want to oxygenate our blood, get our circulation going, and get the rejuvenating qualities that a deep breath delivers.

In Pilates, the breath is a foundation. In strength training, deep breathing is fundamental. So too, for our exercise program we must be encouraged and reminder to breath deeply.

We should be using our breath to initiate and support our exercise movements."

source: http://www.authentic-breathing.com/deep_breathing.htm

Breathing Affects Your State of Mind

If you are unflappable, you are in a state of mind with complete self confidence. During my communications classes the very first item I instruct my students is the winning item for business and trial attorneys is the state of mind of being unflappable. You cannot be a shallow breather IF you are self confident.

Deep Breathing for Weight Loss - A Myth

As my clients know I am the loudest proponent of deep breathing. But the myth that deep breathing will make you loose weight is unfounded. Emotional eating can be helped with many different stress management techniques. Eating is closely tied to your emotions and your self esteem and your daily stresses. Lowering stress will help with weight loss. Deep breathing will not directly help you loose weight. Note the important difference.

Affect of Stress and Anger on Our Breathing

During stress and anger, we tend to inhale and hold our breath. Deep breathing will help us relax.

Oxygen and Its Cleansing Power

Our bodies depend on oxygen to live. Muscle demands oxygen. Lungs demand oxygen. Oxygen cleans your blood and helps to remove the waste product Carbon Dioxide.

Change Your Health - Change Your Stress - Change Your Breath

A major change in your health could be simply a deep breath away. Too busy to exercise? too busy to try? OK, then try deep breathing while you are reading or writing or other computer work. Work deep breathing into your daily routine.