How to Control Breathing While Running

Video Transcript

"Hi I'm Les Whitley. I'd like to talk to you right now about controlling your breathing while running. You'll find especially those novice exercisers or novice runners that get out that have not been used to training their body and their respiratory rate will actually increase the more activity they begin doing. It's important to maintain an efficient breathing pattern so as not to hyperventilate or overwhelm your body with the oxygen intake so that it compromises your physical condition. Also too to make sure you're taking in enough oxygen to sustain the level of activity as you're performing. Breathe normally as you possibly can, deep breaths in as opposed to shallow breaths. You may have heard this commonly referred to as belly breathing. If you take a deep breath in, don't think about the chest expanding think about the stomach pushing out. Because what that does it allows the diaphragm to pull in more oxygen so that the lungs more fully expand. So that every breath you take you're taking in more oxygen which not only fuels the brain, the heart, the lungs but also the muscles that propel your body through the activity you're doing. Condition yourself appropriately not to get overexcited or overstimulated through your runs. As you're training and your level of conditioning improves, your efficiency of breathing will improve as well. It's important not to become frustrated, to not get excited while you're running, to relax, control your breathing by staying in a good efficient posture nice and tall. The more restricted your breathing becomes, you often crunch down which restricts it even further. The taller you run, the more upright position you maintain, the more the lungs are able to take in more oxygen and sustain the level of activity through you're doing. So relax into your running. Breathe slowly, controlled, and stay efficient in your runs."