Breathing Techniques

MarcusFenix

Right, i was a smoker for around 7 years and gave up around a year and a half ago with great intentions of losing weight but mainly getting fit.
the best way I find of doing this is running/soccer GAA but I lose my breath and am out of breath after about 50 yards of 50-75% running!

Also if I jog my calves and legs get really tired really quick, to my understanding this is a result of lack of oxygen due to lack of breath?!

It must be something im doing wrong as there is a fair few smokers on my team and they can last maybe 500% longer than me.

I am a stone or two overweight but nothing to the level that my lungs are holding me back.

This is really frustrating as my lungs are the first thing to stop me, i.e. when I am running my lungs cause me to stop or fall far behind, but give me two minutes and I feel fine. the rest of my body feels perfect after training! When this is when I want to feel wrecked.

Im NOT looking for medical advice but just any hints for people on breathing techniques.

So anyone able to give me any tips?

TIA:)

Oryx

How long have you been training like this, and how often and for how long do you train? In my experience running is really hard and seems impossible at first, but after a few weeks, you kinda crack it and the lungs and legs begin to cope. The only other thing to look at is whether youre sprinting to your max which is why you burn out fast.

Tipp man running

My initial reaction is your just running too fast for your fitness level. Try getting the runners on, forget about speed for the moment, concentrate on running a few laps easily, then gradually increase your distance. When your comfortable jogging try picking up the pace for one or two laps and so on...best of luck.

MarcusFenix

@Oryx ive only been training this time for roughly 5 weeks. But ive always had this problem, even a few months into training. Although true it does get easier. What im probably llooking to find out is techniques for small lung capacity.
@ Tipp man running thats probably the logical way to do this but im fitness training now for GAA and im basically going 100% of my ability to be 10 times behind! So I know my confidence is getting a hammering. My buddy is on athletics team in college and talking to him has me interested in running for the sake of running! So if i take it slow at my own pace i should see a progression??

Thanks for replies BTW

Bally8

Just to second what tipp man running said. I think you are running too fast at the moment. I know of guys who do GAA fitness training who have this amazing burst of speed but no stamina. In order to be able to keep up with the other guys its necessary to do extra running training and maybe some day you will have both:)

T runner

Hi there

If you are getting very out of breath running at a 50-75% effort it may because you are exceeding your lactic threshold, which causes you to get breathless, get pains in your legs and to tie up and slow drastically.
When you exercise you use oxygen to burn fuel for your muscles. Normally the oxygen from the air you breath is sufficient for this process as you run harder you will reach a level where the amount of oxygen possible for you to breath in while you exercise equals the amount you need to continue going.
You might be surprised to learn that for a limited time you can actually exercise harder than this level. When going at these high levels the body produces the extra oxygen needed by a chemical reaction.
The bye product of this chemical reaction is lactic acid and this will eventually stop you in your tracks. The more you produce the faster you will get very breathless and nthe quicker your muscles will feel pain and numbness as they tie up because your blood is full of lactic acid.


At this stage you will slow drastically.

This is what may happen during your training:

You warm up. Start running faster with the group. This pace is above their lactic threshold (a bit) but for you to try and keep up it takes you well above your lactic threshold. You can only last a few seconds before filling with lactic and struggling.

If you ran at the same amount above the lactic threshold as your teammates, you would be slower than them for sure but you would be a lot closer to them than you are when running so far into the red line.


If this sounds like what youre experiencing you can improve your situation.

1. Do some very easy running to increase fitness. This will boost your lactic threshold.


2. You can do running sessions specifically to increase your lactic threshold. Remember your lactic threshold is the level you can run at before you build up lactic and have to stop.
warm up. do 2-3 mins at a sustainable pace without stopping, not flat out. REst 1 min and do again. Start with 2 by 2-3 mins the first session and add a min each week (2 by 3-4). 1 session per week. warm down.

3. Practice running the Gaa session on your own but at the slower correct pace. See what works for you, find the pace. Bring the pace to training.

4. do a speed session on your own to help. Behind the goal, Fast but relaxed from the corner to the near goalpost. walk to rest. Same back. Again run fast but relaxed and recover during the walk. This will help your speed.

One good tip i use for weight management is to drink loads of water. People eat more when not fully hydrated. (actually looking for water)

MarcusFenix

Thanks very much that sounds spot on. Im a bit bleary eyed now but will jot all that down tomorrow.

ger664

All of the above.

Breathing.

Empty your lungs, concentrate on exhaling until your lungs are empty this will enable you to take deeper breaths which gets more oxygen into the system.

TFBubendorfer

ger664 wrote: »

All of the above.

Breathing.

Empty your lungs, concentrate on exhaling until your lungs are empty this will enable you to take deeper breaths which gets more oxygen into the system.

To be honest I have yet to meet a runner who struggled because he/she was breathing the wrong way, but I have seen plenty of runners who struggled because they were running too fast.

farmerval

Have you been checked out by a doctor? It's possible that you may have an underlying condition that is causing this. Getting checked by your GP should be the first step.

pudgeydev

ger664 wrote: »

Empty your lungs, concentrate on exhaling until your lungs are empty this will enable you to take deeper breaths which gets more oxygen into the system.

I've tried this during a couple of runs, breathing out to empty my lungs, before inhaling, it's very hard to get used to, for me I struggle as I'm trying to empty my lungs when it feels that my lungs want to get the oxygen back in, if that makes sense?

Does it really make a difference? Is it worth working on getting into the habit of it?

Antigrav

This must be one of the most under-rated performance enhancers in sport! As T runner points out oxygen is the fuel for muscles to operate efficiently. Some athletes have trouble controlling their breathing, the best are the ones who work out how to turbo charge it

After 40 year of hill running, triathlon and martial arts, I would say breathing is the number one influence on my sporting performance. Get it right, and I put in a better performance. Get it wrong and my muscles tie up and I start going backwards.

It's not as easy as learning a few techniques. As others have pointed out, breathing goes hand in hand with pace and distance and of course, fitness. My pointers would be as follows:

1. Know your diaphram. Your breathing muscles are hidden from view and don't provide immediate feedback on operation. Since your first breath, they just worked. Take a breath now. What happened? What muscles were used? Where are they located? How much did you fill your lungs?

Six years of Tai Chi taught me to get in touch with the muscles of my diaphram, and to use breathing for targeted results - stress relief, concentration, acceleration, and stamina. Your breathing is the throttle on your internal motor, it just takes a little time for the effects to show. Breathing exercises from disciplines like yoga, tai chi, qigong (google this) can connect you to the dynamics of breathing and give you an appreciation of how to tune your breath to suit the demands your body is facing.

2. Relax. A lot of runners and swimmers suffer from panting. Caused by pushing beyond comfort zones, panic, stress, whatever. Panting, or breathing at the 'top of your lungs' is inefficient, and hard work. It is not sustainable over distance, but can bring some short term relief. I also notice myself doing this when descending during mountain running. It is a natural reaction to your brain saying "brace yourself, this is going to hurt!". Try and relax, as ger664 said, breath it all out, so you can fill the whole bag again. Pursing your lips to hear the exhalation can help do this. Keep a nice rhythm without letting yourself get short of breath. Avoid swallowing insects though

3. The slingshot breath. As mentioned earlier, you need oxygen before placing demands on your muscles. Your VO2 Max is the determining factor on how good you are at getting oxygen to work for you. For those of us who can't do the high altitude training, or just don't have the genetic capacity to raise this high enough, try this simple trick. Before the race, or coming up to a demanding section, accelerate and deepen your breathing to buffer supply in the bloodstream. This is obviously only a temporary measure, but by predicting when your body needs it, rather than reacting after it cries out, you give yourself that burst of fuel that precedes demand. The slingshot breath :eek:

MarcusFenix

Cheers lads,

Its good to hear advice that seems logical as opposed to "rub a pineapple on your left foot three days before you run rabble rabble rabble" etc.

Im actually looking forward to getting a good pair of shoes and getting some running done, as opposed to dreading training like a bastard!

I think I should probably take the route of starting off slow, trying to concentrate on my breathing (as opposed to willing myself to the next flag), getting that right and start to push myself.
Thats what I think would work for me.

I have tried concentrating on my breathing before but it only ever lasts ten seconds as I lose concentration trying to keep my balance on a bad pitch.

Cheers for the reply Antigrav, obv put a lot of thought into that one.:)

ger664

pudgeydev wrote: »

I've tried this during a couple of runs, breathing out to empty my lungs, before inhaling, it's very hard to get used to, for me I struggle as I'm trying to empty my lungs when it feels that my lungs want to get the oxygen back in, if that makes sense?

Does it really make a difference? Is it worth working on getting into the habit of it?

It helps me when I get myself into that state where my legs are about too give particularly when I am doing hill reps and I misjudge the pace and find myself in trouble half way up. But as Thomas pointed out you are most likely are just going too hard too quick too often.

MarcusFenix

Another quick question guys while I have ye, I reckon from my own basic assessment that i overpronate so apparently i need stability or motion control runners. Do i actually need these kind of runners or will normal runners do?

menoscemo

MarcusFenix wrote: »

Another quick question guys while I have ye, I reckon from my own basic assessment that i overpronate so apparently i need stability or motion control runners. Do i actually need these kind of runners or will normal runners do?

What runner do you have (not just brand but make). There are no such thing as normal runners. A lot of runners people might consider normal are actually designed for overpronators.

MarcusFenix

Well when I go to the gym and do indoor circuits I just use these cheap ol things called "silver" I got them in spain last summer and they were uber cheap so i assume they do nothing for my feet.

So are general runners made for overpronators in general or is it just the most common type of foot?

menoscemo

MarcusFenix wrote: »

So are general runners made for overpronators in general or is it just the most common type of foot?

It depends. Runners suitable for Pronators usually have medial support ( a support strip running through the middle of the sole of the trainer). Your best bet is to go to a running shop and get a gait analysis and get fitted out with a pair of trainers suitable for you.

MarcusFenix

Thats the general feeling I was getting. I was just not sure on whether or not I should go and buy a proper pair as the few people have told me its the first thing to do but i suppose i just wanted a second opinion Thanks