Breathing Exercises for a newbie?

SpionJoe

Hi guys,

I am new to running and just getting into it slowly for 3 months now after being a smoker for the last 15 years.....really enjoying it so far

I was hoping that someone here may be able to point me in the direction of some breathing exercises or similar to help increase lung capacity. I have 15 years of cigarettes tro clear off the lungs...

Thanks...........

Rantan

...would have thought that running in itself was enough exercise and that additional breathing exercises were not really needed...however I may be wrong. You will find though as you get fitter and your lungs begin to heal and clear that this will be less of a problem for you. If you stick with it your lung capacity will increase...at least thats what happened for me when I took up running(also to give up fags )...

SpionJoe

Rantan wrote: »

...would have thought that running in itself was enough exercise and that additional breathing exercises were not really needed...however I may be wrong. You will find though as you get fitter and your lungs begin to heal and clear that this will be less of a problem for you. If you stick with it your lung capacity will increase...at least thats what happened for me when I took up running(also to give up fags )...

Thanks Rantan, appreciate the advice.
Jeez, not much other advice or opinion here from people was there?

RayCun

Perhaps because Rantan said it all?

Krusty_Clown

I bought myself one of those PowerLung jobbies when I first started running.
A waste of time and money. Consistent exercise (running) is the only job. Try running slowly up gentle but lengthy hills. You'll get there eventually.

Gandalph

1 word

Yoga!

A good yoga class will teach you how to control breathing which you can factor into running/ exercise, although I speak as a non smoker so maybe someone else can give you a better answer

SpionJoe

Thanks for the input Krusty Clown & Gandalph (Yoga sounds intriguing !!)

Nice to get some alternative feedback, cheers....

Rantan

Gandalph wrote: »

1 word

Yoga!

A good yoga class will teach you how to control breathing which you can factor into running/ exercise, although I speak as a non smoker so maybe someone else can give you a better answer

yeah yoga is a great all rounder - did a few sessions earlier this year and it really helped with flexibilty and general recovery...its a great help to running muscles...must get back to it - still dont think you need to worry about your breathing though....stick with it....

pgmcpq

I'd agree with all the earlier posts. At three months in and recently having junked the ciggies. I'd just focus on getting the miles in and not worry too much about the rest. As an ex smoker it took me a bit of time to

That being said learning to "belly breath" is useful. Yoga based exercises are useful. Nothing too strenuous - it's all about the ability to "control" breathing and recover.

Take a look at :

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/3-Exercises-to-Increase-Your-Lung-Power.htm

No magic bullet here (the title is overblown) - and I would just keep doing what you are doing - but I do find these useful.

T runner

Focus on the "out" breath. A big mistake people make when they breath shallowly is not breathing out fully. Make sure you empty the lungs fully on the out breath. Youll use more of your lung capacity on the in then with two empty sacks to fill.

Im an ex smoker. Running was a great way to help stay off them and undue any damage. A person who runs is a very different animal to one who smokes. Congrats.

SpionJoe

Some really good stuff here guys, really appreciate the feedback.
Yoga, concentrate on the OUT breathing.....excellent.

Oryx

The full out breath is very useful if you tend to get stitches. Four or five hard exhalations can fix them.

Gandalph

If you find yourself getting a stitch pull up a small tuff of grass in the hand on the same side as the stitch and squeeze tightly while running, its more of a mentality thing but god dam it works to some extent. One of my mates told me this who was one of the fittest guys in the world at the time, only reason I tried it during my cross country days