Breathing When Working Out

Breathing When Working Out

When you first go to the gym the trainer will tell you the most important things you need if you plan to start working out. One of them is breathing and although it is always highlighted so few properly understand its importance and end up neglecting breathing. A general rule of thumb is to always exhale on the exertion part of the exercise (the hard part of the actual movement) and inhale while doing the easy part of the exercise. For instance, when doing push ups, you inhale when you are going down with the weight and you exhale when you push it up away from the floor. You need to properly understand the importance of breathing when working out and this can be highlighted by a simple fact. You can live a few weeks without food and even a few days without water but if you lack oxygen your body dies in minutes. This can be linked with bodybuilding, fitness and every single sport out there as lack of oxygen (or better said enough oxygen) will lead to your body not being able to perform the exercise. Now let us see how you can improve your breathing when working out.

First off you need to understand the easiest part of the movement and inhale on it while exhaling is done on the hardest part of the movement. In most cases the harder part is the one that sees you fighting against the weight used (dumbbells or your own weight - it is not important). You need to let your breath dictate the speed and pace at which you perform exercises and if you start hyperventilating it means that your breath is simply too shallow and the repetitions are done too quickly. In this case you need to either slow down or remove part of the weight, all based on the type of workout you are doing.

If your exercise routine is highly cardiovascular, you need to try to use your regular breathing pattern or at least try to increase the length of exhales and inhales. Breathing more often is not a good idea and will not aid your cardio workout. Also, always remember that it is better to slow down when you can not catch your breath instead of continuing.