Deep Breathing Exercises

In practicing good health and fitness we often think of two important things that fuel our body. These are food and water. The human body can survive longer without food than it can without water, therefore, water must be more important than food, right?

It’s been said that an average human can go 8 weeks without food as long as they have water. And the average human body can go survive about 2-3 days without water. But even the most highly trained athletes in the world can only survive around 20 minutes without breathing oxygen. And that’s the best of the best.

And to follow that, the human body can survive longer without water than it can without oxygen. So, isn't oxygen more important than food and water? Of course it is.

I just like asking stupid, obvious questions. I don't ask them because they're stupid and obvious, I ask them because they are so stupid and obvious that we unconsciously neglect the answers to them.

What I mean is, everyone knows that breathing is extremely important but how many of us take our breathing for granted? In stressful situations such as working out or talking to a large group of people, we tend to hold our breath or breathe in a shallow manner. 

These bad habits can be fixed if we make a conscious effort to do so. We need to remember the importance of breath in every workout, and exercise that we do. Some people are naturally better at this than others. And some have the tendency to breathe shallowly when they workout.

This is usually because of nervous tension that we hold in our stomach. The problem is usually solved just by reminding yourself to breathe deep throughout each exercise. However, if that’s not working there are some things that you can do to improve the breathing process.

Diaphragmatic Breathing

There are two ways of breathing:

1. With your diaphragm, and
2. With your Thorax

Breathing through the diaphragm involves the stomach moving out on the inhalation, and back in on the exhalation. Typically, it is best to breathe in through the nose and out of the mouth.

If the stomach is moving in while breathing in and the shoulders elevate, it is thoracic breathing. Thoracic breathing often occurs during times that we get nervous and it quickly saps away all of our energy. And sometimes we carry that nervous tension with us from one part of our day to another.

The exercises that I’m going to share today are useful for relieving tension, and breathing better overall. Not just for working out. There are many activities that cause us to have apprehension to one degree or another, and it is this apprehension that can result in poor breathing practices. Diaphragmatic/abdominal breathing can dramatically increase the level of energy we have in our workouts and throughout the day.

The Exercises

Perform these 3 breathing exercises to build a good foundation for proper breathing. If you practice these regularly, you can release a lot of unnecessary tension. 

The Spear

The spear is actually an exercise that we use tension to get rid of tension.

• Lie on your back with your legs straight, hands by your sides, and feet together
• Begin by breathing deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth
• Fill your belly with each inhalation, and empty it with each exhalation
• Now tense every muscle in your body beginning with the feet. Point the feet straight up, and start tensing the calves and shins. Work your way up to the shoulders, arms, hands, fingers, and then neck and head
• Once everything is tense, hold it for another 5 to 10 sec. Imagine that you are a solid aerodynamic object such as a spear. If any part is loose, the spear will fall apart and fail to hit the target, and finally
• Relax for a bit. Make sure that you breathe in to your belly as you relax. When you’re ready, repeat the exercise 2 more times.

Belly Raises

• Lie on the floor in the same manner as the spear
• Breathe in through the nose filling your belly and breathe out through your mouth
• Let your belly rise and fall as you breathe in and out
• Now take a book or small weight like a 2.5 lb. weight plate, and place it on your belly. Breathe in and let the weight rise evenly. Then breathe out and let the weight lower evenly
• Repeat for 5-10 repetitions.

Panting

This one may feel a little weird, but it’s worth it. Don't be afraid to let loose and have a little fun. 

• Put your hand on your abs,
• stick your tongue out, and
• pant like a dog

It's that simple. You may feel a little goofy but just remember that you're doing this for your health. Panting like this guides your body into breathing with your diaphragm instead of the thorax. Breathe this way for one minute.

All of these exercises can be performed every day, and are very beneficial if done so. Every other day works as well, the important thing is to do them on a regular basis. There are many other breathing exercises that you can do, but as I mentioned before, these exercises provide a great foundation.

Many of the more advanced exercises are more specifically geared towards improving speaking ability, but are beneficial to anyone that is trying to develop better lung capacity. And having a strong and healthy voice is a benefit to practically anyone. I may go over some other exercises in the future, but for now there is plenty of work to be done, and progress to be made with these exercises.