Anyone who exercises regularly can attest that breathing properly is important. But did you know how important the right breathing techniques are when you work out? We’re sharing some insight into how certain breath patterns can improve the way you work out, helping you reach your fitness goals and making sure that you get the maximum benefit from each gym session.
The Harder You Work, the More Oxygen You’ll Need
We think about food as being fuel for our bodies – and it is – but oxygen is the fuel for your muscles when you work out. The harder you work, the more oxygen your body needs, so make sure that you’re breathing correctly during exercise to help reduce some of the damage to muscles that can occur and give you the energy you need to power through kickboxing classes in Camden County.
To Wear or Not to Wear a Mask?
As COVID-19 infections continue rising across the country and masks become mandatory in almost every gym or fitness center, many fitness enthusiasts have developed concerns about working out with a face covering.
Kennedy Fitness wants to assure everyone that wearing a mask will not inhibit the flow of oxygen, even while exercising. Recently, a study was conducted by the University of Saskatchewan which proved that masks have no correlation to blood and oxygen levels during grueling workouts.
What is Proper Breathing?
Proper breathing depends on the kind of exercise you’re doing. Ideally, you’ll breathe in through your nose, which helps humidify the air and reduces the amount of debris that gets into your lungs since your nose filters out the pollen, dust, and other elements in the air.
Breathing for Lifting
Strength training involves breathing that helps you stabilize your core, which allows you to safely lift and increases the tension in your body, allowing for smoother lifts. Exhaling squeezes the air out, which allows you to engage core muscles more. Therefore, exhaling when you lift and inhaling as you slowly release will give you more power during the actual lift itself, the most important part.
Also, breathing out when you’re lifting at the right time can help prevent a sudden drop in blood pressure, reducing the lightheadedness that some people experience.
Breathing for Cardio
Cardio, such as running or cycling, requires steady, cadenced breathing. Many runners try to time their breaths to footfalls, as a certain cadence to help maintain measured, even breathing. This helps increase the amount of nitric oxide you get into your body, dilating your blood vessels and increasing the amount of oxygen-rich blood that your muscles get. This allows your circulatory system to work more efficiently and reduce muscle fatigue, which is especially important for endurance athletes.
Breathing for Yoga
Yoga and other routines, such as pilates, rely on the breath to help with the mental flow and to give practitioners a better range of motion. These exercises are the ones that benefit from slow, deep breaths through the nose. If you aren’t breathing mindfully, your body can tense and lock up, which is the opposite goal of yoga and other stretching routines.
Kennedy Fitness Can Help You Reach Your Goals!
We’re a comprehensive fitness center, with both individual exercise equipment and cross-training classes, for a more social workout experience. Give us a call or browse our website to discover all we have to offer and get a personalized assessment and gym tour. We’re ready to help you reach your dreams!