Breathing is such a fundamental part of us that it’s easy to forget about it.
Any talk of focusing on breathing typically puts yoga in mind for people. But fitness freaks know that along with having a Quality Gym setup, breathing is the secret to good workouts. After all it’s been scientifically proven that breathing correctly can make a great deal of difference to anyone who exercises –from the competitive athletes to runners to the elderly lady going on her daily walk. So rookie mistakes of breathing too quickly, too shallowly or inconsistently must be avoided at all costs.
For people doing strength training, learning to breathe properly is a priority. Breathing right can give you more power, better stability and also better focus.
Improving Your Strength Training Session with Proper Breathing
Initially, the focus for beginners is on not forgetting to breathe, but as people advance through workout levels breathing techniques start playing a bigger role in reaching their lifting goals.
Higher loads, more reps or longer stints – become possible only with mastering of breathing techniques, along with other techniques.
Let’s see a quick list of the breathing techniques you can use in building your fitness with Commercial gym equipment used in India:
Chest Breathing vs Belly Breathing
Most of us don’t realize that we are actually breathing wrong. Go ahead, take a deep breath
–if your chest and/or shoulders rise, you are not doing it right.
The right way is to engage the abdomen and more importantly, the diaphragm fully while breathing. This ensures that your lungs are filled and emptied to their capacity, flooding your body with precious oxygen which helps it do more.
Basic breathing technique
The standard advice given while learning is to inhale during the eccentric phase (lowering the weight) of an exercise, and exhale in the concentric phase (pushing or pulling the weight).
The logic behind this is that the act of exhaling is supposed to give a boost of energy. It also ensures that there is steady breathing through the reps, making it safer (lesser risk of blood pressure spiking) and increases likelihood of lasting through the rounds.
While this is good advice and can be followed by a majority, it hasn’t been proven to be effective in all cases.
“Bracing the Core” aka the Valsalva Maneuver
Once you have mastered steady breathing during the lifts, the next is to power up to the next level.
The partial Valsalva Maneuver is an advanced breathing technique that’s particularly of use while doing more strenuous moves or high loads.
Here, you create stability before a big “push” by inhaling before it and holding your breath. Called “bracing”, it makes your core tense which stabilizes it and allows you to pull off tough moves. Once you reach your limit, release your breath steadily through your teeth.
This technique needs to be done with care, under coaching. Overdoing it can lead to dizziness and vomiting, so it’s not for beginners.
Building your proficiency in strength training takes dedication, proper coaching and the right machines from knowledgeable Gym equipment manufacturers.
