Breathing

[yyvonne22]

Which is the best way to breath when running? I really have no breathing technique that works for me. I try to keep my mouth closed but I was suggested to take one deep breath and letting it go in 2 breaths. Is this true? I need to come up with a breathing pattern and need some suggestions.

Thanks

Yvonne

[Time Traveller]

Good luck, I never found one that didn't sound like I was about ready to wheeze up a lung

[yyvonne22]

Thanks......I will stick to trying to keep my mouth closed for as long as I can.

[Chainring]

Unless you are running in a swarm of bugs I wouldn't suggest keeping your mouth closed. Your muscles need oxygen to fuel them and you can gulp in a lot more air than you can snort in. Just breathe normally. The harder you work the more oxygen you will need. Deep breath in, deep breath out. You will eventually find that rhythm. I wear a heart rate monitor when I run and I have learned that I am able to get into a breathing pattern that will actually lower my heart rate by 4-5 beats at times. You might think that is not much but it makes the difference when I am pushing the edge. There is no way I could reach my maximum potential with my mouth closed. Open up that mouth, the bugs don't taste that bad!

[universible]

I always heard to breath in with your nose, out with your mouth.

I can't do it really...

I learned another one when I use to ride a lot...I think it was printed in a story about Davis Phinney (a cylcing hero of mine :D) in Winning Magazine. He said he would put the middle of his tongue on the roof of his mouth when breathing in...said it warmed the air (which is what breathing in through your nose is supposed to help with?).

Anyhow, its a habit now.

As for rythmn...I tend to fall in one with my steps....it also helps keep a pace, especially if running for a time limit. I'd suggest trying not to think about the rythmn and just letting it come, like Chainring suggests.

Ted

[CaptRidley]

I to breath in with the nose out via mouth,and yes it is supposed to warm up the air, which doesn't matter much down here in sunny Florida, but would come of greater use if you are running in a colder climate.

Out here!!!
Mike-D

PS., Just make sure that you do breath

[universible]

I should also say that I've also been told that breathing in with your nose helps regulate how much air you take in. So you're not gulping down air...

I think the real key is to just breath at whatever rate your body needs and asks for.

Ted

[Chainring]

Being a guy who used to do a lot of scuba diving I got used to not breathing in with my nose :eek:

Now my sinuses don't let me. If you guys can breathe in enough air with just your nose, you aren't running hard enough! ;)

[yyvonne22]

Thanks for the tips guys...I will try your suggestions/:D

Yvonne

[yyvonne22]

:p Will try to take in as many bugs as I can with my mouth open..

[Mr. Spock]

I too have sinuses that just don't move enough air for aerobic exercise. My problem is this:

How do you keep from getting cotton-throat?? When I am really sucking wind, my throat gets so dry that I HAVE to swallow...which throws off my breathing rhythm and I get "behind" a couple breaths. Any suggestions?

Thanks! RUN ON!

[CaptRidley]

You can try running with some small mints like Tic Tac or something. Also, mint is supposed to be good for running, or do like the Indians did and put a pebble under your tongue. :D

Out here!!!
Mike-D

[Bill M]

Try sucking on a Jolly Rancher when you run. I've been running regularly for the past 6 months or so and I find that it takes care of the cotton-mouth thing (which was a big problem for me before). Any small candy will do really, but jolly ranchers are pretty long lasting for their size.

[Mr. Spock]

Interesting. I'd be terrified of sucking it down my windpipe, though. Maybe if I locked it into my teeth....

Thanks for the tip!

[universible]

Hey Spock...this works for me:

I learned another one when I use to ride a lot...I think it was printed in a story about Davis Phinney (a cylcing hero of mine ) in Winning Magazine. He said he would put the middle of his tongue on the roof of his mouth when breathing in...said it warmed the air (which is what breathing in through your nose is supposed to help with?).

Anyhow, its a habit now.



Ted

[Brindle]

My breathing rhythms coincided with my steps. I’ve got a few breathing rhythms for different degrees of “sucking wind.” My breathing rhythm picks up while I get more tired. One new breathing rhythm that I am actually still getting used to completes the inhale with both right and left shoulder back. Previous to adding this my next faster rhythm seemed too fast and the next slower rhythm was at times too slow.

I found that if I used a too fast breathing rhythm my heart-rate would kick up much faster. But, may be this is good, perhaps causing some hyper oxygenation or something.

Originally posted by Chainring
I wear a heart rate monitor when I run and I have learned that I am able to get into a breathing pattern that will actually lower my heart rate by 4-5 beats at times.Hey, Chainring, I have a heart-rate monitor also. How do you use yours (what is your workout regimen like)? When you to a timed test, how high %age does your heart rate go, and how do you “feel”?

For me after about the first lap of the two mile, my heart rate is 90%. After the second it is like 100%. By the third lap it is 103%, and I just feel totally, awful, by then.

[Chainring]

Brindle, I think you have used the wrong formula to calculate your max HR. My guess is you used the old 220-minus-your-age formula. That happens to be just about dead on accurate in my case but I've known many people this didn't apply to. I have a cycling team mate who is 37 and can routinely hit 210. The highest I have ever heard was an Elite level cyclist who hit 216 in the sprint finish. He was 25 at the time. There is no way you are running at 103% of your max. Your max is the highest your HR will go. If you go over what you think is your max, then obviously you calculated your max wrong. I suspect your max HR is higher than you think it is.

As for me, my max is about 184. My lactate threshold (LT) is about 170, which is about 92% of max. I warm up prior to the two mile run so that my HR is already pumping pretty good when I hit the start line. I want to be as close as possible to that LT number as I can during the run. It takes about 3 minutes of running to get my HR to that level. Once I'm at my LT level I settle into a good rhythm and try not to push over my LT until the last half mile, since I know that I can run that last half mile in just a shade over 3 minutes and that is about how long I can operate over my LT. With a 1/2 mile to go I will push my HR up to 172-173, then with 1/4 mile to go I will push it up to 175 and it will be about 177 (96% of max) when I cross the finish line.

[CaptRidley]

Damn, I need to get a heart rate monitor.

Where can I get a good one?

I have only been using the heart rate thingy on the treadmill.

Depending on the run I'm doing, the highest I have seen my rate on that thingy is about 182, and like chainring suggested it takes at least 3 - 4 minutes to get warmed up and get into like the 170's by then I'm already .5 miles into the run. I'm pretty comfortable in a 170 - 175 heart rate. If I maintain the same pace, my heart rate will go up after time, say I'm running for a 30 minutes at a pace between 8.0 - 10 mph (I'll usually run the first 2 miles at 10 mph, and then either settle at 8.0 and depending on how I feel go up .5 mph increments).

Anyway, where can I get a heart monitor and what kinds are out there. I do not want to wear something strapped around my chest, as I do a lot of crazy runs and I do not need anything else strapped to my body either.

Out here!!!
Mike-D

[Chainring]

The only way you can wear a heart rate monitor is to have something strapped around your chest. The chest strap is what measures your heart rate and sends out the signal. You get used to it and after awhile you forget it's there. Yesterday I wore my HRM into the hot tub at the gym and now it doesn't work. Today I had to run without it and felt completely naked. I'm just so used to training by heart rate I guess.

Polar makes the best HRM's out there. You can probably pick up a good one on ebay for $100. I have the Polar 710 but you don't need that as it has a whole bunch of extra functions for cycling. Just get one that records your workout. I like being able to upload my data into my computer and analyze it later.

[CaptRidley]

Originally posted by Chainring
...I like being able to upload my data into my computer and analyze it later.

Dude you have some freaking issues that the psych eval missed :D .

Nah I'm just kidding. I'll check at the airport in one of those high tech stores, oh damn, I forgot, not flying via Atl tomorrow (what a great airport) I have a direct flight.

Ok, do you wear it on the outside of your clothing, or does it require to be worn underneath your clothing, I guess it depends on the thickness of your shirt. Also, don't they make some that you wear as a watch? Or is that just the display unit for it?

Out here!!!
Mike-D

PS., I'll see you in Houston (say Olive Garden for lunch/dinner)

[Chainring]

The chest strap needs to go right up against the skin. I usually rub some spit on the electrodes to get a good signal. The chest strap sends the signal to the watch which records all the data. My HRM measures all kind of crap like max/min HR and average HR. It will upload a graph of the HR. It will also record time of the event, length of event, high/low/average temperature, altitude, altitude gained during event and calories burned. If I'm on my bike it will also record speed/average speed, distance, pedaling cadence, average cadence. All that stuff gets uploaded into a chart that makes it handy to evaluate my performance during the race. Of course, if I got spit out the back of the pack then I pretty much know I sucked and don't need to look at the data :eek:

[Time Traveller]

Originally posted by CaptRidley
Dude you have some freaking issues that the psych eval missed :D .



Cap't Ridley might be right~:D

I am fascinated by this and especially that people have this much spare time.

Good luck, I just run until I feel like dropping a lung, then I go a little further and stop. But heck, I'm old fashioned.....

[Chainring]

LOL, well you guys might be right about the psych issue. But it's not really so much about spare time as it was a desire to learn about exercise and performance physiology. I wasn't really blessed with the genetic traits that would make me a very good athlete so I needed to learn how to squeeze every last drop of performance I could out of my body.

As I've said here before, last year I did 45 bicycle races and cycled over 7500 miles. While that might sound like a lot, that really pales in comparison to what elite level cyclists will do. Doing that many races required a rigid training program and learning how to optimize that program was important. I did four races in one week and during the 4th race I just flat ran out of energy. There was nothing left in the tank and I was struggling just to hang on to the back of the bunch so I had to pull out. The next week I came back and had an upset stomach and a bad cough at the start line and told my team mates I would try to stay in just long enough to help out a bit. I ended up winning the race. I learned that no matter how fit I was, if I wasn't rested properly all the training in the world wouldn't matter and I also learned that sometimes how you feel going into a race won't matter much after you get your head into the game.

You can't tell if your body has recuperated by just sitting around watching TV. Often you won't know until you get out and start digging deep and then you find out the tank is empty. By analyzing your heart rate, specifically your waking heart rate, you can tell if you are recovered. I can even tell if I'm dehydrated by how my heart rate reacts.

Most people don't need this level of info or detail. For most of us, just finding the time to go work out is hard enough. But if you compete and train 2-4 hours every single day, then this information can make the difference between winning and losing.

[Time Traveller]

Chainring,

I admire your commitment, but with multiple kids a big house and a number of people working for me, I am just happy if I get to the Gym two or three times a week.

Go get em, my hat is off to you!

TT

[Brindle]

Originally posted by Chainring:
But it's not really so much about spare time as it was a desire to learn about exercise and performance physiology. I wasn't really blessed with the genetic traits that would make me a very good athlete so I needed to learn how to squeeze every last drop of performance I could out of my body. Yes, you took the words right out of my mouth.

Originally posted by Chainring:
As for me, my max is about 184. My lactate threshold (LT) is about 170, which is about 92% of max. I warm up prior to the two mile run so that my HR is already pumping pretty good when I hit the start line. I want to be as close as possible to that LT number as I can during the run. It takes about 3 minutes of running to get my HR to that level. Once I'm at my LT level I settle into a good rhythm and try not to push over my LT until the last half mile, since I know that I can run that last half mile in just a shade over 3 minutes and that is about how long I can operate over my LT. With a 1/2 mile to go I will push my HR up to 172-173, then with 1/4 mile to go I will push it up to 175 and it will be about 177 (96% of max) when I cross the finish line.
Pardon my stupidity, but what is lactate threshold (LT), and how do you determine it?

[Chainring]

I suggest you do a google search on lactate threshold training. You will find a wealth of information. A lot more than I can type here.

[Sipowicz]

Great thread! I don't completely understand everything at first glance, but I'll read more.

This will prove useful for a guy who is looking for the closest oxygen tank after doiong strenuous activity. Bigger the tank the better! :ahh!:

Otherwise, this is me: :star:

[UncleSugar]

Another thing folks might want to look into is "relaxed breathing" it is breathing using the diaphragm and is what they teach in yoga. I've always had trouble with "getting winded" when running or other endurance sports, and my yoga instructor got me squared away. This way I now have some "wind" left by the 3rd of a boxing match, instead feeling like I will pass out while my chest explodes.