You would think that we know how to breathe but truth is that we are often only ‘playing at it’ and getting only around 30% of the available oxygen with each breath.
Learning to breathe correctly will make a massive difference to your fatigue level in a marathon or other long event.
I explain how Professor Tim Noakes has helped me, nit simply with his massive and extensive knowledge, but also with his books – which are ideal weights for breathing and training breathing muscles!!! 🙂 🙂
The key to correct breathing first to understand that by pushing your stomach out, you pull down your Diaphragm which ‘pulls’ the air into the bottom and 66% of the lungs. Expanding your chest can then bring capacity to 100%
When people breath only with their chest they tend to use only 33% of their capacity.
It is ironic that in my coaching i have found women tend to have an tendency to only breath with their chests, and yet when pregnant these women are taught to breath deeply using their full breathing muscles.
In a rather morbid scenario in the current climate, it is worth noting that people get put on the ventilator, primarily because the patient is battling or breathing muscles are fatigued.
Training breathing muscles now may well be preparation and prevention should you be unfortunate enough to suffer with Covid-19.
When focusing on breathing and its benefit for lifestyle focus on making it as natural as possible:
Slow deliberate rhythm is what you really want, although initially it can get faster for the same pace, while you get used to it.
swimming lengths and breathing every 1, then 3, then 5, then 6, 7,8, and even 9 strokes is another reasonable way to gain confidence in slower breathing. Similarly it can help in expanding the lung capacity.
also try swimming as far as you possibly can for say 3 attempts at the very end of the club or mass event.