Newbie struggling with breathing

[Teacherm]

Hi, this is my first post but have been reading lots over the last few days. I've finished Week 2 and waiting to start week 3 tomorrow. I've always walked everywhere (don't drive) so my legs are fine, but I am struggling to breathe slowly enough! I can't seem to breathe in for 4 steps as the app recommends! Any suggestions as to how I can get better at this?

Thanks.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Don't even try to breathe like anything or anyone says

Just do it like you do every second of the day... By overthinking it all goes really pear-shaped! ( Like blinking.. we do it without a thought..if we think about it.. eeek)

Start slowly, and just go gently... your stamina and strength will improve with every run... and you will find that you find your pace for your runs and everything else, honestly! A few of us even held our breath during early running sections..until they got longer

Make sure you are doing some exercise on rest days... for you maybe walking could be a great one You do plenty already, just make the walks brisker

[Teacherm Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Thank you. It does seem better when I don't think about it but I was worried I would get into bad habits or something if I didn't do it as the app recommends! I'll keep up the walking and swimming in between too.

[Razouski]

I could never work out how to breathe in the way Laura was suggesting, and just stuck to my own breathing. It seems to work just fine. Unfortunately I only seem to be able to breathe through my mouth and have encountered the odd bug near my tonsils! 😂😂

[Hidden in reply to Razouski]

Ooo yes the fly swallowing is meh. As a fellow mouth breather I sympathise 😐

[Teacherm Graduate]

Haha thanks for the tip. I shall definitely try to avoid swallowing flies!

[ju-ju- Graduate]

I have never been able to breathe the way I have read... I can't breathe through my nose, I am loud and heavy and an asthmatic. However I can and do in my way... best advice is to relax, find your breathing rythym whilst running at a comfortable pace and also it does get better as you progress 😎

[Hidden]

I gave up on the breathing advice very quickly. Only thing I do now is if I am getting seriously out of puff (as well as slow down) make sure I am breathing right into my belly, proper deep breaths like you get taught in yoga. Other than that, in followed by out in whatever way and at whatever speed you need is just fine.

[Sandraj39 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Good tip - diaphragmatic breathing, I think it's called. I too sometimes just check I am doing this because it really helps. Fortunately I used to do a lot of yoga (in my younger days) and tend to do this quite naturally when I run. I also think the majority of people seem to be mouth breathers!

[Hidden]

Hi as you can see pretty much most of us ignored the advice, It got me stressed when I tried the count of 4, so I just got my head down and thought if I was breathing too hard I'd slow down. As you get to do some of the longer running intervals, you'll probably find it settles of its own accord. Happy running in W3

[Teacherm Graduate]

Thank you everyone. That's very reassuring. I shall just forget about counting and try to find a natural rhythm (without swallowing any flies, if possible)