Breathing exercises

[Kyliem]

Can someone give me some breathing exercises while running pls. I’m on week 8 and I’m starting to struggle to breath properly for the first 10 mins. After that it doesn’t seem so bad. Thank you

[Steffas Graduate]

Hi Kyliem, I’m on week 8 also and having the same issue and would like to see others tips on this one!

As soon as I struggle with breathing at the beginning of the run I know it’s going to be hard work but I push myself to complete the session - which feels great when done!

I need to calm myself down, longer deeper breaths and try not to think that I can’t breathe, it’s kind of working. I’m about to do run 3 so we shall see...

good luck with the end of your programme 🙌🏼

[Beccym Graduate]

The first mile or ten minutes is the time it takes your body to adjust. I always find this the most difficult part of a run as long as it is evening out.

If not slow your pace you may be running too fast.

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Run those first 10 minutes deliberately slowly, if you’re concentrating on keeping the effort the same you may even feel the moment that your brain figures out what you’re doing and cranks up the systems to support it. I’ve felt it a few times now, the pace goes up a tiny bit with no extra effort... if you’re going to up the pace then this is the time to do it, or you can just continue at the same effort level and have a wonderfully comfortable run.

I didn’t get on with the breathing pattern recommended on the plan, but now I’ve noticed that this is how I breathe! One issue we have is we over think it... we get short of breath and so we panic a little and start breathing faster... what we need to do is almost the exact opposite, fast breaths tend to be shallower... if you’re going to think about the breathing, think about the muscle movements, starting with the tummy and then the chest expanding, ribs rising and then falling again slowly... this should have you breathing deeply, getting rid of more CO2 and bringing in more lovely oxygen. If you’d rather forget about breathing, distract the brain... I used a good podcast as I had to concentrate on spoken word much more than I do with music... then my breathing went back to being a subconscious thing as it is for the rest of the day.

To learn deep breathing and thinking about the movements I’d highly recommend the headspace app... the free beginners course is 10 sessions, and you can learn to body scan and appreciate what your body is doing in the comfort of your armchair, breathing is a big part of this. If you get on with headspace, the Nike+ Run Club app has guided runs, and a whole series of them called “Running with Headspace”

Hope this helps.

[Buddy34 Graduate]

Just make sure for the first 10 minutes at least you go as slow as possible so your body and your breathing gets used to what you're doing 😊

[davelinks Graduate]

The first 10 mins of running is known as the toxic 10..

The commonest mistake by those starting this plan is to go too fast. You will be told to do your running intervals at a gentle jog, which means you should still be able to hold a conversation, not just gasp the odd word. If you are gasping or panting you are going too fast and with short breaths, you are not going to get enough oxygen into your body to supply the demands of your muscles and you will tire quickly and you will also suffer more aches and pains because of stress on your legs. This is called your easy conversational pace. It will be different for each runner and will get faster as you get fitter. This is the pace at which even elite athletes spend as much as 80% of their training time........... although considerably faster than most of us. The body of a new runner will adapt perfectly adequately at a nice gentle jog. There is no such thing as too slow, as long as you are maintaining a running action, with both feet simultaneously off the ground on each stride, although you should aim to be as fast as possible, while still being able to talk. Even if you feel you are reasonably fit and have good cardio health, if you have not run before, or not recently, then please take it easy and allow your body time to develop...

[Zippy17726]

I have graduated but breathing rhythm is still a bit of issue for me too especially the first 10 mins or so.

It is improving and I’m trying to use my diaphragm and take slow deep stomach breathes but every so often I’ll need to take a ‘deep breath’ and drinking a sip of water mucks everything up! I believe I’m thinking too much about it.

My last run yesterday, I had one part about 22 mins into the 30 where I was physically tired but my breathing wasn’t an issue and I thought ‘Jeez is this how is feels for ‘fit’ runners!!’

I’ve tried to concentrate on keeping my posture more up and shoulders back slightly as I run as I feel I lean forward slightly which will decrease my lung capacity I figure?

Anyway it is reassuring to see others experience the same thing and I can 100% say mine is improving albeit slowly.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Slow down...........simples!!!

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Have you read the guide to the plan?healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

[Kyliem Graduate]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I’ve just done my next run week 9 run 1 and I started off slower, and my breathing was a lot better, i done the whole 30 min run feeling ok and my breathing was under control. I’m not a very fast runner as this is the first time I’ve really ran, but I’m hoping that as I get used to it I will become a little bit faster. But saying that I can run 3miles in 30 mins so I’m only a tiny bit short of doing 5k in 30 mins.