Breathing Techniques neeed 😊

[Sue2023]

Good Morning All . I’ve just completed my 2nd run of week 3 but still struggling with my breathing 😮‍💨 Any tips on how to deal with this ? Many thanks all 🙏

[Instructor57 Graduate]

Well done !You are making good progress 👍

Quite often a fairly new runner will tend to push a little bit too hard .

This will undoubtedly cause issues with breathing

Could that be the case ?

Try going a little slower.

Even the slightest reduction in pace can often make a huge difference.

This post may also help .

healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

[Sue2023 Graduate in reply to Instructor57]

Thank you 🙏

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Very well done you... you have already had the really useful, link... this may interest you too!

healthunlocked.com/couchto5....

[Captain-Popcorn]

I was a voracious mouth breather for decades. Breathing while running was too hard. It definitely held me back.

I was advised to look into Buteyko breathing, and a breathing expert named Patrick Mckeown.

I learned how to transition from breathing mostly through my mouth to mostly through my nose. It stopped snoring (which my wife is very happy about), I was borderline sleep apnea (no more). I can run breathing in and out through my nose and not feel out of control running. Never would have believed it possible.

Will give you something to try that I discovered by accident. It led me to research and find those resources. When you are feeling out of breath, do a hard exhale (through your mouth is fine), then a deep breath in through your nose. Repeat if you can. Then breath normally. If you're like me, you'll find you've regained some control for the next minute of so. I used to repeat that a few times a run when doing C25K and it let me finish more easily. Now I just breath through my nose and don't have breathlessness.

When we breathe hard we deplete CO2. We think we need oxygen, but the truth is we're swimming in oxygen. But without the CO2 our body can't absorb the oxygen into our cells. Similar to hyperventilating. Breathing through your nose restores the balance. You don't deplete CO2. Breathing is more controlled.

Hope it works as well for you as it worked for me.

I have to say I've done C25K several times (I'm a fair weather runner and repeat it in the early spring if I'm going to run that spring/summer/fall). Every time I listen to Laura's podcosts. After doing this 3-4 times, I feel like she's an old friend. Rebuilds my ability to run without getting injured. Thank you! Thank you! To NHS and Laura!

[Veeee in reply to Captain-Popcorn]

Please can you share Butekyo breathing links please as well as Patrick Mekown. Many thanks 😊

[Cmoi Graduate in reply to Veeee]

Hi Veeee , if you Google "Patrick Mckeown" and/or "Buteyko breathing" you'll find lots of links. Can't vouch for any of them personally I'm afraid, as I just slow down if I find I'm getting a bit out of breath while running.

[Carners1 Graduate]

Don't know if it's any help, but I really struggled with my breathing at first. Then as I became fitter I just found that it became natural. The beauty of this program is that these things happen without you really noticing 😊

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate]

Breathing is recommended. Highly recommended in fact! I’ve tried and failed to alter how I breathe to fit stride patterns, or use my nose more so I’ve just decided to go with what comes naturally to me. The biggest thing that helps is slowing down if my breathing is getting out of control.

As Carners1 very wisely says, the more you run, the more natural it will feel to you.

Really good luck and glad you found us here! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

[XenaZelda Graduate]

I can't get enough air into my lungs if i breath through my nose only, i have always had stuffy nose for years and years, I tried to breath out of my nose whilst running and wasn't getting enough air into lungs and had to gasp for breath! I'm afraid i am a mouth breather 🤨

[RollingPea Graduate]

The replies above contain loads of good advice. Slowing down the pace will certainly help if you are struggling with breath. I sometimes struggle, but found a technique that helps me sort of by accident. So, if I get gaspy like a goldfish at the end of a Parkrun (when I have pushed the pace on purpose) I know it means I have to calm my body down. I do that by making sure to exhale fully. Really pushing all the air out for as long as I can, feeling my abdomen contract. Then I breathe in deeply and fully. I repeat this a few times. The long exhale seems to be really important. It is great for calming a body in mild panic. Shallow, rapid gasps make things worse, while deep slow breaths make things better. It takes some mind control to do this deliberately slow breathing while running. Would be really interested to hear if it helps you too. Happy running Sue2023.

[Sue2023 Graduate in reply to RollingPea]

Thank you so much 😊 I will give this a try . Just completed Week 3 and getting better with trying not to concentrate to hard on the breathing .. as I stress myself about 😃😃

[RollingPea Graduate]

Good strategy Sue2023. Don't allow breathing techniques to cause distraction and undue stress. Keep up your good progress!🌟 It's more important to be focused on building up your runs at the moment. As the others said, your breathing will automatically improve with fitness.

(Many thanks Captain-Popcorn and Cmoi for the interesting Buteyko comments).