How to breathe properly when running

When running, the muscles and respiratory system have to work harder than usual. The body produces more carbon dioxide (CO2) and needs more oxygen, making runners easily feel out of breath, have difficulty breathing, and feel chest tightness if they do not breathe properly.

Inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth is recommended when jogging. Inhaling through the nose helps detect odors and toxic substances in the air. The air is warmed, humidified and filtered of dust, toxins and allergens before reaching the lungs. Thanks to that, the lungs are protected from many respiratory pathogens.

This breathing method helps to better control the amount of oxygen intake, facilitates the absorption of nitric oxide, increases blood circulation, and supports the transport of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.

Breathing properly will increase your running performance. (Illustration)

Meanwhile, breathing in air through the mouth is not selective, easily causing dry mouth, increasing the risk of respiratory diseases. This breathing method also increases ventilation - the state of exhaling more than inhaling, causing a rapid decrease in CO2, causing an imbalance of oxygen and CO2 in the body. This makes you dizzy, increases heart rate, has difficulty breathing, stimulates rapid breathing.

Inhaling and exhaling through the nose is suitable for slow running, while exhaling through the mouth is usually for high-intensity running. Combining inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth is beneficial for sprinting or running uphill, when the body needs to take in more oxygen and eliminate CO2 accumulation to create energy. This breathing method helps optimize the amount of oxygen taken into the blood and expel CO2 faster, thereby increasing endurance, increasing respiratory efficiency, and maintaining a stable running pace.

To increase endurance when running, in addition to combining nose and mouth breathing, you should practice deep abdominal breathing (also known as diaphragmatic breathing), rhythmically following your steps. When breathing deeply and slowly, the diaphragm is lowered to the maximum, the lungs expand completely, the chest capacity increases, activating the lower lobes of the lungs, which contain a larger proportion of blood than the upper lobes. At this time, oxygen-rich blood flows easily to the organs, creating energy to maintain movement.

You can apply abdominal breathing in a 5-step rhythm, inhaling through the nose for two steps and exhaling through the mouth for the next two steps. Maintain this steady breathing rhythm to balance the pressure on the diaphragm and pelvis while running, avoid the risk of injury, balance blood pressure, and reduce fatigue during exercise.

MSc. Dr. NGUYEN VAN NGAN (Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi)

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/cach-tho-dung-cach-khi-chay-bo-ar906544.html