As a youngster we would do breathing exercises during Gym class. We were told to fill our lungs with air - and the way to do that was to expand the rib cage to its absolute max - getting as much air into your lungs as possible.
Understandably - when getting out of breath during exercise I would breath in as deeply as I could - by expanding my rib cage.
It turns out that this is not the most effective way to breath.
The primary muscle in the breathing mechanism is not the musculature of the rib cage (inter costal muscles) but the diaphragm.
To completely fill the lungs - which are filled when the air pressure in the chest cavity is lower than that outside - the most effective mechanism is the engagement and contraction of the diaphragm in a motion that draws down and away from the lungs creating the largest pressure drop and resulting in the greatest influx of fresh (oxygenated) air.
Take a look at Miguel Indurain's belly (5 x winner of the Tour de France) in this photo. Could it be that Indurain was fat while leading the Tour? Highly unlikely. He was a big man and during intense exercise consumed oxygen at an incredible rate - to get the oxygen his big body needed he was employing diaphragmatic breathing.
To completely empty the lungs of air now depleted of oxygen the combination of relaxing the diaphragm as well as the muscles of the rib cage will create the largest pressure buildup inside the chest cavity and expel the greatest amount of air (which is now depleted of oxygen).
Shallow breathing - or breathing using only the expansion and contraction of the rib cage will only partially fill and partially empty the lungs. The balance of the lungs remain filled with 'stale' air which has been depleted of oxygen and contributes no value to you performance.
As athletes we know that oxygen is the #1 ingredient needed to sustain our speed - and we need to get as much oxygen to pass through our lungs as possible to give us the best chance of maintaining the maximum flow of oxygen to our muscles.
Increasing the level of engagement of your diaphragm while breathing heavily during intense exercise will maximize the oxygen uptake from your lungs into your blood and can have a dramatic effect on your performance - including lowering your heart rate and lowering both perceived and actual stresses - resulting in the ability to maintain a slightly higher output or maintain a similar output but for longer periods.
The technique of engaging the diaphragm in breathing during different sports activities varies - and in some sports it is easier to do than in others. It takes time to build strength and fitness in any neglected muscle, and you may find that additional core strength is required to breath diaphragmatically most effectively. Also, you may need to resign yourself to an initial drop in performance as you develop the new technique and the strength to maintain it - but the rewards are very much worth it.
Consider a runner who's current athletic limit allows them to maintain a heart rate of 145 beats per minute (bpm) for 3 hours. Any time spent over 145 bpm results in a drop in performance toward the end of the 3rd hour. 145 bpm is thus their maximum sustainable intensity for 3 hours. What if that athlete perfected diaphragmatic breathing and developed the strength and endurance to maintain the breathing method for 3 hours. If their heart rate - at the same intensity - was reduced by 5 bpm due to the increased oxygenation of their blood and a reduction in stresses - the athlete has the option of running at a slightly higher pace without the risk of the drop in performance they experienced before.
Endurance sports performance is largely based on efficiency. Through better breathing you can become more efficient - giving you the option of adding speed without increasing the risk of a drop in performance.
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