All about Breathing in the Gym
(Fundamentals)
You are breathing from the day you are born until the day you die. In all exercises and sports, the way and timing of your breathing have a significant impact on the quality and efficiency of your performance. Correct breathing is just one part of perfect technique, but it can increase your overall workout efficiency by more than 20%!
With different kinds of exercise come various types of breathing.
Generally, heavier weights (like those often used in Squats or Bench Press) will involve heavier breathing and loud blowing noises. Lighter weights and higher reps will lead to more relaxed and easier breathing.
Why is Breathing Technique important?
Beginners in the gym often learn how to perform exercises, but frequently forget about their breathing technique until a coach reminds them. Beginners are usually nervous, uncertain, and self-conscious. These emotions result in abnormal breathing patterns, which are inefficient. If your breathing is incorrect, then it becomes harder to concentrate, relax, and focus your mind.
Fire and Reload
This is my way of describing the process of exhaling (the fire) on the main strain of the exercise and inhaling (the reload) on the second, easier part of the exercise.
For example, consider the Bench Press. When you push the bar up, this is the fire. This is when you should breathe out – a tiny fraction of a second before you begin the upwards push. There is then a slow and controlled lowering of the bar back to the top of your chest – this is the reload stage, and this is where you should be breathing in.
Also, could you consider the Push-up? The fire is when you push your body weight up from the floor until your arms are fully extended. The reload happens as you slowly return yourself to the lower position. So – breathe out on the way up and in on the way down.
The terms “fire” and “reload” are merely simple coaching terms that I use to describe the more technical terms of concentric (fire) and eccentric (reload) movements. Please follow this link for a more in-depth study on how to breathe effectively while working out.
Breathing through your nose
Most people do not breathe efficiently, but you can train yourself to breathe more effectively while exercising. The techniques you learn in the gym will quickly spill over into other parts of your life, and you will find that you unconsciously adjust the mechanics of every aspect of your life to utilize techniques you learn in the gym.
The mouth is designed for eating and speaking. The nose is designed to breathe and to help purify the air that you breathe. I often practice breathing through my nose (both in and out) when I am jogging, but I find that when the effort becomes more intense, I will naturally start to gulp air through my mouth.
In the gym, try to focus on breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth as much as possible.