Before adding more hours to your training, learn to breathe.
We always think that doing more will bring us more and better results. I have talked in the past how this can be false. Moreover, it can lead us to ignore the simplest things that have a bigger impact than the extra hours of training. One of those simple things is how we breathe. Yes, training our breath, also known as breathwork can not only boost our health but also our performance. Check out why and how. Breathwork is a valuable tool that can not only enhance performance but also facilitate recovery and improve overall health. By consciously controlling our breathing, we can influence our nervous system, increase oxygenation of our cells, and regulate our levels of carbon dioxide (CO2). Let’s dive deeper into each one of these categories.
The nervous system comprises two branches: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system initiates our "fight or flight" response, which can lead to anxiety or stress. In contrast, the parasympathetic nervous system supports our "rest and digest" response, which promotes relaxation and recovery.
Breathwork can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, thereby lowering our heart rate and blood pressure, reducing feelings of anxiety, and enhancing relaxation. Diaphragmatic breathing is a deep breathing technique that involves inhaling deeply through the nose, allowing the stomach to expand, and exhaling slowly through the mouth. This technique promotes a more efficient use of the diaphragm muscle, which can improve breathing mechanics and reduce respiratory fatigue.
Ok cool, but we are missing the essential part of breathing: the relationship between the oxygen we inhale and the CO2 that comes out after each breath. Oxygen is crucial for our body to function optimally, and breathwork can help increase oxygenation. Slow, deep breathing can increase the amount of oxygen that is delivered to our cells, resulting in improved cognitive function, increased energy levels, and better performance. CO2 is a waste product produced by our bodies when we exhale. However, CO2 also plays an important role in regulating our breathing. When we inhale, oxygen enters our bloodstream, and when we exhale, we release CO2. By controlling our breathing, we can regulate our levels of CO2 and improve our overall health.
Breathwork can enhance our CO2 tolerance, which is the body's capacity to withstand increased levels of CO2. CO2 tolerance can be improved through breath holding exercises, which can increase our ability to tolerate CO2, resulting in better endurance and stamina during physical activity. During exercise, we produce more CO2 as we work harder, which triggers us to breathe more rapidly to maintain adequate oxygenation. However, if our CO2 tolerance is low, our breathing can become more labored and less efficient, leading to respiratory distress and decreased performance.
So, before you think your performance and your health are not advancing because you are not working hard enough, make sure to work on the little things first, these are the ones that usually yield the biggest results. Now that you know your breath is a key enhancer, make sure to work on it.
