Breathing techniques for rowing
skillingsrobertj
Posts: 45
Curious how others handle their breathing while rowing.
My normal breathing technique on the rowing machine is to start breathing in slightly after the catch, then exhale at the end of the drive and on thru recovery, then breathing in again slightly after the catch and repeating the process. This 'feels' comfortable as trying to breath in at the start of the catch when the chest is compressed feels labored and doesn't give me enough air. After 15 minutes or so, I can feel oxygen deprivation creeping in.
My normal breathing technique on the rowing machine is to start breathing in slightly after the catch, then exhale at the end of the drive and on thru recovery, then breathing in again slightly after the catch and repeating the process. This 'feels' comfortable as trying to breath in at the start of the catch when the chest is compressed feels labored and doesn't give me enough air. After 15 minutes or so, I can feel oxygen deprivation creeping in.
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I've been trying a new breathing technique lately after I've been on the rower for 15 minutes or so and start to feel like I'm running low on oxygen; I take a quick, DEEP breath after the catch and exhale completely at the end of the drive, I then take a SHORT breath on the recovery and short exhale again during the catch while the chest is compressed, then take a deep breath after the catch and start the process over again. The pattern is deep breath, deep exhale @max extension during drive, short breath, short exhale @max compression of chest, then repeat.
My wife laughs at me and jokes that I'm going to have a heart attack as I am sure it sounds alarming and exhausting but this technique staves off the feeling of low oxygen, and I feel like I can continue rowing for quite some time again.
How do you breath whie working out on rower ?0 -
I breath in just before the catch, and fully exhale through the stroke and on the finish, then I snatch a short "in-out" breath on the recovery, and inhale again just before the catch. When putting the pressure on I must sound like an old steam engine!
Here's a link to breathing on the Concept 2 site; http://concept2.co.uk/training/breathing0 -
Great article, lot's of things to think about.
Particularly the bit about having some air in the lungs on the catch to maintain stability in the core. Right now, my lungs are totally empty at that point.
It just occurred to me that I might be over-reaching on the catch and over-compressing the trunk making it more difficult than it needs to be to breath in.0 -
I haven't read the article, but our young coach was rowing behind me one day and I asked him about his interesting breathing pattern...he said that his team breathed in on as they recovered, then breathed out most of the air on the catch and a final huff out right at the release. Sorry to weigh in without doing the research, but it's been something I've been trying on these longer rows to get into my mind.0
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The article is a long one, and there are a few points I want to re-read then practice on the rower.
Do you typically go for longer distances or short sprints ?0 -
I am going for longer distances right now to try to get a basic fitness level built up, but once a week or so I might do a set of intervals. I was listening to the breathing and asking about it during interval workouts and speed workouts this summer on the water. Hadn't occurred to me that it might be different in long slow distance. I'll have to ask about that.0
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"...he said that his team breathed in on as they recovered, then breathed out most of the air on the catch and a final huff out right at the release."
That's exactly how I breathe. Not from practicing it though, it just feels natural to me. Sometimes when I ffel low on oxygen I take a great big in and out but it kinda screws up my rythym for a few strokes.0 -
...Sometimes when I ffel low on oxygen I take a great big in and out but it kinda screws up my rythym for a few strokes.
That's me as well.
When I first started working out on the rower back in Sept, I used this same breathing technique (out on catch and drive, in on recovery) mainly because it fit what we were always told to do, i.e. exhale on the exertion portion of any physical activity. Think about how you breath when hitting a ball, doing push ups, punching a bag, etc. Always out on the exertion part to increase power.
I have found that by using this breathing technique my pace improves by a second or two and the power generated on each drive is slightly higher. Makes sense, as the effort to exhale also helps drive the legs a bit harder. But I still find I have a need to take a deep, off-pace breath after a few minutes, and that throws my timing off. When that happens, I go to exhaling on both the catch and the drive and inhaling in-between for a few minutes to catch my breath, then reverting back.
Ah well...it's something interesting to think about as I am working out.0 -
Interesting reading, I'm finding that my breathing technique is probably my biggest hindrance at progressing right now. I tend to exhale through the drive (huffing like a train sounds about right!) and inhale through recovery, but I always end up trying to match my stroke rate to my breathing and eventually one is going too fast for the other and I get very light headed and find I have to lower my rate to about 20s/m to try and get a few decent breaths in through the recovery.0
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That's me exactly....but I always end up trying to match my stroke rate to my breathing and eventually one is going too fast for the other and I get very light headed and find I have to lower my rate to about 20s/m...
I found I can keep up the same stroke / minute rate by switching to 2 breaths per stroke when the light-headedness starts, i.e. I breath out completely on the last half of the drive then inhale during the first half of recovery, fully out again on the catch and then inhaling at the beginning of the drive, etc. I may continue this way for a few minutes while my breathing catches up with the workout intensity, then switch back to the 1 breath per stroke technique.
I have noticed the power generated using the 1 breath / stroke technique is slightly higher than the 2 b/s technique. I imagine this is because the combined force exerted during the drive is slightly higher when I have more air to expel (?). Important if you're a competitive racer, I suppose.
Let us know what you find that works for you.0 -
Don't look at the forum much as do myfitnesspal from my phone app.
Funny how I have not thought about breathing and it has not been any sort of issue,yet
So I am putting here what I usually do to see how that relates.
I usually row (concept2) three times per week for 30 minutes and look to do at least 7200m and my present goal is to get to 7500m.
I can get to 7400m by doing 1minute intervals of 1:50 (at 30strokes/min)[or as close as I can do on the day] and the rest of the time at around 2:04 (26strokes/min)and this is very hard but it is more the mental barrier to push harder into pain than breathing. This gets me up to about 160bpm heat rate by the end. At age 55 this is pretty full on.
So wondering how other people go especially if breathing is is your limiting factor. I will now look at how I breathe and hope that does not put me off my stride.
Regards, Brent0
