How important is breathing correctly?

100df
100df Posts: 668 Member
edited November 21 in Fitness and Exercise
I am in terrible shape. I am walking for cardio and doing an arm and shoulder strength video from Sparks People. The woman in the video tells me when to exhale and inhale. I find myself breathing opposite of what she says. I try to stay in sync with her but then end up opposite.

I think I should try to breathe correctly but if I don't it's okay at this point because at least I am moving. It is more important at this point to do the movements correctly with the weights.

Is that the right attitude or does it really matter? Could I hurt myself by exhaling and inhaling at wrong time during exercise?

Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,029 Member
    Correct breathing does make the difference. Good rule of thumb is to inhale on the easiest part of any exercise and exhale on the most difficult part. Why this is important is because exhaling correctly forces the diaphragm to contract hard and it makes your core more stable than inhaling. You can observe this yourself by just trying it. If your core isn't supporting lifting (especially for exercises like squats, deadlifts and overhead presses), it is quite easy to injure your back. So it's good to get into the habit of doing it correctly now, because as we know, habits are sometimes hard to reform.

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  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    What ninerbuff said - it is important because it can change where in your body the work gets done. If you're working with really light weights it's probably not going to cause you injury, but I would recommend putting some focus into getting the breathing right because eventually it will make a big difference. It's something a lot of people have trouble with because a lot of times it does mean working against your natural inclinations.
  • 100df
    100df Posts: 668 Member
    Thank you. I will definitely work on it. I appreciate the replies.
  • cbrook29
    cbrook29 Posts: 57 Member
    Breathing is important in my humble opinion. Your body like the combustion chamber (engine) of a car needs oxogen at the right dosages to fire/work optimally. To get the most out of your workout , you will need to practice your breathing technique.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    Breathing is important for all sorts of things. Off the top of my head:

    Lifting heavy stuff: you need to learn to breathe to your belly and create your own belt. Valsalva maneuver

    Flexibility work: you need to be able to breathe appropriately into stretches to gain new ranges of motion. See the work of Pavel, any basic Tai Chi or Yoga class.

    Thoracic mobility and shoulder positioning for athletes: http://jtsstrength.com/articles/2014/05/01/the-scapula-and-thoracic-spine-a-classic-love-story-to-improve-your-overhead-position/

    State of mind: from advanced breathing techniques in yoga, martial arts, etc. Breathing is integrated in a way that allows you to alter your mental state. Powerful stuff.
  • pmm3437
    pmm3437 Posts: 529 Member
    Proper breathing will enhance the amount of power you can achieve during the work portion of the exercise cycle.

    Will also enhance core stability, reducing chance of injury as previously stated.

    At light weight/ just starting levels, be concious of it, and make efforts to improve, but don't let your concern slow you down or stop you from exercising. Its not worth obsessing over ....
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    jimmmer wrote: »
    Breathing is important for all sorts of things. Off the top of my head:

    Lifting heavy stuff: you need to learn to breathe to your belly and create your own belt. Valsalva maneuver

    Flexibility work: you need to be able to breathe appropriately into stretches to gain new ranges of motion. See the work of Pavel, any basic Tai Chi or Yoga class.

    Thoracic mobility and shoulder positioning for athletes: http://jtsstrength.com/articles/2014/05/01/the-scapula-and-thoracic-spine-a-classic-love-story-to-improve-your-overhead-position/

    State of mind: from advanced breathing techniques in yoga, martial arts, etc. Breathing is integrated in a way that allows you to alter your mental state. Powerful stuff.

    cosign
  • 100df
    100df Posts: 668 Member
    Thank you all for the replies. I worked on it today. It was better than yesterday but will need to pay careful attention as I still found myself opposite sometimes.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
    breathing is super important , before during and after exercise . I always use breathing as kinda meditation , the "state of mind" mentioned above. After you practice a while you'll get into your own grove and proper breathing will be come second nature. Having that control of your body and breath will really empower you and take you to higher physical and mental levels.
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