Breathing 101
Did you ever think that as an adult, you would need to teach yourself how to breathe? Well, crazy as it may sound, we can all use some breathing exercises in our world.
I know breathing may seem like it’s something that should be automatic and something you can’t really change or control, like digesting your food, blinking or getting angry about season 8 of Game of Thrones. Fortunately, this is something we can learn and get better at.
We highlight breathing in almost every workout and it’s included on our gym membership programming. There are a number of benefits of spending a few minutes before a workout on breathing. Two specific things you may care about:
Creates a “you time” moment: It allows you to transition from sleeping, working, parenting, etc., to that “you time” moment. You may come into the gym feeling stressed or anxious and taking a minute or two of breathing may help you relax, be more present within your body and focus your mind to your workout. Your workout will be safe and more effective.
Work smarter not harder: The breathing exercises we program for you are specific to your workout program. We may focus breathing into your sides or lower back which will help improve the quality of your movement. It’s a work smarter not harder scenario. You’ll need to spend less time on soft tissue work or mobility exercises and improve your lifts.
If you are new to Paramount or to breathing before exercises, the first two drills are a great place to start.
1) Croc Breathing
Lie on your stomach and create a triangle with your hands to rest your forehead on. Start to take gentle breaths in and out through your nose. You are trying to breathe into your mid-section for a 360 degree inhale. Your belly, sides and lower back. Alex is using the ground and a yoga block to create some feedback.
1) Belly Breathing
Lie on your back and rest your hands on your belly. Start to take gentle breaths in and out through your nose. You are trying to breathe into your mid-section for a 360 degree inhale. Your belly, sides and lower back. You’ll use the ground and your hands to create some feedback.
Once you have gotten comfortable with those two exercises, you can start to include different breathing exercises specific to a major lift. We are using these three exercises this month on our “Lift Heavy Things” Program. This is an intermediate to advanced program for gaining strength and muscle. It’s pretty fun program and the breathing drills definitely help a lot.
Prep for Squats
Prep for Deadlift
Prep for Bench Press
If you’re interested in learning more about this program at the gym or on your own, contact us on the form below to get started.