How to Breathe

How to Breathe?  First we talk about 'how to run' which is arguably VERY natural to humans, now how to breathe??

Consider this; a common question at the gym.  People ask 'am I just out of shape or is there a trick to breathing??'.  It is easy to dismiss such questions as 'just work harder, adapt, get fitter' but there are interesting nuances to consider.  Our bodies can recognize that we're working hard (say, during a work out) so let's increase the flow of oxygen!  A simple mechanism is to just breathe faster, but that is not always the best solution to adapt to a serious fitness demand we're placing on our bodies.  For example a measure of fitness is the VO2Max is a measure of when (given a constantly increase in effort-level) does one exhale perfectly good oxygen.  In other words, our trigger to breathe faster usurps our ability to USE the oxygen we are taking in.

Many of us are training their bodies to be fit, but there are also techniques to train our lungs to work better.   Two take ways in my research is to:

a.)breathe deeper

b.)breathe smarter

Deeper is simple to understand, when you feel like you can't get enough air, take a moment to slow your breathe's cadence and increase the depth of breathes.  Try it at as you read this, breathe deep, then try to breathe deep using your mouth.  There are benefits to using those deeper air sacs and like many skills if you consciously do it eventually you'll naturally do it!  Also play with this, experiment when in your 'zone' - how many steps (while running) do you take per breathe?  Doing burps? Give yourself the luxury of a deep breath per rep.  Make a breath what you're heading for, your milestone to reach. Say 'breath breath breath' to yourself when in a high intensity workout!

Breathing smarter is a funny way i like to say - use your breathing muscles the way they were intended.  Use your belly to breathe!  Here is a test, are you a belly or a chest breather:

Test

You can test whether you are a chest breather or stomach breather. Place your right hand on your chest, and your left hand on your stomach and breath normally. If your right hand rise more, you are a chest breather, and if your left hand rises more, you are a stomach breather.  (By Ollie Lawson)

The stomach obviously can expand MUCH further and is therefore a better group of muscles to take in air.  I always joke with my running seminars that my race pics look ridiculous because my stomach is usually distended.  It is worth the unflattering pictures to have enough air.  

Master this, then you have no excuses ;)

The Foot Drills

The Foot Drills 

By Russ Ebbets, DC 

<We did the six drills at the start of each practice. Five of the six drills are done barefooted or in stocking feet. The distance covered for each drill is about 25 meters. Each drill is done once daily. The walking is done at one’s own pace. Total time for the drill with shoes off to shoes on is about four minutes. Pretty simple. 

The six drills, illustrated above, are simply to walk on the outside of the foot (invert the foot), walk on the inside of the foot (evert the foot), walk with a toe-in, or pigeon-toed gain (adduct the foot), walk with the toes pointing out (a la Charlie Chaplin), and with the shoes back on, walk on the heels – this protects against bruising the heel. Done daily these six drills will eliminate shin splints, Achilles’ tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, lessen the chance of a severe ankle sprain and virtually all knee problems. (The famous Rice Study done in the early 90s found that 79% of running injuries are from the knee down). 

One of the reasons I had successful teams is that my athletes made it to the competition day healthy and ready to compete. Season after season was completed with virtually no injuries. It should be noted that there are three problems with the foot drills; they are simple, they are easy, and they are free. It doesn’t involve more than taking off one’s shoes and putting one foot in front of the other. But that is easier said than done. Why do the foot drills work? There is very little muscle in the foot. 

• Most of the balance and proprioceptive sense we get comes from our muscles. 
• The neuromuscular pathway (the communication line) from the brain to the foot is the longest and slowest in the body. This leads to bad, or at best, poor coordination of the foot. If you doubt that, put a pen between your toes and try to write your name. 

The demands of athletic participation - be it running, jumping or quick starts and stops - places tremendous stresses on the foot. In fact, the foot must sustain seven times the body’s weight with simple running, and up to 20 times body weight in some jumping activities. Done repeatedly, this is how an overuse syndrome such as shin splints, plantar fasciitis or Achilles’ tendonitis develops. By challenging the foot with various gaits, one develops a clearer pathway from the foot to the brain. Clearer pathways are faster and more responsible. This gives one better balance and proprioception. Each foot strike becomes more “sure,” the foot contacts the ground without a wobble, however slight that wobble might be. It is because of the “sure foot stride” that the overuse syndrome (Achilles’ tendonitis, plantar fasciitis or shin splints) are eliminated. It has been said that running is a ground contact sport. It is this repeated micro trauma of ground strike, repeated thousands of times than can lead to injury. Other factors, such as running surfaces and proper shoe selection, can influence the incidence of injury. But I will contend with a great deal of assurance that the six foot drills, done consistently, will have a tremendous positive benefit on one’s athletic participation and performance. Applying the simple, easy and free. The last note. The foot drills will also make you faster. I mentioned the slight “wobble” of each foot strike. More accurately described, a “wobble” is lateral, side-to-side motion. Speed is generally straight ahead. If, on each foot strike there is the wobble or lateral motion before there is the forward motion, there is lost time – not much, but some. If one’s ground contact time can be reduced 1/100th of a second (it takes 14/100ths to blink an eye,) the cumulative effect can drastically improve one’s performance. Consider this – if one takes 50 steps in the 100m, 50 x 1/100 = 50/100 seconds, or ½ a second. One-half second is the difference between the 9th place spectator and the Olympic Gold Medallist. In a mile, this reduced ground contact time translates to an 8-10 second difference and in the 10K it means between 50-60 seconds. An improvement made in the blink of an eye, one step at a time. Simple, easy and free.>

Peroneus Longus and Brevis

Two tendons in the ankle/foot that seem to plague runners with soreness or limited mobility.  Due to poor circulation, tendons take a long time to heal.  But frequently loosening up the associated attached muscles is all the relief you need.  Loosen these puppies up early and often.

When laying on your side like you're using a foam roller, put 'peanut' centered along the fibula and rol these puppies out. 







Do this by laying on your side, the way you'd use a foam roller. I'm showing where the pressure should be applied in this video. I taped two LaCrosse balls together using cheap athletic tape. (more elastic tape would work a little better). I call this 'the peanut'. the middle of the peanut makes a nice gap so you're not pushing on the fibia. this should be done laying on your side rolling down the peroneal muslces- loosening them up will release tightness on the tendons below - even into the fascia of the foot. Seems FAR removed, but this is relieving my PF and chronic anterior soreness.