Are you breathing?
Seriously… are you? A lot of people don’t think about it. It’s natural right… you shouldn’t have to think about it. But, breathing should be part of your training!
Providing enough oxygen for your body during exercise, and especially during a race, is very important. Not getting enough oxygen will hurt your performance, and could result in light headedness or even passing out. And if that won’t ruin your time, then I don’t know what will!
One of the biggest things I see people do wrong, especially if they are beginners… is that they don’t open up their airways enough. A common mistake that people make is to blow out of their mouth almost like they are whistling. But, this slows down your release of breath… and in most cases causes you to take in a short breath. And, before you know it you are out of breath!
You should breathe thru your nose and your mouth as openly as possible…taking controlled rhythmic breaths. Swimming is a good exercise to train yourself to breathe to a rhythm… and if you can keep this rhythm while you run or bike, you will realize the benefits.
Core strength training is also important, and can help you with your breathing. Some of the biggest muscles in your back wrap around your rib cage. And, if you start biking or kayaking… and those muscles get sore or start cramping… it can be downright painful to breathe.
Some core strength training exercises that I find helpful are leg raise chin-ups, and cross-over crunches.
To do the leg raise chin-ups… do a normal close grip chin-up (palms facing you) and while you pull yourself up, raise your knees to your chest. This will exercise those Latissimus Dorsi (Lat) muscles that wrap around your rib cage, as well as your abdominal muscles.
The cross-over crunches are just crunches where you alternate left elbow to right knee and right elbow to left knee. This is a very good core exercise.
I hope this information is helpful… and when I see you at a race… you will be able to say “Good Job” as you are passing someone. (Hopefully not me!)
- Adam
