Let's do a breathing test. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Take a normal breath, taking in a good amount of air. You'll be able to see which hand moves more. This will be the type of breathing that predominates when you breathe.
Do you feel like your chest is swelling? This is normal for most people in their daily lives; this means you're breathing thoracically. If, on the other hand, you feel the air entering directly into your abdomen, you have diaphragmatic or abdominal breathing.
The way you breathe will have better effects or be more beneficial when doing your sports routines!
Thoracic breathing allows for a higher respiratory rate, while abdominal breathing allows for a lower number of breaths per minute, allowing for greater control.
Here's an example: thoracic (chest) breathing isn't as efficient. Why? Because it doesn't deliver the necessary volume of oxygen to meet your body's needs, and fatigue and neck pain increase, as you exert extra effort.
With diaphragmatic or abdominal breathing, you will get more air into your diaphragm, giving you greater benefits when playing sports, gaining greater efficiency when running or exercising.
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Now, let's understand the ideal way or mode of breathing. There are different theories: should we breathe through the nose and exhale through the mouth, or inhale through the nose and exhale through the nose, as we've heard from many yoga instructors?
Normally, we know basic breathing techniques: inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. However, we'll share with you the IDEAL way to use this powerful tool correctly to achieve the performance you desire while exercising. The correct answer is a typical lawyer's answer: IT DEPENDS.
It all depends on each person, the place, and the intensity at which you practice your sport.
When you breathe through your nose, it means you're saving energy; when you breathe through your mouth, it means you're generating greater power and, at the same time, you'll be more exhausted.
With this in mind, you should know when to use each one!
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We hope you put these tips into practice so you can achieve your goal and feel much better when breathing.
