Thank you for sharing your experiences and wisdom. I am a competitive cyclist and everything you discuss in your videos applies to cycling. You're not only helping runners ... but cyclists too! I hope you meet all of your personal goals, and I hope you qualify for Paris and have the race of your lifetime!
Yes, as an aspiring triathlete, the swimming training has REALLY forced me to notice, focus, and coordinate my breathing with my movement across all three spurts. Thanks for this video!
This guy need 10mill subscribers !!! Every single word is true....I run very efficiently with one step inhale and two or three steps exhale !!!! Tell your mates to listen to this guy....its almost like listening to a friend when watching his videos !!!!
Within the last year I changed from an inhale focus to an exhale focused breathing. I totally agree with you. Your channel explains elite techniques in a way that a 53 year old amateur can use. Thank you for that.
@@61js but I bet you could easily force out exhales during the last 200 meters, like inhale-2, exhale-3 or 4 (like someone bench pressing a lot of weight) ... it's pretty cool to try out and provides mental focus and awareness of the body
@dancollins3467 I had a coach years ago say exactly this, and what Steven has said, concentrate completely on the exhale, blow out all that CO2 and your body will soon want O2 right back in and it'll do it that's for sure!
I noticed this when I do zone 2/easy runs. If the HR starts to creep up, I intentionally do those longer exhales and my HR drops by up to 5 bpm. It's great! Works pretty well in tempo runs too, but more noticeable in the Z2 runs.
And it is also great for forcing oneself to run in Z2. I have a problem running too fast. By focusing on long slow breathing, like in-4 / out-5, has been great to help me slow my recovery runs down. A bit awkward to do at first, but I can settle in pretty easily if I run without music.
I've actually noticed focusing on deep inhales and exhales will naturally reduce my heart rate from 150 to 140 while maintaining the same pace. Glad to know others are doing this too!@@mdr1120
Very good!! And very timely. I was just speaking to a family member today about breathing and anxiety, and this is encouraging me too in life and as a newer runner. Thanks!
I learned deep breath awareness in yoga and as a runner, I'm always aware of my breathing. I also find that putting more energy into a complete exhale and letting the inhale be more relaxed, is much better than being too active with the inhale, which promotes tension in the body.
Yes, that's my understanding. Emphasis on exhale is calming and emphasis on inhale is activating. It's exciting that you could see the impact in your O2 saturation.
Yes, inhaling activates sympathetic, longer exhale activates/triggers parasympathetic. Can you please make a video of Moxy readings while you change breathing? It's super interesting
I have been saying this for years 🙌 Patrick Mckeown, the oxygen advantage. Look into that scully he gives great advice on your breathing and tips on breathing techniques.
I'm admittedly an inexperienced runner but I spent my last long run just concentrating on form, including breathing, much more than worrying about pace. I felt much stronger and the pace actually looked after itself. The next day my Garmin took over 2 mins off my predicted 5k time. Excited for my next parkrun.
Great reminder. Breathing is so critical. I’ve heard that swimming really helps. My mates VO2 went up massively after a few months of swimming. Q: is the YT paid content still active/added to and the Discord group?
This is something I’ve really discovered lately as well. When doing faster reps I always felt my brain would almost panic and then I’d get tense and the rep would feel brutal. Once I focused on just relaxing and breathing more relaxed I’m running faster for longer without my brain thinking I’m running for my life 😂
I’ve been a mouth breather all my life when running, last two months I’ve been working on breathing in through my nose. Sounds basic but initially my running slowed down until I got into a rhythm after a few runs. In the last two months my HRV has increased, my respiratory rate has dropped from 18.5,to regular 17.3 and I seem to sleep better. Oh and the speed has returned. I tend to breath in through my nose once and breath out twice. I would never thought breathing through my nose would make much of a difference.
Great stuff. I was just working on this over the weekend trying to build up my comfortability at faster rates. Started at an easy pace, drop it down get a smooth easy stride going secure the breathing, drop it down again… repeat til failure. Breathing and running smooth is too underrated imo
Amazing that you pull this video out as I'm also training my breathing and feel very excited because I think my training as well as pace has improved like 40% easy. Yoga and swimming have been the key, now my runs (easy and hard) have become more like a meditation. Thank you very much for this video and I hope making consciousness of this makes you an even better runner.
I do some swimming to, training for a triathlon 1.5kms. How long do you swim in a session and what speed, to make a difference to your running fitness??
@@na-dk9vm Is not that much. Around 1k focusing on breathing and around 1’20 - 1’30 each 50m. Also doing apnea, around 3 blocks of 5 reps incremental breath hold. From 30” to 1’40”
I breathe so much better on a treadmill. I get waaaaay more anxious out and about (cars, drive ways, pot holes, fkn other runners, bla bla.....) and as a result my breathing tends to get out of control. Sometimes I almost feel emotional and I get exactly the same thing tightness in my chest etc. Totally agree relaxing is the key, but it's easier said than done. Keep up the good work scully, love this video.
A great in depth video interview on breathing is with Kasper Van Der Meulen on elite runner Floris Gierman’s you tube channel. Kasper trains elite athletes in breathing techniques. Really amazing insights.
Thanks Hips Stephen! YES it make total sense. I'm a good swimmer and yes when swimming free style is mandatory to exhale for longer and inhale for a short time. The lack of breath one feels when exercising I understand is due to an excess of CO2 in the body rather than a lack of oxigen. So it totally makes sense to exhale more than enhale. This brings to mind the rather extraordinary results Wim Hof gets on day 1 from his students asking to do push up on empty lungs after a breathing session. Thanks for sharing, today I went for a run and used my swimming breathing technique and! OMG I thing I hit the jackpot
Holy crap this is awesome! ... Focusing on breathing and doing some extra exhale to let the body suck in whatever amount of oxygen it needs on the next inhale - doing this in tough runs and in races, especially charging up hills, has been magic! For anyone that wants to read more on this, former Olympian Budd Coates wrote "Running on Air". Great book that reinforces what we instinctively know. Thanks for this video and all the rest of the content!
Bothe the CO2 and oxygen are needed, essential really ,for performance. I gather it's more about the proper balance, likely different ratios depending on effort and heart rate. I personally want to look into CO2 tolerence.
Hey Stephen, on another topic... I watched your video on threshold training yesterday the one about not going too fast.. Thanks to that today I did my best threshold session in a long time. I tried a slightly slower pace than I used to. Session felt much more controlled and higher quality. Question: I had a vo2max test and my anaerobic threshold heart rate was found 173. Do you suggest staying close to that as much as possible like 170-173 or taking some "distance" for example 163-169? Thanks and keep up the golden content for us mortals!
In order to have a good breathing habit, I practice box breathing and meditate, during meditation I practice different types of breathings. It's worth the effort 💫
Finally we are talking about this! I was viewed as some sort of hippie getting my CO2 tolerance up, nose breathing and running with a specific breathing pattern.
I unfortunately developed chronic hyperventilation and breathing disorder after breaking my ribs and it is anxiety driven. It’s a long road back to normality and slowing my breathing and learning to breathe nasally has been key to recovery as when the panic sets it you breathe faster and in the upper chest. Slowing everything down and calming engages abdominal breathing. It is a work in progress.
I agree 100% on the breathing focus before and as the run begins - I find that when I start the walk down my driveway, if my breathing is focused and totally under control after the first few strides pick up pace, it seems to just fall naturally into place.
James Nestor wrote a book called Breath which covers everything you just talked about. It also includes exercises to do while walking/jogging to build up your CO2 tolerance.
Great. That's four books I'm going to have to look at. I always thought all these guys were charlatans. I've had problems breathing while running before, although I think I'm past that now, and I've been doing yoga since lockdown, which I'm sure helps with breathing. But maybe there's more to learn, so I'll try samples on the Kindle and pick one to read all the way through.@@dancollins3467
@@daveweeden I've just finished Breath by James Nester, my main take away from it for runners is breathing is definitely too fundamental to not pay attention to for runners (or any human, really). That's why I love this post by Steven. But I am still skeptical of the book because Nester, a little too freely, seems to associate breathing problems with a plethora of other conditions. One study or anecedote does not make proof scientifically, nevertheless it's probably well worth spending a little time daily or weekly doing breathwork while running and when not. I imagine breathing work can be like form drills that clean up cadence and form, breathwork could clean up any inefficiencies proactively, too --so little effort for a potentially huge payoff. I wonder if there are any studies out there that looks at elite runners and how they breathe. What would show up, maybe there is data supporting a longer exhale? Something else? I laughed when Steven said face it most of us runners are anxious, that's me, and anxiety and breathing are pretty tightly bound for sure!
I've been working on the breathing for the past week and I have seen the improvement. I also realised that when training with Paula Radcliffe between '96 and '00. And she was a very loud breather. Could be the reason why she did so well.
Nice, thanks for sharing! I have kind of the same experience, that might also sound strange. I noticed one day when doing fast intervalsessions at a new slightly higher pace, at the last intervals when things were getting tough I started feeling anxious and my breathing got worse -> running form got worse -> more anxiety etc. Then I started imagining taking a deep dive in the super cold sea and simulated the corresponding style of breathing. I did so because recently I had noticed that when you dive in the cold you automatically (!) hold your breath and exhale slowly and very consciously, and as a consequenc, you don't panic (think about this, at other moments we tend to do the opposite, breath more - hyperventilate - in trying to cope with the panic). Because you don't panic when holding your breath and exhaling slowly you are more efficient with your oxigen and you can stay under water for longer. When you come above, you fastly exhale the final CO2 and inhale extra deep, and you feel in control again. All of this is done by instinct when you take that dive. Which means that by nature (!) we regulate stress by breathing this way, at least in the case of such a dive. Just by the imagination of these dives and style of breathing while running I was able to get my heart rate 2-3 beats down while maintaining the pace and calmness.
I was excited by the title of this video because I've been banging on about how important breathing is too lol. Slowing your breathing can reduce heart rate (a great life lesson for stressful situations in general). I regularly use asymmetric breathing (breathe in for three steps and out for two steps) - this alternates which landing foot is on the inhale and exhale every cycle and can help against stitch (just conscious and rhythmical breathing probably does this) but also spends more time getting air in because we can general clear air out faster. But rushed breathing (hyperventilation) is likely counterproductive (elevated heart rate? Contrary to slower breathing?). But all in all I think there's a fair (at least not negligible) amount to be gained from trying different things and being aware of the impact of different breast patterns.
so true! As a mere mortal one personal experience stands out in an afternoon session. totally zoned in and meditated on the breathing. nothing else... looked at my pace and i was cooking at mid 3min/k whilst the breathing felt like 5min?k
Fascinating. I've got to give this a try. As an old codger who started running in the 70's I was ready with my "Oh no, Stephen's gone bonkers. He's going to be promoting nostril separators and Chi running?". Fortunately, not, so switch off grumpy mode. Biggest surprise for me was that O2sat was useful when running. I thought the body kept it constant. By chance, due to sleep apnea, I have a Wellue O2sat measuring ring (recommended). It fits on your thumb and gives immediate feedback. Must be easier than have to look at your leg (did I understand that right?). I just wonder if the O2sat in the thumb is the same as that in the leg. We'll see.
You just reminded me of how many years ago (12-14), when I used to run shorter distances only, I did an experiment where I tried different breathing patterns for the 2km loop I would time trial myself on. For one run, I would breathe more slowly and relaxed until it got tough, and then speed up the breathing out of necessity. On the other run, I would do the "heavy breathing" from the very beginning, even when it felt like there was no need to, and I think I found I generally got a faster time breathing harder from the beginning rather than waiting for the fatigue to set in. Now I'm wondering, when running a marathon, am I better off staying relaxed and slow breathing for the first 1-2 hours feeling in control, or will my body hold up for longer if I breathe more heavily the whole time? My bottleneck right now is muscle break down, not cardio fitness.
I've been playing around with this lately also, sharp inhale to fill the lungs and long exhale to clear them out seems to be the key, just need your lungs to be processing as much new oxygen as possible, leaving them half full of old stuff just aint optimal. it's pretty crazy that feeling fatigued on a run you can do this for a few minutes and you get a new lease of energy. I also notice that once you've done it for a while your body just starts doing it as second nature, to the point you kind of get the feeling your body has been waiting for you to wise up and get it right.
Thanks for the video, very informative, I’ll try this during my 5k race this weekend, I can so easily coast the first km and then blow up km 2, so I need to breathe properly through the first km so that I don’t hit that pain too early
Yes make it a priority, but it’s mad that it kind of feels like hard work to constantly focus on more breathing etc.. think big cheeks and longer exhales, then the inhale takes care of itself
Interesting video. Would love if you could show a practical video where you make very clear when you are inhaling and when you’re exhaling. You could simply climb on the treadmill and hold your hand in 2 different positions to make a signal for each. Also show which muscles you are activating the most to execute this. It would lead to amazing insight
Could it be that your breathing rate is determined by your intensity of exercise, and this video promotes the importance of just breathing steadily, by focusing on the exhale? If you run fast you have a higher rythm.
@@mathiassvedman419 Your logic certainly makes sense. But he being an elite runner could show the ratios of breathing that he feels more comfortable in, even in different paces. I see it as a way to guide people who are breathing in unproductive ways.
After a moxy test I realized I was hyperventilating a little bit - too much shallow breathing getting too much oxygen too early (it is counterintuitive, but you need a certain level of CO2 in your body and shallow quick breathing means you are getting rid of more CO2 than you produce lessening the proper CO2 level in your body which harms your performance). What I was told in swimming helped in running too. Do not worry about inhaling, that will take of itself naturally, concentrate on controlled exhaling - also using (partially) nose for exhaling tends to make you exhale in a more controlled and relaxed way, that will set up your lungs for deeper controlled inhaling as well, which will sort of roll out by itself from that final position of exhalation. That advice helped me.
This was great! I have been looking for guided breathing guides for running but there was none, so I’m going to use this technique in my run in an hour!! And also runners being anxious people to begin with sums me up hahah
Myself, I noticed that a pattern of 2-inhales vs 3 exhales is more relaxing than 3:2. I heard some arguing that bigger inhales bring more oxygen to the body, but despite my efforts to follow their advice, I prefer 2:3. If I am in a more relaxing mode, I would pick e.g. 2:4 rather than 3:3, or 3:4 rather than 4:3, and so on. So exhaling seems more important than inhaling, at least to me. Nevertheless, if the body does get deprived of oxygen, maybe a 2-step inhale has to be done with some extra stress. So it is a matter of balance, between having a relaxed exhale, but not too much stressful inhale. Am I right in all that?
I’ve found hot yoga vastly improved my running- mainly from the training of my breathing muscles - but also from the flexibility I’ve developed and the sped up recovery time from increased blood flow. I highly recommend hot yoga sessions for cross training days.
@@truth-Hurts375 Well, I’ve been long distance running since 1998 and took up hot yoga 18 months ago and have to say that I disagree with your statement. I’m also a long distance swimmer, and hot yoga drastically improved my endurance in that sport as well. Hot yoga improves the endurance and strength of almost every muscle in the body while staying lean. It also increases the body’s ability to use fat as fuel and increases oxygen efficiency. Hot yoga also improves your focus and tolerance threshold, increasing your capacity to get through a challenging workout without becoming stressed mentally or physically. I am actually surprised it hasn’t become a part of professional athletic training.
Thank you for another awesome video! I am a beginner runner. I was surprised to feel really good running in a very windy day the other day. I wonder if it had anything to do with me not able to hear my labored breathing because of the loud wind. I felt lighter.
With my ADHD I notice Breathing protocols can really make a difference. 3-5bpm lower at times when doing controlled nasal inhalation & slow relaxed mouth exhalations 😊. Nice video Stephen, cheers.
Great video but can we talk about breathing patterns please? What do you do? I was doing breathe in 3 steps and out 3 steps and when I can I try to lengthen to 4, 5, 6… I feel the longer I do the fitter I am but am not a seasoned runner… any advice there?
My way of breathing is a bit backwards. If you think of how a freestyle swimmer breathes, that's how I breathe when running. When things get tough I will try to slow my exhale out but only through the nose until I can regroup myself.
!! When i am in a period of time working on increasing speed, ill use a towel to cover the treadmill screen and turn up the pace to where feels comfortable to get gauges. The second i take the towel off an i see a pace faster than id usually find comfortable, its like Bang!! now I am a small boat letting in water trying to remove it with a bucket
I believe studies have shown that swimming improves your VO2 Max quicker (not higher) than other endurance sports likely due to one having to control/hold their breath.
I have been working on Wim Hof breathing techniques and one of the first days of doing it, I timed my breath hold and hit 2.5 minutes no problem and was like, ohh crap, this really works.
I usually get anxious thinking about my coach looking into my training peaks and seeing I have been slacking during the session. The worst is the speed tests. As soon as I see the word test, I get much more anxious.
Hey Ste. yeah couldn't agree more...for the harder push or big finishes I honestly have found the pregnant Labour breathing helps me maintain harder effort for longer...sounds weird but works for me...ur has a bigger exhale pattern...Oxygen = life...more oxygen...more life 😊 or maybe science says better CO2 balance more life ha
Great topic! I breathe out on my fourth step. So, when I focus on my breathing, I just count my second right step. My pace is controlled by my cadence. My average cadence is 177-190. When I go into Tempo mode, my cadence goes up to 210 but I keep the same breathing. The fourth step. It works really well!
If I’m breathing out less than every 5 steps I know I’m running too fast, that’s how I judge my 5 and 10k paces. There’s a podcast I watch Ron RUclips talking about it.
Not weird at all. I'm not a talented runner, but breath awareness is one of the tools that I use to push myself comfortably hard for longer. Now if only I could figure out how to reliably improve my pace at threshold. 😂
Hi ... some books to read to learn more about this: Breath (Nestor), The Oxygen Advantage (McKeown), Running on Air (Coates) - and check out Wim Hof. Inhaling longer than exhaling wakes you up (fight or flight - sympathetic nervous system). Exhaling longer than inhaling calms you down (relax, reduce panic & anxiety - parasympathetic nervous system). Go for a run and experiment. Try 3-in/4-out, 2-in/3-out, etc. ... experiment and find what feels good. Forcing long 4-in/5-out can be also be good to keep it slow to run easy in heart rate zone-2 or recovery runs.
I think breathing is essential for running, without it you cannot survive for more than 5min and this is very detrimental for your running performance.
I'd argue the way you breathe is more important even than what you eat or drink. But anything organic isn't as sexy as something you can buy. Don't believe me, try running a 10k without food or drink and see how you get on. Then try running a 10k without breathing and see how far you get!! Ok that highly pedantic and not serious but breath control is absolutely essential for efficient movement.
I love 'the oxygen advantage' reading that book really made me understand how oxygen uptake works, and what a bunch of sh*t people are spreading around breathing.
Short double inhale and slow exhale - lower your heart rate Slow inhale and fast double exhale - raise your heart rate (can be useful before you start)
As mentioned elsewhere here (and I learned it via Wim Hof, Nestor, and McKeown): you want to wake up/excite yourself? - inhales are longer than your exhales, activating sympathetic nervous system; you want to calm down/relax yourself? - exhales are longer than your inhales activating parasympathetic nervous system.
I did try for a while, but my nose was broke a few times playing rugby. I’ve heard it improves that c02 tolerance, which is air hunger, but I’m sure the benefits for running means you’re just not as likely to panic when feeling under pressure or breathless.. I think most of the issue is when we enter that state of panic (long before we need to, if ever etc..) we start shallow breathing and the body shuts down from a lack of oxygen
Your breathing rate mainly affects CO2 levels, unless you’re not breathing or have a resp rate of like 3 haha. But breathing 8, 18, 28…48 times a minute won’t change the amount of inspired oxygen or how oxygenated your blood/body is really, but will cause you to expel more CO2 typically as your respiratory rate rises. So I doubt the benefits you are finding is oxygen related, maybe a shift in pH with the changing co2 levels, or maybe a secondary effect with breathing and HRV/HR? Interesting none the less
it's a known fact that a longer exhale resets the parasympathetic nervous system. I think every person who runs should study some basic pranayama techniques. priceless stuff.
Love this advice!!! I agree this must be applicable to nearly everyone serious about running. Or now that I think about it new runners too. New runners likely get flustered with the difficulty breathing and new pain, but this advice would surely be helpful. Stephen, I’ve been going around commenting on some videos trying to spread the word of God, and I’d love to bring it here. Stephen, I just want to let you know that John 16:33 says that God has “overcome the world.” This means no matter what earthly matter comes our way, no matter what trial or tribulation, we can have perfect peace knowing that God has “overcome the world.” More specifically this means God has sent His son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross and take on the punishment for our sins so that we don’t have die. No matter what sins we commit on this earth, if we put our faith and our trust in Jesus, we can have eternal life in heaven. This means life on earth is not the end!! How amazing is that?!! I often find myself caught up in my training, wondering what the overall point of it all is. But I find rest in the fact that there is more to my existence than just training. I belong to God. I am His child and I want to serve Him in everything I do because He loves us and He has given us the greatest gift of eternal life. Take care, Stephen. Your friend, Kurt.
“Breathing - Does it matter?” Well, I’ve been 51 years alive on this planet, and I’ve come to the conclusion, yeah, I’m 99.9% sure breathing is necessary to be considered alive. Although Elon Musk might have figured out a solution.
Thank you for sharing your experiences and wisdom. I am a competitive cyclist and everything you discuss in your videos applies to cycling. You're not only helping runners ... but cyclists too! I hope you meet all of your personal goals, and I hope you qualify for Paris and have the race of your lifetime!
Yes! I’ve noticed a direct correlation with inhale and exhale rates and heart rate
This is why I never wear headphones when I run. I focus on breathing and technique rather than getting lost in a podcast or music.
Same.
100%
Yes, as an aspiring triathlete, the swimming training has REALLY forced me to notice, focus, and coordinate my breathing with my movement across all three spurts. Thanks for this video!
This guy need 10mill subscribers !!!
Every single word is true....I run very efficiently with one step inhale and two or three steps exhale !!!!
Tell your mates to listen to this guy....its almost like listening to a friend when watching his videos !!!!
The oxygen advantage program!
Within the last year I changed from an inhale focus to an exhale focused breathing. I totally agree with you. Your channel explains elite techniques in a way that a 53 year old amateur can use. Thank you for that.
Thank you for all of your videos, tips, and you being completely transparent with your HELPFUL content
I just appreciate you so much! Thank you for these videos, this was absolutely needed
Breathing deeply, with a slow and steady inhalation to exhalation ratio, signals our parasympathetic nervous system to calm the body down.
I don't think I could breathe slow and steady on the last 800 of a 5k 😂😂. But I get your point.
@@61js but I bet you could easily force out exhales during the last 200 meters, like inhale-2, exhale-3 or 4 (like someone bench pressing a lot of weight) ... it's pretty cool to try out and provides mental focus and awareness of the body
@dancollins3467 I had a coach years ago say exactly this, and what Steven has said, concentrate completely on the exhale, blow out all that CO2 and your body will soon want O2 right back in and it'll do it that's for sure!
I noticed this when I do zone 2/easy runs. If the HR starts to creep up, I intentionally do those longer exhales and my HR drops by up to 5 bpm. It's great! Works pretty well in tempo runs too, but more noticeable in the Z2 runs.
5bpm? hope ur still alive.
And it is also great for forcing oneself to run in Z2. I have a problem running too fast. By focusing on long slow breathing, like in-4 / out-5, has been great to help me slow my recovery runs down. A bit awkward to do at first, but I can settle in pretty easily if I run without music.
I've actually noticed focusing on deep inhales and exhales will naturally reduce my heart rate from 150 to 140 while maintaining the same pace. Glad to know others are doing this too!@@mdr1120
Very good!! And very timely. I was just speaking to a family member today about breathing and anxiety, and this is encouraging me too in life and as a newer runner. Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience and wisdom with us!
Amazing content still ! Thanks for sharing your thoughts that totally make sense.
One of the best video's thanks again!
I learned deep breath awareness in yoga and as a runner, I'm always aware of my breathing. I also find that putting more energy into a complete exhale and letting the inhale be more relaxed, is much better than being too active with the inhale, which promotes tension in the body.
Agree yet seems so foreign : counter productive. I read that longer exhale then takes us out of that fight or flight state and so could be linked
Yes, that's my understanding. Emphasis on exhale is calming and emphasis on inhale is activating. It's exciting that you could see the impact in your O2 saturation.
Yes, inhaling activates sympathetic, longer exhale activates/triggers parasympathetic. Can you please make a video of Moxy readings while you change breathing? It's super interesting
I have been saying this for years 🙌
Patrick Mckeown, the oxygen advantage. Look into that scully he gives great advice on your breathing and tips on breathing techniques.
I'm admittedly an inexperienced runner but I spent my last long run just concentrating on form, including breathing, much more than worrying about pace. I felt much stronger and the pace actually looked after itself. The next day my Garmin took over 2 mins off my predicted 5k time. Excited for my next parkrun.
This is spot on! So easy for the legs to get ahead of the lungs at beginning of run!
Great video mate.
Please have a look at the very scientifically established "physiological sigh", you'll find out why the long exhale has a calming effect
Great reminder. Breathing is so critical. I’ve heard that swimming really helps. My mates VO2 went up massively after a few months of swimming.
Q: is the YT paid content still active/added to and the Discord group?
This is something I’ve really discovered lately as well. When doing faster reps I always felt my brain would almost panic and then I’d get tense and the rep would feel brutal. Once I focused on just relaxing and breathing more relaxed I’m running faster for longer without my brain thinking I’m running for my life 😂
I’ve been a mouth breather all my life when running, last two months I’ve been working on breathing in through my nose. Sounds basic but initially my running slowed down until I got into a rhythm after a few runs. In the last two months my HRV has increased, my respiratory rate has dropped from 18.5,to regular 17.3 and I seem to sleep better. Oh and the speed has returned. I tend to breath in through my nose once and breath out twice. I would never thought breathing through my nose would make much of a difference.
Great stuff. I was just working on this over the weekend trying to build up my comfortability at faster rates. Started at an easy pace, drop it down get a smooth easy stride going secure the breathing, drop it down again… repeat til failure. Breathing and running smooth is too underrated imo
Thanks for your videos
You're a genius Stephen.
Amazing that you pull this video out as I'm also training my breathing and feel very excited because I think my training as well as pace has improved like 40% easy. Yoga and swimming have been the key, now my runs (easy and hard) have become more like a meditation. Thank you very much for this video and I hope making consciousness of this makes you an even better runner.
I do some swimming to, training for a triathlon 1.5kms. How long do you swim in a session and what speed, to make a difference to your running fitness??
@@na-dk9vm Is not that much. Around 1k focusing on breathing and around 1’20 - 1’30 each 50m. Also doing apnea, around 3 blocks of 5 reps incremental breath hold. From 30” to 1’40”
@@oscar272731 could you explain apnea training more please??
I was thinking about this on my long run last night 🙂
I breathe so much better on a treadmill. I get waaaaay more anxious out and about (cars, drive ways, pot holes, fkn other runners, bla bla.....) and as a result my breathing tends to get out of control. Sometimes I almost feel emotional and I get exactly the same thing tightness in my chest etc. Totally agree relaxing is the key, but it's easier said than done. Keep up the good work scully, love this video.
Breathing is what finally got me to relax and wrestle efficiently.
A great in depth video interview on breathing is with Kasper Van Der Meulen on elite runner Floris Gierman’s you tube channel. Kasper trains elite athletes in breathing techniques. Really amazing insights.
Thanks Hips Stephen! YES it make total sense. I'm a good swimmer and yes when swimming free style is mandatory to exhale for longer and inhale for a short time. The lack of breath one feels when exercising I understand is due to an excess of CO2 in the body rather than a lack of oxigen.
So it totally makes sense to exhale more than enhale. This brings to mind the rather extraordinary results Wim Hof gets on day 1 from his students asking to do push up on empty lungs after a breathing session. Thanks for sharing, today I went for a run and used my swimming breathing technique and! OMG I thing I hit the jackpot
Holy crap this is awesome! ...
Focusing on breathing and doing some extra exhale to let the body suck in whatever amount of oxygen it needs on the next inhale - doing this in tough runs and in races, especially charging up hills, has been magic!
For anyone that wants to read more on this, former Olympian Budd Coates wrote "Running on Air". Great book that reinforces what we instinctively know.
Thanks for this video and all the rest of the content!
Bothe the CO2 and oxygen are needed, essential really ,for performance. I gather it's more about the proper balance, likely different ratios depending on effort and heart rate. I personally want to look into CO2 tolerence.
Hey Stephen, on another topic... I watched your video on threshold training yesterday the one about not going too fast.. Thanks to that today I did my best threshold session in a long time. I tried a slightly slower pace than I used to. Session felt much more controlled and higher quality.
Question: I had a vo2max test and my anaerobic threshold heart rate was found 173. Do you suggest staying close to that as much as possible like 170-173 or taking some "distance" for example 163-169?
Thanks and keep up the golden content for us mortals!
In order to have a good breathing habit, I practice box breathing and meditate, during meditation I practice different types of breathings.
It's worth the effort 💫
Finally we are talking about this! I was viewed as some sort of hippie getting my CO2 tolerance up, nose breathing and running with a specific breathing pattern.
I unfortunately developed chronic hyperventilation and breathing disorder after breaking my ribs and it is anxiety driven. It’s a long road back to normality and slowing my breathing and learning to breathe nasally has been key to recovery as when the panic sets it you breathe faster and in the upper chest. Slowing everything down and calming engages abdominal breathing. It is a work in progress.
I agree 100% on the breathing focus before and as the run begins - I find that when I start the walk down my driveway, if my breathing is focused and totally under control after the first few strides pick up pace, it seems to just fall naturally into place.
James Nestor wrote a book called Breath which covers everything you just talked about. It also includes exercises to do while walking/jogging to build up your CO2 tolerance.
Thanks. I'll look into that. I'd heard of it, but I was a bit sceptical.
The Oxygen Advantage is also a great book.
Running on Air by former Olympian, Budd Coates and C. Kowalchik is also quite good.
Great. That's four books I'm going to have to look at. I always thought all these guys were charlatans. I've had problems breathing while running before, although I think I'm past that now, and I've been doing yoga since lockdown, which I'm sure helps with breathing. But maybe there's more to learn, so I'll try samples on the Kindle and pick one to read all the way through.@@dancollins3467
@@daveweeden I've just finished Breath by James Nester, my main take away from it for runners is breathing is definitely too fundamental to not pay attention to for runners (or any human, really). That's why I love this post by Steven. But I am still skeptical of the book because Nester, a little too freely, seems to associate breathing problems with a plethora of other conditions. One study or anecedote does not make proof scientifically, nevertheless it's probably well worth spending a little time daily or weekly doing breathwork while running and when not. I imagine breathing work can be like form drills that clean up cadence and form, breathwork could clean up any inefficiencies proactively, too --so little effort for a potentially huge payoff. I wonder if there are any studies out there that looks at elite runners and how they breathe. What would show up, maybe there is data supporting a longer exhale? Something else? I laughed when Steven said face it most of us runners are anxious, that's me, and anxiety and breathing are pretty tightly bound for sure!
I've been working on the breathing for the past week and I have seen the improvement. I also realised that when training with Paula Radcliffe between '96 and '00. And she was a very loud breather. Could be the reason why she did so well.
Nice, thanks for sharing! I have kind of the same experience, that might also sound strange. I noticed one day when doing fast intervalsessions at a new slightly higher pace, at the last intervals when things were getting tough I started feeling anxious and my breathing got worse -> running form got worse -> more anxiety etc. Then I started imagining taking a deep dive in the super cold sea and simulated the corresponding style of breathing. I did so because recently I had noticed that when you dive in the cold you automatically (!) hold your breath and exhale slowly and very consciously, and as a consequenc, you don't panic (think about this, at other moments we tend to do the opposite, breath more - hyperventilate - in trying to cope with the panic). Because you don't panic when holding your breath and exhaling slowly you are more efficient with your oxigen and you can stay under water for longer. When you come above, you fastly exhale the final CO2 and inhale extra deep, and you feel in control again. All of this is done by instinct when you take that dive. Which means that by nature (!) we regulate stress by breathing this way, at least in the case of such a dive. Just by the imagination of these dives and style of breathing while running I was able to get my heart rate 2-3 beats down while maintaining the pace and calmness.
Good example diving into cold water! Learned that from Wim Hof and similar sources.
I was excited by the title of this video because I've been banging on about how important breathing is too lol.
Slowing your breathing can reduce heart rate (a great life lesson for stressful situations in general).
I regularly use asymmetric breathing (breathe in for three steps and out for two steps) - this alternates which landing foot is on the inhale and exhale every cycle and can help against stitch (just conscious and rhythmical breathing probably does this) but also spends more time getting air in because we can general clear air out faster. But rushed breathing (hyperventilation) is likely counterproductive (elevated heart rate? Contrary to slower breathing?). But all in all I think there's a fair (at least not negligible) amount to be gained from trying different things and being aware of the impact of different breast patterns.
so true! As a mere mortal one personal experience stands out in an afternoon session. totally zoned in and meditated on the breathing. nothing else... looked at my pace and i was cooking at mid 3min/k whilst the breathing felt like 5min?k
Fascinating. I've got to give this a try. As an old codger who started running in the 70's I was ready with my "Oh no, Stephen's gone bonkers. He's going to be promoting nostril separators and Chi running?". Fortunately, not, so switch off grumpy mode. Biggest surprise for me was that O2sat was useful when running. I thought the body kept it constant. By chance, due to sleep apnea, I have a Wellue O2sat measuring ring (recommended). It fits on your thumb and gives immediate feedback. Must be easier than have to look at your leg (did I understand that right?). I just wonder if the O2sat in the thumb is the same as that in the leg. We'll see.
You just reminded me of how many years ago (12-14), when I used to run shorter distances only, I did an experiment where I tried different breathing patterns for the 2km loop I would time trial myself on. For one run, I would breathe more slowly and relaxed until it got tough, and then speed up the breathing out of necessity. On the other run, I would do the "heavy breathing" from the very beginning, even when it felt like there was no need to, and I think I found I generally got a faster time breathing harder from the beginning rather than waiting for the fatigue to set in.
Now I'm wondering, when running a marathon, am I better off staying relaxed and slow breathing for the first 1-2 hours feeling in control, or will my body hold up for longer if I breathe more heavily the whole time? My bottleneck right now is muscle break down, not cardio fitness.
I've been playing around with this lately also, sharp inhale to fill the lungs and long exhale to clear them out seems to be the key, just need your lungs to be processing as much new oxygen as possible, leaving them half full of old stuff just aint optimal.
it's pretty crazy that feeling fatigued on a run you can do this for a few minutes and you get a new lease of energy.
I also notice that once you've done it for a while your body just starts doing it as second nature, to the point you kind of get the feeling your body has been waiting for you to wise up and get it right.
Agreed! - this is my new magic bullet on tough runs, especially on hills. Start breathing like this and it's like a blast of energy. Awesome!
Thanks for the video, very informative, I’ll try this during my 5k race this weekend, I can so easily coast the first km and then blow up km 2, so I need to breathe properly through the first km so that I don’t hit that pain too early
Yes make it a priority, but it’s mad that it kind of feels like hard work to constantly focus on more breathing etc.. think big cheeks and longer exhales, then the inhale takes care of itself
Interesting video. Would love if you could show a practical video where you make very clear when you are inhaling and when you’re exhaling.
You could simply climb on the treadmill and hold your hand in 2 different positions to make a signal for each.
Also show which muscles you are activating the most to execute this. It would lead to amazing insight
Could it be that your breathing rate is determined by your intensity of exercise, and this video promotes the importance of just breathing steadily, by focusing on the exhale? If you run fast you have a higher rythm.
@@mathiassvedman419 Your logic certainly makes sense. But he being an elite runner could show the ratios of breathing that he feels more comfortable in, even in different paces. I see it as a way to guide people who are breathing in unproductive ways.
After a moxy test I realized I was hyperventilating a little bit - too much shallow breathing getting too much oxygen too early (it is counterintuitive, but you need a certain level of CO2 in your body and shallow quick breathing means you are getting rid of more CO2 than you produce lessening the proper CO2 level in your body which harms your performance). What I was told in swimming helped in running too. Do not worry about inhaling, that will take of itself naturally, concentrate on controlled exhaling - also using (partially) nose for exhaling tends to make you exhale in a more controlled and relaxed way, that will set up your lungs for deeper controlled inhaling as well, which will sort of roll out by itself from that final position of exhalation. That advice helped me.
This was great! I have been looking for guided breathing guides for running but there was none, so I’m going to use this technique in my run in an hour!! And also runners being anxious people to begin with sums me up hahah
Loving the new range of T Shirts Scully. If you have " just another Sunday " printed on one, I'll take a large one in blue😂 👍
That’s a good one. I’d never order a range in blue tho haha, I’m so sad and wear grey, white, black, “maybe” maroon lol. They’re coming soon
These were all just samples from trial / error etc
You could extend how long you can hold your breath like swimming by doing Wim Hof breathing (obviously not during running)
Myself, I noticed that a pattern of 2-inhales vs 3 exhales is more relaxing than 3:2. I heard some arguing that bigger inhales bring more oxygen to the body, but despite my efforts to follow their advice, I prefer 2:3. If I am in a more relaxing mode, I would pick e.g. 2:4 rather than 3:3, or 3:4 rather than 4:3, and so on. So exhaling seems more important than inhaling, at least to me.
Nevertheless, if the body does get deprived of oxygen, maybe a 2-step inhale has to be done with some extra stress. So it is a matter of balance, between having a relaxed exhale, but not too much stressful inhale. Am I right in all that?
I’ve found hot yoga vastly improved my running- mainly from the training of my breathing muscles - but also from the flexibility I’ve developed and the sped up recovery time from increased blood flow. I highly recommend hot yoga sessions for cross training days.
There is NOTHING for running like running....
@@truth-Hurts375 Well, I’ve been long distance running since 1998 and took up hot yoga 18 months ago and have to say that I disagree with your statement.
I’m also a long distance swimmer, and hot yoga drastically improved my endurance in that sport as well.
Hot yoga improves the endurance and strength of almost every muscle in the body while staying lean. It also increases the body’s ability to use fat as fuel and increases oxygen efficiency. Hot yoga also improves your focus and tolerance threshold, increasing your capacity to get through a challenging workout without becoming stressed mentally or physically. I am actually surprised it hasn’t become a part of professional athletic training.
Thank you for another awesome video! I am a beginner runner. I was surprised to feel really good running in a very windy day the other day. I wonder if it had anything to do with me not able to hear my labored breathing because of the loud wind. I felt lighter.
Just want to add that I run 6 miles in 2 big loops, so it's not like the wind was always behind me
I just did a tempo run and was thinking about and trying to manage my breathing.
With my ADHD I notice Breathing protocols can really make a difference. 3-5bpm lower at times when doing controlled nasal inhalation & slow relaxed mouth exhalations 😊. Nice video Stephen, cheers.
@Stephen
Why don't you tape your mouth and run 5 km to see how you get on?
I tape my mouth every night , brings heart rate down and sleep is better
Great video but can we talk about breathing patterns please? What do you do? I was doing breathe in 3 steps and out 3 steps and when I can I try to lengthen to 4, 5, 6… I feel the longer I do the fitter I am but am not a seasoned runner… any advice there?
What you drink ? Water or electrolytes?
My way of breathing is a bit backwards. If you think of how a freestyle swimmer breathes, that's how I breathe when running. When things get tough I will try to slow my exhale out but only through the nose until I can regroup myself.
Facts 🙌🙌🙌
'just bloody breathe'
Is officially my new mantra
!! When i am in a period of time working on increasing speed, ill use a towel to cover the treadmill screen and turn up the pace to where feels comfortable to get gauges. The second i take the towel off an i see a pace faster than id usually find comfortable, its like Bang!! now I am a small boat letting in water trying to remove it with a bucket
Patrick McKeown and oxygen advantage. Great food for thought on their RUclips on this topic.
I believe studies have shown that swimming improves your VO2 Max quicker (not higher) than other endurance sports likely due to one having to control/hold their breath.
Stephen what's your best carbohydrate choice for fuelling for long runs?
Maurten
Have you ever tried holding your breath while running? It is insane. Just on a cooldown running easy and trying to hold for 10-15 secs is surprising.
How do you manage your testosterone level? Does long distance running reduces testosterone level ?
wish you could have given us a 30 second sample of what the breathing sounded like.
Asmr
I have been working on Wim Hof breathing techniques and one of the first days of doing it, I timed my breath hold and hit 2.5 minutes no problem and was like, ohh crap, this really works.
Just try the Wim Hoff method.
I usually get anxious thinking about my coach looking into my training peaks and seeing I have been slacking during the session. The worst is the speed tests. As soon as I see the word test, I get much more anxious.
Can anyone iD his running watch?
Hey Ste. yeah couldn't agree more...for the harder push or big finishes I honestly have found the pregnant Labour breathing helps me maintain harder effort for longer...sounds weird but works for me...ur has a bigger exhale pattern...Oxygen = life...more oxygen...more life 😊 or maybe science says better CO2 balance more life ha
Great topic! I breathe out on my fourth step. So, when I focus on my breathing, I just count my second right step. My pace is controlled by my cadence. My average cadence is 177-190. When I go into Tempo mode, my cadence goes up to 210 but I keep the same breathing. The fourth step. It works really well!
If I’m breathing out less than every 5 steps I know I’m running too fast, that’s how I judge my 5 and 10k paces. There’s a podcast I watch Ron RUclips talking about it.
Not weird at all. I'm not a talented runner, but breath awareness is one of the tools that I use to push myself comfortably hard for longer. Now if only I could figure out how to reliably improve my pace at threshold. 😂
Ok I get it, breathing. Some pattern based on the cadence? Why exhale longer? How much longer? Like 3 in 5 out or as long as you can?
Hi ... some books to read to learn more about this: Breath (Nestor), The Oxygen Advantage (McKeown), Running on Air (Coates) - and check out Wim Hof.
Inhaling longer than exhaling wakes you up (fight or flight - sympathetic nervous system). Exhaling longer than inhaling calms you down (relax, reduce panic & anxiety - parasympathetic nervous system).
Go for a run and experiment. Try 3-in/4-out, 2-in/3-out, etc. ... experiment and find what feels good. Forcing long 4-in/5-out can be also be good to keep it slow to run easy in heart rate zone-2 or recovery runs.
@@dancollins3467 thank you fpr the reply. I do 3 in 3 out at the moment, that works good but I'll go try some stuff!
Hey, how old are you?
Cheers
I think breathing is essential for running, without it you cannot survive for more than 5min and this is very detrimental for your running performance.
I'd argue the way you breathe is more important even than what you eat or drink. But anything organic isn't as sexy as something you can buy. Don't believe me, try running a 10k without food or drink and see how you get on. Then try running a 10k without breathing and see how far you get!! Ok that highly pedantic and not serious but breath control is absolutely essential for efficient movement.
I love 'the oxygen advantage' reading that book really made me understand how oxygen uptake works, and what a bunch of sh*t people are spreading around breathing.
Short double inhale and slow exhale - lower your heart rate
Slow inhale and fast double exhale - raise your heart rate (can be useful before you start)
This is the sort of guidance I was hoping for from this video…
As mentioned elsewhere here (and I learned it via Wim Hof, Nestor, and McKeown): you want to wake up/excite yourself? - inhales are longer than your exhales, activating sympathetic nervous system; you want to calm down/relax yourself? - exhales are longer than your inhales activating parasympathetic nervous system.
Any experience with strictly nasal breathing or thoughts about it all? Thanks for the video.
I did try for a while, but my nose was broke a few times playing rugby. I’ve heard it improves that c02 tolerance, which is air hunger, but I’m sure the benefits for running means you’re just not as likely to panic when feeling under pressure or breathless.. I think most of the issue is when we enter that state of panic (long before we need to, if ever etc..) we start shallow breathing and the body shuts down from a lack of oxygen
Your breathing rate mainly affects CO2 levels, unless you’re not breathing or have a resp rate of like 3 haha. But breathing 8, 18, 28…48 times a minute won’t change the amount of inspired oxygen or how oxygenated your blood/body is really, but will cause you to expel more CO2 typically as your respiratory rate rises. So I doubt the benefits you are finding is oxygen related, maybe a shift in pH with the changing co2 levels, or maybe a secondary effect with breathing and HRV/HR? Interesting none the less
I know this vodeo isnt sponsored but what is this moxy gadget your talking about
Handy little tool moxy sensor, I know a company in Germany rents them. “Not cheap to buy” but very very useful
it's a known fact that a longer exhale resets the parasympathetic nervous system. I think every person who runs should study some basic pranayama techniques. priceless stuff.
Love this advice!!! I agree this must be applicable to nearly everyone serious about running. Or now that I think about it new runners too. New runners likely get flustered with the difficulty breathing and new pain, but this advice would surely be helpful. Stephen, I’ve been going around commenting on some videos trying to spread the word of God, and I’d love to bring it here. Stephen, I just want to let you know that John 16:33 says that God has “overcome the world.” This means no matter what earthly matter comes our way, no matter what trial or tribulation, we can have perfect peace knowing that God has “overcome the world.” More specifically this means God has sent His son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross and take on the punishment for our sins so that we don’t have die. No matter what sins we commit on this earth, if we put our faith and our trust in Jesus, we can have eternal life in heaven. This means life on earth is not the end!! How amazing is that?!! I often find myself caught up in my training, wondering what the overall point of it all is. But I find rest in the fact that there is more to my existence than just training. I belong to God. I am His child and I want to serve Him in everything I do because He loves us and He has given us the greatest gift of eternal life. Take care, Stephen. Your friend, Kurt.
Happy for you but I thought this was common knowledge lol - where was your coach for that
Breathing is so over rated. “Just say no.”
“Breathing - Does it matter?” Well, I’ve been 51 years alive on this planet, and I’ve come to the conclusion, yeah, I’m 99.9% sure breathing is necessary to be considered alive. Although Elon Musk might have figured out a solution.