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I cannot stress enough the importance of breathing while exercising.  Breathing through everything in life is important and especially during exercise.  You will surprise yourself with how much a simple breath can do for you.  And if you want to reach maximum efficiency in your training, you must learn to breathe properly.  Holding your breath during exercise can cause damage to your body in several ways.  And by holding your breath you are allowing your blood pressure to go to your head and your muscles cannot relax.  This can lead to dizziness and headaches.  By taking controlled breaths during intense movements you allow your muscles to open up and relax, which will give you more power, speed, endurance and energy that you need to achieve your results in an efficient and safe way.

When we take quick shallow breaths through our mouths the body does not get enough oxygen for the cells because the lungs do not get the proper exercise they need.  Shallow breathing means you are working too hard and by taking stronger, deeper breaths you will increase vitality to all the organs.  Animals which breathe slowly live the longest.  Think of the elephants!  Breathe slowly and deeply whenever possible.

Also, I’ve talked a lot about breathing while we do pilates.  The pilates breath is a little bit different because you are inhaling through your nose and filling your low belly with your breath and when you breathe out you are forcing the breath out through your mouth and engaging your abdominal muscles.  Inhale and your ribs open.  Exhale and your ribs close.  Try it out at home.

When we do strength and resistance training as in using weights, you should exhale on the most difficult part of the exercise and inhale on the recovery or the easiest part of the exercise.  When doing a crunch, you should exhale when you lift your shoulders up and inhale when you go back down.

When we relax and do yoga and stretch you should focus a little deeper and use your diaphragm.  It will help you execute the moves more deliberately and also help you reduce stress.

One thing I want to make sure everyone is aware of is that you should not overexert yourself to the point of collapse or a racing heartbeat.  If something is not feeling right, slow down, take some deep breaths through your nose and only begin once your heart is beating at a normal pace again.

Bottom line everyone:  Breath is good. Breath will help you.  Breathe in.  Breathe deep.  We’ll get there.

Quote for the week:

“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”

-Sir Edmund Hillary

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