In this extract from the ground-breaking practical guide, Breathe Smarter, Run Stronger, Master Oxygen Advantage coach David ‘Jacko’ Jackson reveals breathing techniques for maximising running performance, whatever your level.
Ever had that feeling you just can’t get enough air on a run? If we stop for a moment and think about those elite runners who are calm and effortlessly in control of their breathing, they don’t appear to be getting more air in than us. In fact, they almost look like they are breathing less air than me! Are they more efficient with the oxygen in their body? How do they do that?
Well, something that is jumping out of the new flurry of research into breathing strategies and respiratory physiology within running is that an elite runner doesn’t necessarily ventilate (breathe) a larger volume of air than an amateur runner at a relative pace or intensity. It’s the way they ventilate. The way they get the air in is different. It’s slower, it’s more controlled and it’s more efficient.2 How they do that mechanically, we’ll unpack in the chapters of the book.
Start breathing like an elite runner
The simplest and most practical thing you can start doing immediately to benefit from more efficient breathing is exactly what I did after just a few weeks of practice at my local parkrun: I breathed at a slightly slower rate but tried to increase the size and depth of my inhales. To my utter surprise, I ran a PB. Trying to breathe more efficiently, like an elite runner, isn’t about trying to ventilate more – it’s about doing it smarter.
I couldn’t believe the effect of something as simple as breathing slightly slower and slightly deeper than my normal auto. I joined the sub-20-minutes parkrun club. I’d been knocking on the door for over a year, but it was always shut.
Try this
On your next run, follow these steps:
- Simply start by being aware of what your auto breathing feels like when running at a comfortable pace.
- Become aware of the speed of your breathing and the size and depth of each breath.
- Keep the pace of your running comfortable as you relax your breathing rate. Rather than specifically trying to slow your breathing down, start by allowing yourself and your breathing to relax.
- As you relax your chest and abdomen, notice that your breathing slows down naturally. You don’t need to breathe as fast as you think you need to, and being relaxed helps this.
- Finally, as your breathing naturally slows while you relax, try to engage in a deeper and slightly bigger breath as you inhale.
- Once you become comfortable and relax into this calmer, controlled breathing cycle, you can gradually start to increase your running pace. Try to increase the depth and size of breath rather than just breathing faster to meet the demands of a faster running pace. It’s more efficient and what the elite runners do.
- Relative to what feels normal on auto, you should feel like you’re breathing a little slower yet a little bigger and deeper.
I can’t promise it will knock a minute off your 5km time straight away, but it’s the start of your transformation.
Discover more top tips in Breathe Smarter, Run Stronger.
Learn more from David ‘Jacko’ Jackson in his CPD course on the FitPro education platform; ‘Breathwork for Movement
