What to Do About Your Sucky Breathing Strategy

Last time I discussed some anatomy and physiology of breathing, as well as some signs you might have an aberrant breathing pattern. Before I get into the meat and potatoes of this post, lets look at some benefits of proper breathing.

• Improved posture - Less pain, more efficient movement, and decreased injury risk. Win.
• Improved core function - In addition to all the benefits of improved posture, you can lift heavier things, run faster, jump higher, and save more puppies from certain death. Win.
• Decreased sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system activity - There are times you need to be able to deliver multiple round house kicks and times you need to cuddle. If your breathing sucks, you will constantly be in Chuck Norris mode. This increases stress levels, which we all know is a bad thing (increased BP, anxiety, reduced sleep quality etc). If you are in a constant state of heightened stress, performance, recovery and long term health will suffer dramatically. 
• Increased parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system activity - See above. Round house kicks and cuddling don't mix (unless you are Chuck Norris, in which case round house kicks mix with everything). You need to be able to relax at the appropriate time. Increased parasympathetic activity aids in recovery, sleep, and lowering stress levels. Cuddling is good for you. 

By now you should be convinced proper breathing is important. So what is one to do about fixing the problem? First, we need to determine if a problem exists. I find it very rare that a particular individual has a "perfect" breathing strategy, so this is something we all can work on from time to time. 

Self-Assessment

Lie on your back and place one hand over your belly button and the other on the upper part of your chest just below the collar bone. Now take a deep breath. If the hand on your chest rises any time before the hand on your stomach, you most likely have an aberrant breathing strategy. Here is a video example below:

Now an example of what a proper breath looks like:

In a proper breathing pattern, the stomach and lower ribs will expand upon inhalation and depress during exhalation. The upper chest will remain still. This ensures that the diaphragm and primary respiratory muscles are functioning properly.

So if your stomach rises and chest stays still, does this mean your breathing pattern is perfect? Probably not, but it is a start. Anyone and everyone can benefit from the strategies that I will outline next.

Lets look at a few strategies you can use to fix or improve your current breathing pattern.

Crocodile Breathing

Crocodile breathing will teach you the best way to inhale. When learning something new, the ground is always the best place to begin because one is in the most stable position. Ground work can give us valuable feedback when doing any exercise, so this is where we should start. When you achieve 20 good breaths, progress to the next step.

• Lay flat on your stomach and rest the forehead on the hands.
• From this position take a deep breath in through your nose and attempt to expand the stomach into the ground. If you feel your belly pressing into the floor when taking a breath in, you are doing it correctly. Try and expand the entire midsection.
• Pause for 3-5 seconds.
• Push all of your air out through your mouth. It should take longer to exhale than to inhale.
• Pause for 3-5 seconds, then repeat for 10-20 deep breaths.

90/90 Breathing

90/90 breathing places more emphasis on exhaling. It is a great way to improve reflexive core function, facilitate the "ribs down" position and get all the air out. This is especially important for individuals that spend time in an overextended position.

I have seen dramatic improvements in posture from just one set of this particular breathing drill. It can really work wonders when performed correctly. It works so well because when breathing is regulated, tone and tension in accessory breathing muscles and other chronically tight muscle groups begins to reduce almost instantly. Almost like pressing the reset button on your body. You must follow each and every step to a T!

• Lay on your back with the feet propped up against a wall. The knees and hips should be flexed to 90 degrees.
• Place your hands on the outside of the trunk, just above the hip bones.
• The lower back must remain flat on the ground the entire time. Place a pillow under your hips if you have trouble with this.
• From this position take a deep breath in through your nose and attempt to expand the stomach upward and outward into your hands. The chest should not rise! Try and expand the entire midsection.
• Pause for 3-5 seconds.
• Purse your lips together and actively push all of your air out through your mouth. Visualize blowing up a balloon. 
• When pushing your air out, the ribs should travel downward and you should feel the muscles in the abdomen engage. It should take roughly 1.5 to 2 times longer to exhale than inhale.
• Pause for 3-5 seconds, then repeat for 10 deep breaths.
• For best results, perform this pre-workout, post-workout, and before bed. The more trouble you have with this, the more practice you need!

Find Neutral

Regardless of what movement you are doing , you should always try to find neutral position. This is the position where the rib cage is centered directly over the pelvis. I give credit to Kelly Starrett for this next cue.
Picture a bowl of water in the bottom of your ribcage and another in your pelvis. Never let water spill out of those bowls. By keeping the ribs aligned over the pelvis, you create an optimal thoraco-pelvic canister (TPC), which ensures you are able to generate the appropriate amount of intra-abdominal pressure.

Breathing Ladders

After mastering the diaphragmatic breathing exercises and neutral position mentioned above, you can progress to higher level activities. Breathing ladders can be used in any training program regardless of your goals. They can be used to build endurance, strength, muscle mass, or aid in fat loss. For the purpose of this post, they will be used to build a better respiratory pattern.

A breathing ladder consists of multiple sets of a compound movement done with a fixed number of breaths in between sets. For example, a breathing ladder performed with deadlifts and a goal of 10 reps might look like this:

1 Deadlift - 1 Breath
2 Deadlifts - 2 Breaths
3 Deadlifts - 3 Breaths
4 Deadlifts - 4 Breaths...all the way to 10 Deadlifts - 10 Breaths
Feel free to tri-set a high five in between each set too.

Remember to take long, slow breaths and focus on fully inhaling and exhaling with each one. Don't let the simplicity of this fool you. Its pretty tough. With a end goal of 10 reps, you end up doing 55 reps.

There are several ways you can mix this one up too. It can be done with pull ups, squats, swings or any other compound move. You could go up to 10 and back down to 1 if you are feeling especially masochistic, or do 3 separate sets going up to 5. The total number you shoot for is up to you. Tons of possibilities.

By performing the ladder, you will be more aware of your breathing pattern , leading to better conscious and subconscious control in the long run. Honestly, how often to you pay specific attention to all that huffing and puffing in between sets?

Summary

Proper breathing is a skill we possess at birth. As with many things, we learn bad habits along the way and things get all screwed up. I implore you to take the time and assess what your breathing pattern looks like and take the necessary steps to improve it. With some practice and patience, you will notice your posture improve and feel stress melt away.

So to recap:

1. Start with crocodile breathing - Master 20 breaths.
2. Progress the the 90/90 breaths - Master 20 breaths.
3. Do some breathing ladders.

Its not just about vanity here. Your long term health can benefit too! What do you have to lose?