How to catch your breath during an intense workout

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

In any workout there is a short rest period during which you can recover and catch your breath under the encouraging shouts of the coach: “Breathe! We breathe! . How to properly restore breathing - we will tell you in this article.

It is imperative to take care of yourself while doing the exercises, since the effectiveness and the absence of injuries depend on it. But it turns out that it is equally important to keep track of how we rest. The better the rest in these allotted 30-60 seconds, the stronger, faster and more enduring we will be at the next stage of training.

In a study from Western Washington University, it was found that for a quick recovery during rest between exercises, you need to breathe straight with your hands behind your head or with your hands on your knees.

Result: breathing in this position (leaning slightly forward with an emphasis on the knees) lowers our heart rate by more than 22 beats per minute compared to resting in an erect position.

Lorrie Brilla, the author of this study, says that being able to lower your heart rate and catch your breath during these short rest periods gives you a head start - you will be faster and stronger than your competitors in a post-rest training or competition set.

Whether you're doing cardio or high-intensity workouts, bringing your body to near baseline gives you the rest and strength you need to kick start. That is, with the right rest, you have the opportunity to do more work and do it better than in the case when you are trying to complete the final approach with your tongue on your shoulder, lying down.

According to the same study, breathing with a slight forward bend is ideal for quick recovery for several reasons. First, breathing in this position helps your diaphragm move, which as a result allows more air to be drawn into your lungs with each breath.

Secondly, this position allows the abdominal muscles to expel more carbon dioxide from the lungs each time you exhale. And this is very important, since CO₂is a byproduct of training. To get rid of it, your heart has to work harder, pumping more oxygenated blood into your lungs and carrying as much carbon dioxide out of there as possible. In any case, the more gas you pass through your lungs as you breathe, the faster your pulse returns to normal, since your heart does not have to exert additional effort.

Last but not least, leaning forward sends a signal to our brains that it's time to relax. This turns off the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the active heartbeat and the adrenaline rush, and triggers the parasympathetic nervous system, which slows down breathing and helps the body to relax.