This is one of the most important things to know when you are strength training. It is easy to say "remember to breathe," but the next question you asked was "Okay, but how?" Here is the basic rules to breathing while working out.
When you are engaged in a cardiovascular exercise your breathing will become very quick, short, and rapid. The reason is because you are asking your heart and body to work harder and in order for that to happen it needs more oxygen. Your lungs are taking in more oxygen which is pumping through your body to meet the demand you are placing on it. Also, you are creating waste within your system, that needs to be expelled, quickly.
When you are engaged in strength training exercise you are placing a high demand on your muscles. You are toning and conditioning. They need oxygen, fuel and water. There are three ways to make your muscle fibers strong (tone.) They are concentric, eccentric and isometric movements.Concentric means angle decrease with resistance.Eccentric means to lengthen the joint.Isometric means no change.
We are going to focus on concentric & eccentric motions.Take a bicep curl for example; when you bring your arm toward your body, decreasing the angle of the elbow joint, that is a concentric or positive movement with the bicep muscle doing the work.
When you return you arm down to its starting position, lengthening the joint, that is an eccentric or negative movement with the triceps muscle doing the work.
When you are curling your arm up, that is the force that requires exertion, this is when you breathe out.When you are returning your arm to the starting position, this is when you breathe in, preparing your body with a fresh breathe of air that will help fuel the next demand you place on your muscles.
Concentric (positive) = pull = exhale (decrease the angle of a joint with resistance phase)Eccentric (negative) = push = inhale (lengthen the joint or on the way down phase)
How to breathe through Week 1 - Week 4 Exercises:
Crab walk: just breathe.
Squat: exhale going down, inhale coming back up.
Lunge: exhale when lowering your knee to the ground, inhale when pushing back up.
Balance board: breathe steady and evenly. Focusing on your breathe and visualizing your center will help you to stay steady.
Oblique twist: exhale when moving to the sides, inhale when moving through your center. Will be rapid.
Seated row: exhale when pulling arms back and squeezing shoulder blades, inhale when returning arms to start position.
Arm downward pull: exhale when bringing arms down to back and sides, inhale as you are returning to start position.
Lateral arm raise: exhale when lifting arm up, inhale when lowering arm.
Bicep curl: exhale when bending your arm, exhale when going back down.
Triceps dip: exhale when lowering your body toward the floor, inhale coming up.
