Copenhagen Marathon 2022 in Copenhagen, Denmark

Running

5 breathing exercises for runners

Breathing exercises are a great way to build stamina — whether you’re a beginner, a seasoned sprinter or training for a competition.

By Nai Boustany

6 min readPublished on 11/01/2022 · 6:06 PM UTC

Every accomplished runner knows how important it is to control their breath to optimize speed, strength and stamina. Take Max Keith, a 33-year-old Chilean runner who competed in the California’s Speed Project — a 548 km route from the Santa Monica Pier to the Las Vegas Welcome Sign.

When he’s running Keith says, “You’re focused on your form, motion, steps, how you’re breathing – you’re hyper-aware of your surroundings. The more in tune you are with yourself, the wilder the experience gets. The more speed you can achieve, the more intense the experience.”

Kristian Blummenfelt running in Bergen, Norway
© Emil Sollie / Red Bull Content Pool

The relationship between running speed and oxygen intake is known as your ‘running economy.’ The more efficiently you can convert oxygen into forward motion, the better. As your muscle’s workload increases, more carbon dioxide is produced within your system. If there’s no oxygen to flush it out, there will be a build-up of lactic acid, which can cause cramps, muscle pains and shortness of breath!

5 Breathing Exercises for Runners

Below, we take you through 5 controlled breathing exercises that are as important for muscle oxygenation as interval training. They will also help you strengthen your mental toughness and help you hit your personal bests in terms of distance and time.

Patterned Breathing

Participant at the Wings for Life World Run event in Le Fousseret, France
© Julien Blanc for Wings for Life World Run

Patterned breathing exercises help you tone your diaphragm and gain more control over your breathing. When you get good at this exercise, you will be able to take deeper breaths and improve your running economy.

How to start using patterned breathing:

Step 1: start by walking and base your breathing on your strides. For example, inhale for two steps, and exhale for the same amount — this is called the 2:2 breathing pattern
Step 2: keep this pattern up for 1-2 minutes
Step 3: once you feel comfortable, speed up your pace and start running while still breathing based on your strides

These exercises can vary in formation, depending on your desired goal and pace. Use a 2:2 breathing pattern for short sprints or races and a 3:3 or 4:4 breathing pattern for longer training or races. Ultimately, paced breathing can help you run with more power and efficiency even as you start to fatigue.

Belly Breathing or Diaphragmatic Breathing

Tom Evans at the Wings for Life World Run Flagship Run in Vienna, Austria
© Matthias Heschl for Wings for Life World Run

This type of deep abdominal breathing strengthens your diaphragm (the muscles that control your breathing). This exercise is particularly helpful if you have shallow breath, which causes tension in the shoulders resulting in cramps and backache. Since this type of breathing allows you to take in more air, there is a reduced likelihood of experiencing stitches.

Here’s how you practice belly breathing in three simple steps:

Step 1: breathe in through your nose and fill your stomach with oxygen
Step 2: when your belly has expanded, push your diaphragm down and out
Step 3: when you exhale, make sure to lengthen your breath so they are longer than when you inhale

To begin with, try doing this exercise lying on the floor. Once you get the hang of it, implement it while you're running by slowing down your pace and following the steps above.

Equal Breathing

Participants at the Copenhagen Marathon 2022 in Copenhagen
© Esben Zøllner Olesen / Red Bull Content Pool

This technique focuses on making your inhales and your exhales the same length. It makes your breathing slow and steady, which helps immensely with pacing yourself. Although it seems easy, this is one of the more difficult exercises since it’s all about discipline and control.

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: breath in and out through your nose
Step 2: make sure each inhale and exhale are of equal duration
A great trick is to choose a word or a short phrase to repeat while inhaling and exhaling

Although this exercise is the hardest to master, it is the easiest to implement while you are running as it doesn’t require any physical manipulation of your body. It’s useful because it ensures there is enough oxygen exchange in your system which will improve your stamina and help you to run further distances.

Alternating Nostrils Breathing also known as Nadi Shodhana

Alternate nostril breathing comes from yoga practices. It’s also known as ‘Nadi Shodhana Pranayama’ which means “subtle energy clearing breathing technique” in Sanskrit. This technique is known to lower stress and improve cardiovascular function.

This method is easy and you can do it in 5 simple steps:

Step 1: lift your right hand up and press your first and middle finger towards your palm and leave the other fingers extended. When you exhale, use your thumb to close your right nostril
Step 2: inhale through your left nostril and then close it with your pinky and ring finger and release your thumb from your right nostril
Step 3: exhale out of your right nostril and inhale again
Step 4: close your right nostril and then release your left nostril and inhale, then exhale
Step 5: repeat this cycle for up to 5 minutes

Again, until you get the hang of this method, sit down while you practice. Once you feel comfortable and know how to execute the cycles, try this exercise as a part of your pre-run stretches or jogging warm-up. It’ll help you to increase your lung capacity by strengthening your diaphragm, so it’ll take longer for you to feel out of breath.

Pursed-Lips Breathing

Pursed-lip breathing will reduce the impact on your lungs while running. It slows your breathing by keeping your airways open longer — this makes it easier for oxygen to enter your bloodstream and flush out the carbon dioxide build-up in your muscles.

Follow these three steps to try the exercise out:

Step 1: inhale through your nostrils
Step 2: purse your lips as if you were pouting
Step 3: breathe out as slowly as you can through your pursed lips. It should take twice as long for you to exhale

This exercise is much easier than diaphragmatic breathing and has a similar effect on your system. You can easily implement while you are running as long as you are focused on your breathwork.

How to Breathe When Running: 3 Tips

Participants at Red Bull Quicksand in Almaty, Kazakhstan
© Victor Magdeyev / Red Bull Content Pool

Here are some general steps to maximize oxygen intake while running. These will help you control your breathing, regulate your pace and maximize your energy.

Know when to breathe out of your nose vs your mouth. If you’re running at a slow pace, you can use nasal breathing or choose to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. But if you’re running at a faster pace, and are struggling to catch your breath, you might find it easier to breathe through your mouth.
Stick to a rhythm, this allows you to take in more oxygen. Alternate your exhalations between your right and left foot, this will reduce the impact of your feet hitting the floor on your diaphragm. This impact can equal up to 4 times your body-weight. Using an alternating breathing technique will help reduce the chance of injury as both sides of your body are absorbing this weight.
Finally, focus on your form. In order to maximize breathing depth, you need to maintain good posture while running. Keep your head up and in line with your spine, making sure your shoulders aren’t hunched.

Conclusion

Overall, breathing exercises are a great way to build stamina — whether you’re a beginner, a seasoned sprinter or training for a competition. These techniques, combined with perfecting your stride, will help you gain control over your performance!