How To Breathe When Running
‘How to breath properly while running’ is one of the most searched for topics here at Complete Running. This article contains tips and video to show you the correct way to breathe while running.
Out of Breath?
It’s important to remember that, if you run out of breath, become dizzy or nauseous, it means you are not taking in enough oxygen for the speed you are running. Generally speaking, this means you must either adjust your speed, or the amount of air you take into your lungs. The tips below keep those two strategies in mind.
7 Key Breathing Tips
- Try slowing down before attempting to change your breathing.
- Focus on longer, deeper breaths.
- Breath more from your diaphragm (belly) than your chest (chest breathing is more shallow).
- Focus on exhaling more fully. This will remove more CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) and allow for deeper inhalations of O2 (Oxygen).
- Allow air to enter through both the nose and mouth. This will allow for maximum O2 intake.
- Aim to take three footsteps for every inhale, and two footsteps for every exhale (3:2 ratio). A good descriptions of this can be found on Military.com:
Many experts will say that to fully oxygenate the muscles and clear the body of carbon dioxide you should breathe a 3:2 inhale-to-exhale ratio; full inhales and full exhales. This means you INHALE on the LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT foot strikes and EXHALE fully on the RIGHT, LEFT foot strikes. This pattern is not that hard to turn into a habit, but it may require you to slow your pace down for a few runs to master the technique. You will notice a lower heart rate as you are able to get more oxygen in and more importantly push all the carbon dioxide out of your body. You may notice that you naturally drop to a 2:1 ratio when you are really pushing it to the finish. That is OK. But realize it is difficult to maintain a pace that requires you to breathe at a 2:1 ratio.
For those wanting more explanation about step to breath ratios, another article – based on the Daniel’s Running Formula – can be found at this link on proper breathing while running
- One last thing – try not to over-think your breathing! It’s best to try to slow down, relax, and let yourself fall into your body’s natural rhythm.
Following these tips should make breathing easier, and your runs more enjoyable. For you audio/visual learners, I’ve included two very good video clips which cover much of what I’ve described above.
Happy running!
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At the Daniel’s link you mention, he speaks of exhaling longer than the intake, to make sure all the CO2 is expelled. Once all the air is out of your lungs it’s not hard to fill them up in a couple of big gasps. I tend to agree with that more than the military method quoted. It doesn’t take much practice to adopt a 3 steps out 2 in habit, and it works for me in preventing side aches. Either way, the 3/2 or 2/3 pattern is a good practice.
One of the things I’ve noticed when trying to work less while running more smoothly is that I can just think of the breath as “falling” out of me instead of having to push the air out. It’s a mental image that helps me relax into a more natural form.
Great stuff, Mark. Thanks!
Karen in Calgarys last blog post..Dishrag Swim, Recovery Run
Actually, you should breathe deeply and eventually, only through your nose, as in the 5000 year old, and very successful yoga practice. why? because the reduced oxygen intake over a period of about 6-8 weeks causes your body to build more red blood cells, making you far more efficient at processing oxygen.
Those yogis know a thing or two.
After years of yoga practice, breathing through nose only during strenuous workouts is easy peasy, and taking deep breaths also helps too.
also when you keep your mouth closed, you find that you lose far less water during your workout, and don’t have to drink, which cools down your body and negates the positive effects of warming up. in yoga, which can be quite a workout, we do not drink during the workout, but before and after.
I don’t know from yogis, but if I breathed only through my nose and didn’t drink water during a marathon, they’d be picking me up off the road by mile10.
Jon (was) in Michigans last blog post..Seeds of Change Chocolate
I have to say this is one area I struggle in so I really enjoyed this article. It takes me about 5k into any run before my breathing is right. I tend to be gasping and breathing rapidly for some time then it just seems to come together.
First my pulse lowers, the time between inhaling and exhaling grows and I feel comfortable. Im clearly breathing wrong! Ive just started Yoga, Im hoping it helps! Im using a tool called powerbreath to increase my Vo2 capacity too. Just on Dave K’s point, I really hope the Yoga works, it will make a significant difference to how much I enjoy my run and clearly theres a massive list of other benefits.
Thanks Mark, helpful article
6amrunner
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[...] Currently I breathe with a 2:2 or 4:4 ratio (2 inhale to 2 exhale, or 4 etc…). According to Complete Running there is a proper way to breathe that involves a 3:2 ratio. It certainly didn’t come [...]
Thanks for sharing. It very useful for me.
[...] on breathing through the nose, breathing through the mouth, or a combination of both. I found http://completerunning.com/arc.....n-running/ and liked the text and videos and think I will try and incorporate the 3:2 ratio during my next [...]
I heard to avoid cramps, you should breathe in through your mouth, but breathe out through your nose. I never tried doing that on a consistent basis, but it just feels like when I’m really tired and breathing really hard, your nose can’t handle it and I just go back to my mouth.
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I’ve been using the 2-in / 3-out method for about a year and it’s really helped me improve my capacity. I generally breathe using both mouth and nose, both in and out, for maximum air passage. My nostrils are narrow so I can’t get enough oxygen breathing in only through my nose while running, although when doing yoga I can use only nostrils on the intake just fine (for the most part).
The other thing I do to help control my breathing is that when breathing out I shape my mouth into an O. If I’m running up a hill and need to breathe faster I tend to breathe out with a “hah” method, but for the most part the “whooh” method works better for me when I’m just pacing, as it allows me to do a slower breath out with a faster in.
Danny Dreyer of ChiRunning fame recommended this. It may not work for everyone but it’s been great for me. If you haven’t tried it yet give it a try on one of your easy runs, just to see if it feels comfortable. If you’re like me you’re always looking for ways to improve your running!
They forgot the R in the “LIVEST(logo)NG” at the beginning of that first video.
I tried a similar running technique in my first half-marathon at the 5 mile mark.
I noticed a big boost in speed, less effort and began overtaking other runners.
Breathing in through the nose helps oxygen uptake as it some seems to get into the bloodstream through the blodd vessels in the nose. I have no medical basis for that, it just feels like that’s what’s happening. Anyone selse notice anything similar?
I think the advice to “Breath more from your diaphragm (belly),” is possibly misleading — breathing from the diaphragm is definitely best, but it would be better to be more specific — the diaphragm is NOT located in the navel area, but rather higher up in the abdomen, in the area right around the bottom of the rib cage. The abdominal muscles are NOT involved in correct diaphragmatic breathing, nor are the chest muscles. Note that the diaphragm goes *down* as it contracts, allowing the lungs to fill with air, and *up* as it releases, pushing the air back out.
Correct diaphragmatic breathing is a topic that is widely misunderstood, and there is a lot of information circulating the internet that leads people to incorrectly believe that they should be breathing from the area surrounding their navel.
See this article for more information: http://www.swamij.com/diaphragmatic-breathing.htm
As the author notes: “It is common to see both long-time students and teachers of hatha Yoga and diaphragmatic breathing actively moving the muscles in the abdominal (belly), thoracic (chest), and clavicle (the horizontal bones at the shoulders) regions and [incorrectly] calling these muscle movements diaphragmatic breathing.”
In the yoga link above, note that the advice to breathe through the nose does not apply to running (though it does apply to walking at a comfortable pace). As to this article on running, it is very good overall, and the advice to allow your breathing to fall into a natural pattern is excellent. When you’re running, you need more oxygen, so you should allow air to enter both your nose and mouth naturally, as the article states.
I have 3 steps in -1 step out or 3.5-0.5. This works for me.
great advice! i actually just came back from running and i find myself chugging at around the same 1.5-mile distance. i always take deep inhales during the beginning of my run but i guess this cal only go so far if my exhales aren’t releasing the CO2. i’ll definitely give the 3:2 ratio a shot the next time running!
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I don’t think that it is very important to concentrate the attention on breathe while running. If it is difficult for you to run with the certain speed, just decrease the temp. Once breath is normolized you can try to run quicker. Acting in such a way you will control breath. It is called – training.
Very interesting article. Thanks You!!!
I have asthma, and I find that I have to do exactly the opposite from what was described above in order to avoid an attack while running. I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth, focusing on exhaling as much as possible. This is especially important for me when it is really cold out, and I notice myself starting to wheeze during a run. I find that if I focus on exhaling more air than I inhale, I can actually stop an attack from coming without stopping my run.
Thanks for heads up there. I too try and not think much about my breathing, as too often it only gets in the way. That being said, I’m more or less a “running novice,” so I’m still working at it.
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How To Breathe When Running…
‘How to breath properly while running’ is a very common question among new runners. This article contains tips and video to show you the correct way to breathe while running….
This really helped me in my excersising especial for basketball thanx!!!
I’ve been trying to train with an HRM and was told to go to a fitness clinic to get my “real” Max HR – I’ve been avoiding it due to cost, but after reading this I’m going to have to check it out now – thanks!
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This is really a great help for the people who have just make running their exercise.I think these tips can benefits you if you are playing soccer or basketball etc.
This is awesome. Really a great article to read when you first start running. I know this is going to help me with my marathon quest!
Greg Kopp´s last blog ..Day 1 Is a Success!
Taking deep breaths really does help a lot. This is an interesting article! This will help me with my daily running and jogging exercises! Thanks…