We explore the role of breathing training and how it can enhance your performance
How much? AW: Readers will know that Czech distance runner Emil Zatopek rose to fame in 1952 when he won gold medals in the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He was encouraged to run a marathon after never completing the distance before. His story has gained so much respect that a movie was made about him in 2021 called Zatopek. Olympics aside, he has set 18 world records during his career.
The speedy striker was coached by Brazilian coach Luis de Oliveira for 30 odd years until the 1980s. Joaquim Cruz, 1984 Los Angeles Olympic 800m champion. Zatopek and De Oliveira had one thing in common. they used breathing as a training tool to increase performance when their competitors and contemporaries did not.
It was new and fresh and had no significant science behind the theory. Zatopek’s theory was more advanced than De Oliveira’s, and the effectiveness of breath holding was unknown to both, but they knew that this type of training simulated competition conditions.
During his training, Zatopek regularly held his breath for long stretches while running through the woods on his local trails. He began holding his breath from one tree to another. Over time, he increased the distance per tree until he could run for a long row of trees.
De Oliveira did breathing exercises with his athletes once a week. He asked his athletes to hold their breath intermittently while training at different distances or to hold their breath for the last 30m of a training set to simulate the fatigue experienced in the final stages of a competitive race. These techniques were more rationally thought out than Zatopek’s, but were still not based on sound scientific knowledge.
Zatopek and De Oliveira were pioneers in their field and achieved fame and success, so why hasn’t breathing training become a popular daily practice for athletes around the world?
From the 1980s to today, breathing and specific breathing training for athletes has been completely forgotten. More recently, in the relentless pursuit of peak athleticism, athletes have explored every training modality in the book. How can we increase health, speed, endurance, performance and recovery?
Thomas Haig’s Breathing Coach
Thomas Hague is a trainer and founder The Breath Coach and helps all types of athletes improve performance with breathing techniques.
He says: “I often say that just because you’re breathing, it doesn’t mean you’re breathing optimally. We can live without food for three weeks, we can live without water for three days and we can live without air for three minutes. So when we look at the small limits required to be your best, we need to start examining our breathing to increase performance.
“During your study of training methodologies, which likely include aerobic and anaerobic training, interval training, plyometrics, strength and conditioning, as well as using wearable technology, data collection equipment, and as mentioned super shoes, I would venture to guess that you could are you not? carefully considered the role of your breath.
“Breath training can give you a competitive edge and help with a variety of metrics, including increasing VO2 max, improving lactate threshold, increasing red blood cell count, increasing EPO levels, reducing injury, promoting overall health and happiness, and improving recovery.”
Breathing coach
Benefits of breathing exercises
Benefits of breathing training include more or better control of VO2 max, lactate threshold, performance, energy, sleep and recovery, nervous system regulation, blood work including hematocrit and hemoglobin, EPO, zonal heart rate, resting heart rate. , cerebral blood flow, posture, mobility, focus, concentration, stress and anxiety.
Everyone is unique, and in turn, their breathing is unique, so some see varying degrees of improvement compared to others, but the incremental performance benefits are clear.
Benefits of breathing exercises
Improves VO2 max. Holding your breath increases oxygen uptake and delivery to working cells and muscles. Over time, training with these physiological adaptations increases VO2 max. As hemoglobin increases, so does VO2 max. A one percent increase in hemoglobin after a breath hold results in a 0.6 to 0.7 percent increase in VO2 max.
Efficiency. By training your breathing and increasing your CO2 tolerance, you increase your efficiency or economy. Running efficiency refers to the amount of energy or oxygen used during running at maximum speed. In general, the lower the energy demand for a given rate, the more favorable it is. Efficient oxygen utilization implies proficient running performance.
Stream. Achieving a “flow state” or “getting in the zone” is possible for all athletes. It requires focus, concentration, peace, commitment and consistency. Popularized by psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Jeanne Nakamura, flow is when you are completely immersed in an activity and find that everything flows and becomes easy. Breathing can provide this with proper training. Importantly, focus and mind control are critical to athletic success. It’s the difference between winning and losing.
Restoration. This is essential for optimal performance and is often considered time consuming and unimportant. It is important for muscle recovery, nervous system balance and injury prevention. It holds the key to maintaining motivation, achieving hormonal balance, and adapting and strengthening after exercise.
To book a free 30-minute consultation thebreathcoach.co.uk.
» Subscribe to AW Magazine here
