How to breathe when running – 8 tips on how to do it right

Do you breathe with your nose or mouth? Cold air during winter may be harmful to you? How to not paint during a fast run?

In this article, you will find the answer to this and other questions that are related to breathing during running. Check out our breathing running tips and run faster and more ventilate.

How to breathe while running?

I. BREATHE WITH YOUR MOUTH, especially during intensive and intermediate training

Only the mouth allows you to take a proper amount of oxygen during one single breath. 

Maybe someone once told you that even during intense workouts you should breathe through your nose because the air needs to be warmed and filtered?

If you have complied with this advice, you probably know that in the long run, you probably know that in the long run this is hard to do, and you can feel like suffocating. Your nose is quite narrow and won’t ensure that you take in enough air during one inhalation. During a workout, you need to take in 1.5 liters of air. And this is as much as 3 times more than at rest. Therefore, breathing while running through your mouth when you already feel that your nose is not taking in as much air as you need for a given effort.

You can also combine the two and breathe through your nose and mouth at the same time.

II. BREATHE WITH YOUR DIAPHRAGM to provide more fuel to your body, which is air 

Women before giving birth are taught to breathe precisely with their diaphragm, so that (during this great effort) they can provide enough oxygen to themselves, as well as to the baby. The chest does a much poorer job here, as the breaths are to swallow. This is why, if you take running seriously, you need to practice breathing with your diaphragm. Not only do you increase the amount of oxygen in your blood, but also: 

• will reduce the feeling of fatigue,
• will increase your capacity,
• will enable you to make an intense effort,
• will reduce the risk of colic during running sessions.

To be sure that you are breathing with your diaphragm, place your hand on your abdomen before taking in the air. Take a breath in. Your abdomen should rise considerably, and drop when you exhale. 

Do a dozen breaths each day to practice this way of breathing. You can be sure that it will be very useful and effective during running. 

III. RUN in appropriate PACE for you

Have you thought about how to match your breathing with your steps? Probably you haven’t thought about it at all because you feel great during running and don’t feel like you need to change something? 

If so, it means that you already have a comfortable running rhythm. 

However, if you sometimes get lost in the rhythm of your breathing ex. you breathe in and out every step, and then every two steps, and then again differently, and you cannot adjust it, then try running with such a set rhythm for a moderate runner then, or a beginner runner:

• rhythm 3:3 – you inhale and exhale the oxygen during your first step (left leg) you take a step with your right leg, and then again left. After this, you exhale the oxygen during the fourth step that you do with your right leg. And again: left, right, and exhale the oxygen when you put your left leg on the ground. 
• rhythm 3:2 – you take a breath in and make the first step with your left leg, then you make two next steps: right, left, and then you breathe out the oxygen when you take the fourth step with your right leg. This time you make one more step with your left leg, and then with your next step with your right leg you are breathing in again. Hence, inhale lasts 3 steps, and exhale 2 steps. 

This may seem hard to master at the beginning. However, it is worth it to control this. Then your body will find a proper rhythm that suits it as the experience increases. After all, breathing is a natural thing for everyone. The same goes for breathing during running.

IV. WARM-UP should also involve RESPIRATORY MUSCLE

During warm-up, it is worth it to do a few inhales with your diaphragm to prepare your body for this kind of breathing. To warm-up do not forget to add quick march, jog, and hops, which will gradually allow you to warm up those respiratory muscles as well. 

V. RUN UPRIGHT

It is easier to breathe while upright. If you start to hunch over or lean forward, you will automatically find it more difficult to breathe in and properly oxygenate yourself. This is because an unstraightened posture creates pressure on the diaphragm and significantly limits its working space. 

VI. Try to breathe SLOWLY and DEEPLY

While this is easy with slower workouts, breathing naturally becomes shallower and shorter with more intense efforts. Fortunately, this too can be worked on by, among other things, establishing a running/breathing rhythm, as described above. 

Deep breaths will provide you with diaphragm work, and tight abdominal muscles.

Once your breaths become faster, then from time to time do a deep inhale and exhale to better oxygenate yourself and remove lingering air.

VII. Above all, breathe in a way that makes you comfortable

important thing is that you feel comfortable with your particular breathing when running, and your body is properly oxygenated. 

You do not like to run with an open mouth? 

Breathe through your nose. 

You don’t like the 3:3 and 3:3 rhythm? 

Adjust the steps to your breathing, so that it is comfortable for you, so you don’t have to think about how to breath when running. 

VIII. INCREASE your oxygen ceiling (VO2max)

You are still wondering how to breath while running? You have to increase your oxygen ceiling. This term refers to how well your body can use oxygen intake. The higher your VO2max, the more oxygen will reach your muscles. This will allow you to run farther, and faster, and reduce your heart rate, and the sensation of exertion – Simply put, your fitness will be better.

The topic of ways to increase this ceiling is quite extensive, so it will be covered in a separate article.

How to breathe when running in winter?

Breathing through the mouth when it’s cold can cause bronchospasm and create resistance in the airways. Therefore, breathing through the mouth when running during winter may perform worse than in warmer seasons. What is more, it sometimes causes asthma. 

So what to do, when it comes to breathing when running during winter? 

When running faster, when your nose can’t handle it anymore, and you feel like you’re suffocating, turn on the mixed respiratory tract. Engage your nose as well as your mouth. 

It’s also a good idea to put a balaclava over your nose and cheeks to heat the air you’re inhaling. Admittedly, the material quickly becomes wet, and frost may appear on the lips. However, after a few initial workouts at the first frosts of the season, your body will soon breathe well also without coveting your airways. What is more, you will additionally toughen up.

How to breathe while running 1000 meters? 

This is a short-distance run, in which one runs quite fast from the very beginning. Therefore, mouth breathing will be predominant here to deliver the right amount of oxygen to the muscles. For such a run you can also use a 2:2, or 2:1 rhythm, so for two steps take an inhale and for two steps you exhale (or also for one step). This will ensure optimal fast breathing, which will prevent proper ventilation.

So, how do I breathe when running? 

You have to adjust your breathing to your body and running comfort. You will certainly have to make more than one attempt until you find that golden mean that will allow you to run well at a given pace and weather conditions. After all, practice makes perfect :).

Now that you know breathing running tips, you can adjust and run in a way that will be the most comfortable for your body.