Working out is hard enough. Motivation, time, and equipment can all be hard to come by. Don’t make things harder on yourself by limiting your oxygen as well!
Diaphragm Breathing Is Good
Air restriction during cardio is fast becoming a trend in the fitness and sports arena. Some fitness gurus swear by nasal breathing during exercise, claiming that it increases the use of the diaphragm, which enriches your white cell count and boosts the immune system.
A recent sports-based discussion follows a boxing enthusiast who explains how they were advised to train with their mouthguard. This prepares any boxer for conditions like that of an energy-sapping match.
The same poster asked other sports enthusiasts their opinions on this subject, which proved a fruitful discussion. As a result, here are some insights on doing cardio with your mouth closed.
1. The Fight Game
A Muay Thai instructor reveals how restricting mouth breathing is part of the sport because “you’re more vulnerable to being knocked out if your mouth is open.” This tip makes sense, considering a closed mouth is more resolute.
2. A Tooth Pocket!
A BMX enthusiast says they wear a mouthguard while shredding the streets, which another person finds funny. Their retort is that hitting a curbside at high speeds means a mouthguard won’t help but for “maybe holding all your teeth in a nice little pocket for someone to collect for you.”
3. How Clenched?
For some reason, the Muay Thai coach’s comment attracts many queries. One keen onlooker asks how clenched one should keep their jaw when being punched in the face. The funniest answer is to focus more on not being knocked out.
4. Open It!
There is also contention on this question, with one expert weighing in. Typically, apes are nasal breathers, but their nasopharynx is larger than the human version, making mouth breathing necessary for running. They add that “mouth breathing is also a more effective means of unloading excess heat during expiration.”
5. And Breathe…
Breathing in through the nose but out through the mouth is a popular suggestion from many fitness coaches. However, even I raise my eyebrows at one commenter’s idea that one can switch nostrils too. Come on, now!
6. Bit by Bit
“It can be a good way to reduce your pace when running,” explains a comment in this fascinating discussion. The poster advises doing this for any easy run, then as you build up to a faster pace, slowly resort to the mouth again.
7. Oxygenation Is Key
One individual says that nose breathing can increase oxygen uptake in the blood, though if pushed too far, this technique can lead to a surge in carbon dioxide levels. The consequences of this are increased rates of breathing and heart rate, which limits one’s endurance.
8. On The Fence
This is a question various people are grappling with each day, and some share that nasal breathing during cardio is potentially “filtering and warming the air before it reaches the lungs.” This may be effective if exercising in cold air.
9. The Two Steps and Exhale Technique
Rather than nasal breathing, some aficionados believe that breathing in with every two running steps, then out each two thereafter, helps them. This comes with variations, including one testimony: “I start 4-4, then 3-3, then 3-3-3-3-2-2.”
10. Our Natural State?
A book by a breathing specialist named James Nestor is mentioned in the discussion, with one of his famous titles exploring how “humans shifted from the natural state of nasal breathing to chronic mouth breathing.” This, I must read.