How To Breathe When Running

We all take breathing for granted - it’s something we just do, right?

But when you’re running, breathing can actually have quite a big impact on your performance, and learning how to breathe correctly can bring many benefits.

So, whether you’re a nose breather or a mouth breather or aren’t really sure what we’re on about, this video will give you the low-down on the science behind breathing and what you can do to breathe that bit easier when racking up the miles!

What's in this video:
00:00:00 - The Impact of Breathing on Running Performance
00:00:35 - The Benefits of Proper Breathing
00:01:15 - The Benefits of Nasal Breathing
00:02:02 - Nose Breathing vs Mouth Breathing
00:02:58 - Experimenting with Nose Breathing
00:04:00 - Mouth Breathing and Running
00:05:06 - The Effect of Breathing on Heart Rate
00:06:08 - The Benefits of Diaphragmatic Breathing
00:06:56 - Diaphragmatic Breathing during Exercise
00:07:05 - Rhythmic Breathing

↓↓ Will you brush up your breathing technique? How has this helped your running? Let us know below! ↓↓

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[seb_]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how perfectly in sync they are at 1:34

[bensapsford]

I did a high intensity run yesterday and experimented with 2 breaths in and one longer breath out. Dropped 20secs per KM from my last attempt

[BarryMc]

All the running channel presenters could have been Blue Peter presenters.

[mdahal]

I have been using nasal breathing during my longer runs ( 2 hr or more). It takes time to adapt. (3 months to 6 months). Body automatically creates inhale and exhale sync & we cannot judge it after one go. I suggest trying with little water in your mouth instead of taping your mouth.

[mikestevenson]

In through the nose, and out through the mouth is how I do it when I run! Definitely helps to keep my HR low during my Z2/long runs.

[GhostYT_lat]

As far as changing the count goes...I've adopted "3/2" breathing With 2/2 or 3/3 breathing your always starting your breath on the same foot strike. Your always initiating the inhale when your left foot strikes and your exhale when your right foot strikes. With 3/2 breathing this alternates and creates a balance. Made sense when someone explained it to me so I tried it. Took a few runs to get used to...

[YingWooWang]

This video is super helpful! I've been having trouble breathing efficiently during my long distance runs and tend to get stitches from a zone 3 run. I mainly mouth breathe and the interval gets shorter as the run gets longer. I've gotta try breathing in through the nose and breathing out through the mouth with long intervals vs. short 4 breaths in and out.

[chriscotton]

After learning everything in the Professor Hubermans podcast about breathing. I realize I lack the ability to breathe through my nose very well and I use a nasal dilator now to help. If you can breathe through your nose it is absolutely better for numerous reasons not just hr.

[donmills]

I'm an in through the nose out through the mouth person. secondary benefits, I don't go through as much water. It keeps me a little more honest on the hotter days, I figure if I start to feel like I am not getting enough air through my nose I am probably pushing the pace a little too much for the conditions.

It's never 100% through the nose, I do have to spit out bugs once in a while. Usually the tiny ones that like to swarm on the shady side of the transition from sun to shade, you can't see the swarm ahead of time when you are going from sun to shade.

Normally I take 2 steps on the inhale, 3 on the exhale.

[knutekjc]

With the weather changing rapidly in my area, in the half I ran last weekend breathing was actually a huge focus for me (less so than my time goal even) as I have an upcoming full marathon in the middle of October. It’s amazing how the most subtle changes can drastically affect how you’re feeling at the finish line!

[-esox-]

Capacity for nose-breathing seems to be very individual, which I saw when comparing with running mates. Some will have to start mouth breathing right from the get-go, on the other hand I can comfortably nose-breathe permanently up until hitting "zone5 effort/maximal efforts".
Easy run for me is ~5-6 steps in, 5-6 out (nose).
Tempo run (lactate threshold area) 3-4 steps in, 3-4 steps out (nose)
5k all out effort: ~1-2 km nose, then more and more exhausted/heavy mouth-breathing.

[notmyrealname]

For swimming I breathe out through my nose and in through my mouth (which I believe is pretty standard). Running I use nose at low pace and both when I go more quickly.

[skirtonbear]

Mo risked his ‘stach to improve the running of the viewers!
Year-round allergies that induce asthma cause me to mouth-breathe way more than I like. Taking an antihistamine prior doesn’t always help—sometimes it makes me too sleepy, sometimes not, but it’s to keep my nasal passages from almost closing. (Sigh)

[gwilymeades]

Pretty cool, I always discounted nasal breathing, but now see that it has value. Also, you want to maximise oxygen intake, and for this 2 steps for one breath is probably best (for both in and out), according to my experience (and to The Art of Running Faster).

[chesshead]

I replaced my lungs with gills. The air passes through them. No more breathing in/out nonsense for me.

[GTE_Channel]

Oxygen Advantage. Read the book. You'll learn so much.
If a mouth breather tries nose breathing like in this test... this is not a test, you need to adapt. It takes time.

[dukedex]

It's hard to nose breath at first, but keep doing it and your body adapts and it feels natural

[vinodjohnjoseph]

Very nice study, was there a difference in the pace of running in nose and mouth breathing?

[edithgruber]

That was an interesting experiment. I think I use both, probably more nose breathing when I run slowly in Z2. The faster I get, the more the mouth gets involved. I would have to repeat the experiment that you just did with a tape and a peg to see how I feel about it and what my HR is doing.
As for rhythmic breathing, I do 4/4 on easy runs or even more than that, 5/5 or 6/6; 3/3 for marathon paced runs and 2/3 or 2/2 for threshold and faster runs. It all depends on pace and HR.

[koukouvania]

why can't anyone spell the word 'breathe'?