How do you breathe correctly while running?

Question

Today while I was running for cross country practice, my chest and throat felt clogged and compacted after running 3 miles was done. I began to breathe heavily and a cramp formed on my side. I decided to walk when I was told to run 5-6 miles.

After practice was done, I asked my team mates what I could be doing wrong. They suggested that I wasnt breathing correctly. I breathe purely from my mouth.

So what is the right way to breathe? Someone suggested to inhale through my nose and exhale through my mouth. Or am i not pushing myself hard enough and this is something all runners deal with? I joined cross country a few weeks ago.

thanks!

Answer 1

No matter what kind of run it is i breathe through my mouth in and out.

Breathing is supposed to be coordinated with your running steps.

For easy runs you breathe in when you step on your right foot and then you step on your left foot still inhaling and then step on your right foot and exhale on your left foot.

For hard runs you breathe on your right foot and then exhale on your next left foot.

You exhale on your left foot because of your diaphragm or something. I read this on runnersworld.com. great website.

Answer 2

There is no wrong way to breathe.   My philosophy is that whatever method delivers the most amount of air into the lungs fastest is the "best" method.  Thus, your mouth breathing would be about the quickest way I know of.

Deep breathing is a good way to alleviate cramps.

When you run hard, it's kinda normal that your chest would be affected since your lungs lie underneath as does your heart, all of which are working hard to supply your muscles with oxygen.  

I can't account for the throat feeling you describe.  Maybe it's allergens in the air, maybe it's your own gasping, who knows.

You simply haven't told us anything that's not normal.

Answer 3

i would say that breathing purely through you mouth is the best way to go, especially when you are newer/less experienced. breathing through your mouth gets the most oxygen into your body in the shortest amount of time. breathing in through your nose doesn't really make sense.

one key to running, especially longer runs, is just staying relaxed. if you felt out of breath and that you had to walk that is most likely because you were pushing yourself more than you should be, unless you were supposed to go and run the 5-6 miles hard, which isn't likely.

the cramp could be a number of things. the most common would be dehydration/lack of potassium and magnesium. before running make sure that you have had plenty of water (but don't just drink a bunch right before spread it through the day). also eating a banana will help because it will get you some important nutrients. someone mentioned you need to strengthen your core and/or pump your arms more. strengthening your core with push-ups and sit-ups will definitely help not just the cramp but your running in general. pumping your arms more, however, will only result in tired arms when you are doing long runs. i try to move my arms just enough that they keep me going because the more you work those muscles the more oxygen they are taking from the muscles that really need it

if you are new to the sport your body needs time to acclimate to the increased physical exertion and so be patient and your fitness will noticeably increase over time.

Answer 4

Do not breathe in through your nose and out your mouths.  Research done many years ago and repeated many times since shows that this method achieved only same, or more often, worse times.  Breathe in through your mouth because you can get more air in.  Do what feels comfortable.  When running hard, I breathe in deep then exhale deep.  If you are cramping you need to stretch more or slow down.  Or you ate taco bell.

Answer 5

I agree with all of the other experienced runners! Can't get any better advice. However, I do have to point out that you SHOULDN'T EVER breathe through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Running is an aerobic exercise and you need to get as much oxygen running through your body as much as possible. You cannot possibly get enough oxygen to your muscles and other organs if you're breathing only through the tiny little openings of your nostrils. Not only will you not be getting enough air, which will make you feel more tired more quickly, but you could also hyperventilate- way bad.

I think once you find your running rhythm, breathing will also become a lot easier. Since you've only just started you probably don't know how to breathe while running at your own pace. Once you get the swing of things, it'll get much better.

Good luck and have fun running!!

Answer 6

I joined cross country a few weeks ago too :) honestly i had that problem yestesday, and your teamates were right, breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. I just started trying that, and it'll take some getting used to. the whole cramp thing, if your cramped on one side it could be two things, or both. either your not pumping your arms hard enough, or your core muscles are too week. So a heads up, definately work on core muscles, crunches and pushups are the way to go :)

Answer 7

Are you running too hard? The cramps is a sign I take that you are pushing harder than your body can handle.

Like other say, there is no right way of breathing.

Do note that, if you are breathing mainly through your nose, you are working on your aerobic zones.  This is the zone where you run at for long distance.

If you notice you start to breathe through your mouth, you are running harder.  This means, you are really pushing at it.

The good news is that the more you run, the further and faster you will go.