Are you breathing the right way during your workouts? It might seem simple, but poor breathing habits could be holding you back from achieving your full strength potential. Breath isn’t just about oxygen—it’s the key to unlocking deeper core stability, reducing muscle fatigue, and protecting your body from injury. With each inhale and exhale, you have the power to engage your core, boost performance, and move more efficiently. Let’s dive into how proper breath control can transform the way you move and feel!

 Did you know your breath plays a vital role in core support and overall muscle activation? We often focus on strength and flexibility, but proper breathing is the key to maximizing these efforts. Breathing deeply and fully engages your diaphragm, activating your core muscles naturally. This not only improves posture and stability but also boosts performance in exercises, making every movement more effective. Controlled breathing enhances muscle coordination and reduces strain, promoting better results and minimizing injury risk.

The Effects of Poor Breathing

Poor breathing can have a significant impact on your body, especially when it comes to core support and muscle activation. Here’s what happens:

• Weak Core Engagement: Shallow or erratic breathing prevents the diaphragm from fully activating, which limits core stability. Without proper breath, the deep core muscles (like the transverse abdominis) don’t engage as effectively, leaving your spine unsupported and increasing the risk of lower back pain or injury.
• Increased Muscle Fatigue: Inefficient breathing reduces oxygen intake, leading to quicker muscle fatigue. This limits your ability to perform exercises properly or for extended periods, impacting overall strength and endurance.
• Poor Posture and Tension: Shallow breaths can lead to chest, neck and shoulder tension, encouraging poor posture. This imbalance can lead to muscle compensations, making your movements less efficient and increasing the risk of strain or injury.

Better Breathing

What techniques can we practice for better breathing?

1. Breathe into the belly to get your abdominals to contract rather than grip. If you skip this part of the breathing and go straight into your ribs, that often leads to sucking in and holding breath rather than actually engaging the muscles for greatest level of support possible. 
2. Breathe into the backs and sides of the ribs, stretching the intercostals (little muscles between the ribs) prepares the body to have a site of expansion while activating the abdomen.
3. Try both of these options very slowly and in quicker bursts for improved overall breath control.

Check out the video below to get started!