Breathing like this while stretching helps relax your muscles.

When exercising, paying attention to your breathing can maximize results and reduce the risk of injury. Breathing varies depending on the type and intensity of exercise. Let's learn about breathing techniques for each exercise.

 

◇Strength training, exhale while exerting force

 

During strength training, you should generally exhale when tensing your muscles (contraction) and inhale when relaxing them (relaxation). Each time you contract or relax your muscles, you should exhale and inhale once. Tensioning your muscles increases your blood pressure. Exhaling lowers it, so it's best to breathe deeply and slowly, avoiding pauses or abrupt pauses.

This breathing technique is particularly helpful when lifting weights. When lifting weights, hold your breath from the moment you lift, then exhale slowly after lifting the weight completely. Inhale again as you lower the weight. This breathing technique can enhance the effectiveness of strength training when used by healthy individuals. However, it's dangerous for those with chronic conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, or cancer, and should not be used.

 

 

◇​Aerobic exercise: Take a different step each time you exhale

 

When doing aerobic exercise like walking, jogging, or cycling, it's a good idea to step three times while inhaling, and two times while exhaling. This breathing method promotes stable, deep breathing and helps prevent arthritis and stress fractures. When inhaling, the body contracts, and when exhaling, the body relaxes. However, if you land on the same leg every time the body contracts, you're more likely to develop arthritis and stress fractures. When running fast, step two times while inhaling, and one time while exhaling. When cycling, pedal five times while inhaling, and twice while exhaling.

 

 

◇​Flexibility exercises, maintaining deep breathing

 

When performing flexibility-intensive exercises like stretching, many people hold their breath when they stop moving. However, holding your breath can cause your muscles to tense up, hindering the stretching process. Therefore, it's important to maintain deep breathing during flexibility exercises. Adequate oxygenation of the muscles releases tension, enhancing the stretching effect.

 

 

Breathing like this while stretching helps relax your muscles. © Provided by: Health Chosun