Proper Breathing While Exercising
Do you know how to breathe properly during a workout?
It might sound like a simple question, but how you breathe while exercising can play a big role in your pelvic floor health.
Activities like heavy lifting, running, or jumping can create significant pressure on your pelvic floor.
Over time, this pressure may weaken your pelvic floor.
So, proper breathing techniques during exercise can help reduce this pressure, keeping your pelvic floor strong and healthy.
Practicing belly breathing with pelvic floor contractions while sitting still is a great first step.
But how do you maintain focus on your breath or know when to breathe while also balancing, moving, and lifting during a workout?
JUST ONE THING
This simple breathing technique can make a big difference in maintaining a strong pelvic floor while exercising!
Your JUST ONE THING to Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor During Exercise
Using proper breathing creates stability in your core and reduces pressure on your pelvic floor—essential for exercises like squats, push-ups, overhead presses, and deadlifts.
Here’s how it works:
Exhale firmly a split second before you “push” or lift. This engages your core and pelvic floor at the moment you need stability the most.
Inhale as you release or lower the weight or movement
Here’s how to put this into action:
Squats: Exhale just before standing up, and inhale as you lower into the squat.
Push-ups: Inhale while lowering down, and exhale just before pushing back up.
Overhead Press: Exhale to press the weight overhead, and inhale as it comes back down.
Deadlifts: Inhale while hinging over, and exhale just before standing back up.
Proper Breathing During Exercises
- Exhale a split second before you start the ‘pushing’ phase of an exercise.
- Inhale as you sink into the move.
Extra Tip:
You can continue exhaling the whole time you’re pushing. And then for EXTRA CREDIT, think about doing a pelvic floor contraction (a proper kegel) at the same time you exhale for better pelvic floor control.
Did You Know...
- Coordinating your breath with your strength training movements becomes more and more important as the loads get heavier.
- Think of it like riding a bike. Any time you’re learning something new to coordinate - including breath work - it will feel awkward and clumsy at first. Keep practicing! You'll get it.
- This method also prevents you from holding your breath during exercise, which can be very dangerous for your blood pressure, and can even lead to passing out.
Until next week... Be strong
