ShareA while ago, I got an email from a cool cat client, Elizabeth, who was getting a headache every time she did certain exercises in Bodyweight Cardio 300 workout.
QUESTION:
“Hi Kate. On Day 6 and day 8 I got a splitting headache about halfway thru the day’s training. I am an overweight 56 year old female. So I think the exercises that are giving me the headaches are the planks, the wall sit and the mountain climbers. For example, today, the headache was too bad to continue after the 60s plank. Any suggestions?” – Elizabeth
KV:
Yes, I know the workouts are tough… It’s definitely not a walk in the park. But it’s not supposed to give you a headache!
It sounds like you’re holding your breath during the exercises – which is very common (especially during isometric exercises like the plank). Most people struggle to engage their core and breathe at the same time.
You see, when you hold you breath, the energy in your cells plunges and you feel fatigued during your workout sooner than you should…
I often see clients holding their breath doing these particular exercises:
(1) Isometric exercise: like the plank or wall sits.
(2) Aerobic exercise at high intensity: especially running and rowing sprints. It gets so hard… people forget to increase their breathing speed. If you’re going faster, you need to breathe faster. Simple, right?
That brings us to today’s lesson on breathing!
It’s SO under-rated in the fitness space… in fact, I haven’t seen anyone talking about the importance of breathing to maximize your results – and of course, eliminate headaches.
But that’s because most of us take breathing for granted. We breathe about 14 times every minute, more than 20,000 times a day, and no fewer than 526 million times during the course of an average lifetime.
Yep… that’s a LOT of breathing…
Changing the way you breathe during exercise can reduce stress, boost your energy and increase your performance.
You really need to think about and control your breathing during your workout to maximize your performance.
And it’s not “one size fits all” breathing, ok.
Here’s a tip for correct breathing during different exercise:
During Strength Training
- Inhale on the less strenuous part of the exercise. Exhale when you are exerting force. For example, when you’re doing a push up, breathe out when you’re extending your elbows and pushing yourself up to starting position.
During Recovery
- In your break, your body needs oxygen to replete its energy stores. That’s why you’ll find yourself huffing and puffing. In between sets of sprints, practice diaphragmatic breathing. You’ll get more oxygen into your lung and muscles per breath so you can go hard in your next exercise.
Here’s how to do it: focus on filling and emptying your abdomen with each breath rather than raising and lowering your chest.
During Cardio
- You need to find a rhythm. And that’s why I recommend you do NOT use headphones if you’re doing cardio. Why? You can’t hear yourself breathing.
When you are doing high intensity cardio workout like Bodyweight Cardio 500 (with exercises like burpees or running sprints) breathe only through your mouth.
Yes, I know some folks say “breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth”. But let’s be honest. How much air can you really get through your nose in one breath? Not much.
And here’s one little know breathing technique to improve your performance…
If you’re sprinting all out at your max threshold, (like you would in an interval workout) only focus on exhaling.
Why?
When you breathe out, your body has an automatic response to inhale – even if you’re not thinking about it.
If you want to try this new breathing technique during
==> Top 10 Interval Training Workouts
Have an awesome day!
Your Coach,
Kate Vidulich
