How to breathe when running a marathon? Breathing techniques for running a marathon

Marathon is a long-distance aerobic exercise. Through warm-up exercises, the body temperature rises, the coordination, stretchability and elasticity of muscles are improved, and the viscosity of muscles is reduced. Therefore, only by doing a good job of warm-up exercises can we adapt to the needs of the competition, better enter the exercise state, and avoid sports injuries and accidents. In addition to pre-race preparation, controlling breathing during running is also very important. Let's take a look!

Contents of this article

1. How to breathe when running a marathon

2. Breathing techniques for marathon running

3. Things to note when running a marathon

How to breathe while running a marathon

Among the muscles in our respiratory system, there is something called the diaphragm. During a breath, 80% of the work is done by it. If we strengthen the diaphragm, we can improve endurance and be less prone to fatigue. So how can we breathe more deeply and get more oxygen to the muscles? Here is a way to focus on slow and deep breathing to strengthen the diaphragm.

The correct feeling is: place your hands on your abdomen and chest, feel your abdomen rise and fall with your breathing, while your chest remains unchanged. This is correct.

When you belly breathe, your abdomen is like a balloon that fills up with air with each breath you take in, and deflates with each breath you exhale. When you chest breathe, your shoulders feel tense and move up and down, wasting energy that could be used to conserve for running.

Breathing tips for marathon running

The nose is the gateway to breathing. It has a set of "equipment" to purify and regulate the air temperature, which can reduce the irritation of dry and cold air to the throat. The nasal hair in the nasal cavity and the mucus secreted by the nasal mucosa can block and absorb dust and certain harmful substances, and have a filtering and purifying effect on the air. Therefore, it is best to breathe only through the nose in a marathon that is generally slow and not too long. If the running time, distance or speed is long, the body's need for oxygen continues to increase, and the amount of air inhaled by the small nostrils is limited. It is obviously not enough to breathe only through the nose. At this time, you need to use the mouth to assist the nose, that is, breathe with the mouth and nose. This method can double the inhaled air, thereby alleviating the contradiction between the body's need for gas. However, since the mouth does not have a set of "equipment" for purification and temperature regulation like the nose, this method can easily cause respiratory infections and coughs if it is not mastered properly.

Marathon running tips

1. Do a good job of warming up before the marathon

Marathon is a long-distance aerobic sport. Before the competition, the excitement focus of the motor central nervous system must be stimulated to establish a certain coordination between the body's systems and organs (muscles, blood system, respiratory system, and motor system). All this can only be achieved through gradual warm-up activities. Through warm-up activities, the body temperature rises, the coordination, stretchability, and elasticity of the muscles will be improved, and the viscosity of the muscles will be reduced. Therefore, only by doing a good job of warm-up activities can we adapt to the needs of the competition, better enter the state of exercise, and avoid sports injuries and accidents.

2. Prevent and treat possible calf cramps during running

Sometimes during a competition, calf cramps or prolonged involuntary contraction of the calf muscles may occur. The reason is that the warm-up is not done sufficiently. During the competition, the muscles suddenly enter a more intense state of movement from a static state, and the calf muscles cannot adapt immediately. Especially in low temperatures, wearing shorts to compete suddenly stimulates the leg muscles to the cold or sweating a lot of salt from the body, causing calf cramps. Therefore, the pre-match warm-up must be done sufficiently to achieve the effect of body heating. In cold weather, the preparation time should be appropriately extended, and attention should be paid to keeping the calf warm. If calf cramps occur during the competition, you should immediately slow down and stop gradually, and then treat the calf such as massaging and kneading the cramped area. If it cannot be relieved, go to the first aid station for treatment.