If “fatigue makes cowards of us all,” as famously quoted by Hall of Fame Coach Vince Lombardi then “catching our breath” makes us heroes. You can go weeks without eating, days without water, and yet only minutes without the breath. Metaboreflex—no, it’s not the name of a protein bar—is the body’s response when our diaphragm becomes fatigued, and vasoconstriction reduces blood flow to arms and legs, providing more blood flow to our core for respiration. We are misled to believe that “cardio” will improve our ability to “catch our breath.” We have 10 pounds of breathing muscles that most of us ignore. There are no breathing exercises to strengthen the lungs; envision the lungs as just floppy bags, encapsulated by a fortress of bones and muscles responsible for protecting and powering.  You would never think you can strengthen your legs without ever doing a squat or lunge; however, for some reason, we believe our breathing will improve all the while ignoring the most vital muscle of the mechanism, the diaphragm. Nine out of ten people do not breathe with their diaphragm. Most humans rarely even think about the engine of our most important function, breathing. If you are one of these people, you are sleeping on a mountain of untapped potential.  This is not a new concept, ancient breathing techniques have been recorded from every corner of the world. Isolated breathing exercises will strengthen these breathing muscles and delay the onset of metaboreflex, decreasing your perceived effort and therefore allowing a higher workload. “Feeling tired” is being momentarily winded; “being tired” is exhaustion that lasts. There’s nothing worse than coming up short with that feeling you had more to give from tiredness.  Will breathing exercises reduce weight? Not particularly however, they will enhance energy levels, mindset, and metabolism, which are key factors in weight loss.

Yoga breathing exercises sometimes come close to truly focusing on breathing muscles, but often include an isometric hold in tandem, preventing it from isolating the muscle group.  Isolated breathing exercises done correctly will optimize the efficiency and strength of the body’s most crucial function, respiration. The first step is correcting the mechanics of our breath, so we are using the muscles designed for breathing. These certainly are not beach muscles or visible, so it’s no wonder they are underappreciated.  The body’s main inhalation muscles are the diaphragm and inner intercostals. The main exhalation muscles are inner intercostals, obliques, and abdominals. The sternocleidomastoid, upper trapezius, and upper pectorals are accessory muscles that, when relied on over our main breathing muscles, will cause neck, back, and shoulder pain. Putting in the work of breathing exercise after surgery could drastically reduce recovery time and reduce the need for addictive opioids via a breathing technique for pain, such as recovery breathing.  Whether you are trying to use breathing exercises for covid recovery, take first place in the next track meet or feel sharp for your 2 PM meeting, dedicating time to our most crucial mechanism will improve the quality of your life and the number of your abilities.