TRAINING 7 RUN WITH GIULIA

Giulia is ready to share the training program to prepare the race Marcialonga Coop 26km or a leg of the relay 10km. 

RUNNING PROGRAM WEEK #6 >>

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theme of the week: BREATHING WHILE RUNNING

Giulia talks often about breathing during running, but what does it mean?
Breathing is a vital act that allows us to introduce oxygen into our body and expel carbon dioxide. While running, breathing is very important for the performance but above all for our health.

There are two types of breathing, thoracic and diaphragmatic.
Thoracic breathing uses only the upper part of the lungs and the air remains in the lungs for a limited time. When feel pain in the hip while running, this type of breathing could be a cause.
Diaphragmatic breathing is not automatic but is more efficient because it uses the entire lung capacity. The air reaches the lower part of the lungs, staying there longer, with a greater supply of oxygen.

Another question is about breathing through the nose or mouth.
By breathing with the mouth, we are able to introduce a large quantity of oxygen into the body; we use automatically this type of breathing when we are under stress because our body needs oxygen. Unfortunately, however, the air reaches the throat cold and dry without being purified. By breathing through the nose, this is a filter, and the air is cleaner, heated and humidified.
So, in conclusion, Diaphragmatic breathing offers more benefits. It provides a better oxygenation of the blood by exploiting full lung capacity. Diaphragmatic breathing helps to assume a correct posture and allows to relax the muscles avoiding tension in the cervical, shoulders and neck. This is not automatic, and it is necessary to train and become aware of it. Nothing complicated: there are simple exercises to understand how it works and after some training the body will get used and it will become natural to us.
Otherwise, if we do not take the time to understand how it works, it is better not to try: breathing unnaturally while running could be self-defeating and cause shortness of breath, flank, liver or spleen pain. Also, while running, it's okay to pay attention to your breathing without becoming obsessed with it.
In order to breath well while running, you must first be relaxed and not to concentrate on it, otherwise it could cause tension and disadvantages both physically and mentally.