Learning to Breathe During a Workout

1. We do tough things

Think about all the tough things we do each day. What about all the tough things we have been through in our lifetime. Fear is a choice. Hard is a choice. You can do anything you put your mind into. 

2. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast

You may have heard me say this numerous times in class. Not sure what it means? Well, ever start a workout and look at the clock and see you are three minutes into a 20 minute long workout and regret how fast you started? Or the workout is intervals and the coach says try not to finish the first round in under 1 minute and you look up after round one and it's only been 35 seconds, then your next round is 59 and your last is a minute and a half. When the goal was consistency, those times are not consistent. So, what’s my point. Pace. Learning to pace is a great tool to have for workouts. Will there be workouts where we don’t want you to pace and we want you to sprint? Absolutely. Coach’s aren’t just there to look cute. Our job is to learn how our athletes move and know how to workout, probably better than you do. So if a coach says to start slow so you have energy towards the end of a workout, we mean it. Sure it feels weird when you feel best at the beginning of a workout, but trust us...it works. Now, what the heck does this have to do with working out with a mask on? One great example, if you start your workout and you feel like you are sucking the thing into your mouth, you are already going too fast. If you feel this happen there are a few things you can do to help work through this:

1. Slow down-go to a pace you feel more comfortable at that still allows you to move well.
2. Stop what you are doing, pull the mask away and catch your breath (nasal breath or big belly breathes nice and slow) and when you are ready, put the mask back on and continue; but just a bit slower. 
3. Scale your workout. If you know burpees or the bike or rower really jack your heart rate up which then makes it harder to breath, talk to the coach about scaling the reps/calories so it allows you to be more successful in the workout. Don’t worry you will still get fit if you need to modify. 

Below are two articles talking about breathing and bracing during workouts. I highly encourage you to read them. Not only with they help with how you can move better in the gym but breath with a mask on as well. And last but not least; come to a coach if you have more questions! We are here to help you succeed in whatever your goals may be. 

CrossFit Journal Article: “Breathing”

BoxRox: “CrossFit Training Breathing Techniques”