The simplest way to explain it is similar to lamaze breathing women use for childbirth. The big difference is that although it looks like you're hyperventilating, it's a concentrated breathing pattern working the diaphragm and exhaling short and fast bursts of the exhale. It's not an easy technique to learn and I'm sure there's far more to it than the way I try to practice it. The more I applied it through meditation and throughout certain workouts, it doesn't just give you a more calming effect, it helps amplify your stamina and aids recovery like crazy.
Through practice of various breathing techniques (ones one should and should never do) I find Diaphramic Breathing the best variation with its different styles of that form of breathing. It keeps things flowing and puts more of the body and mind in tuned with movements without going into panic mode which is what chest breathing tends to do. We walk around breathing all day and don't give it a second thought but the way we breathe can have a profound effect on how our emotions play a role in that area.
For fitness reasons, there are books out there (some nearly 100 years old or more) that teach what's call Intercostal Breathing which uses more of the chest and rib cage to tighten the waistline and breathe more upwards into the chest. That's all and good if you want to build a tight waist but in the real world, that can cause a lot of problems and put you more into a negative emotion like unnecessary anxiety/panic and fearful. You have read recently that I tried this technique and suffered for a while and had a bad case of anxiety and other problems. The moment I started breathing through my diaphragm and focused on my breathing, I was back to normal. Other people have told me that Intercostal Breathing gives them headaches and have more of a shortness of breath and have learned from the likes of Steve Maxwell and others that this type of breathing is an endurance killer.
When I was going on for nearly a month doing the Matt Furey Exercise Bible, I changed my breathing patterns on the Hindu Push-ups to have better endurance but what really made the difference was as I was getting better, after each workout I would do this technique for maybe 30 seconds as a finisher and my breathing felt incredible. I was refreshed, I wasn't huffing and puffing and my mind felt clear as crystal. It literally felt like I could start another workout at 100%.
Yesterday, I put this technique to the test in a different way; I tried out some boxing by going 10 Rounds (1 min on and 15 seconds rest), just doing various punches and speed of punches while also using techniques from CoreForce Energy. After each round, I would do the technique as active recovery during the 15 second rest periods, with that I was able to continue punching each round without tiring and was hitting harder and faster within practically every round. I never felt weak or fatigued and my speed never really wavered, I did mess up a couple punches here and there but I was moving too fast and I wasn't paying attention to my form but once I put the focus back on my speed while paying attention to my breathing, it was as if I couldn't stop and was in that zone. Never felt that much energy and I never have done a workout like that in my life.
As a side note, I was playing a video game on my PS4 called Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot and it either gave me so much adrenaline from playing or just plain inspired me to workout but either way, that workout after playing that game made me feel like I can turn into a Super Sayian (if anyone knows that term, you know what's up) and my body was just full of surging power, energy and strength that I felt invincible and can turn into a mighty warrior with spiked blonde hair. That was what it felt like during that workout and practicing that technique. I never even warmed up, it was just there and during the rest of the day and as of right now, don't feel any soreness or discomfort/pain, just energetic.
This is just an idea of what I experience when I practice this breathing technique and how it has changed how I work out and go about my day. It might be different for you and have a very different affect but from my personal recollection and understanding, it is by far the best breathing technique I have learned thus far, it has made my endurance go through the roof, I feel stronger, far more clear headed and has been a good practice for meditation.
1 comment:
Another good article Ben, your enthusiasm helps me to begin a workout when sometimes I might be too tired to bother. As you know, once you start the exercises and the endorphines kick in you feel fine. Please be careful with the breathing techniques though dude, you were lucky last time. Only my personal experience, but I find DVR style resistance training with the breathing emphasis on in at the start movement and out on the finish movement ( the "push" or "pull" if you know what I mean ) gives me a fine cardiovascular workout, I use the technique of tensing only one way, on the "lifting/pulling" part. Some people say these types of exercise are useless, but for me personally they give me a loose but fast and lean type of muscle, it's hard to explain to people who have never really used them for any length of time. Pleased you have been doing some punching work,as you know that is a mainstay of my exercise routines, they will keep you loose and fast, while developing self defence reflexes. Wing Chun chain punching is also an excellent addition to stamina training as well as developing phenomenal speed when done properly.
Some may mock your visulation techniques ( not me ) but they are just narrow minded. A MMA buddy uses the technique of rescuing his girlfriend from a room full of thugs, like in the many Kung Fu movies he watches as a big fan, or pretends he is training for a no rules fight to the death with an evil bully/thug. He has not lost a fight yet ( or on the street ) because he can get in a mindset in an instant. I'd love those sewer dwellers on the Asshole Mongo Men forum to try and mock him about his visualisation techniques to his face, but of course they only mock behind their keyboards don't they?
Speaking of visualisation and Asshole Mongo Men, I've had a thought, they DO use visualisation - when they are writing gay/homoerotic posts against John Peterson and others! Each to their own you "macho" boys, but I'd hate to be the poor bastard who has to wash your panties/adult diapers after those "visualisation techniques"😁
And to think they have the chutzpah to use homophobic bullying against others.
Keep training safely Ben ( and remember to train your abs/core, it is looking very improved and more solid on your recent photos ) and use losers hatred to give you strength.
Post a Comment