Why the Way You Breathe Might Be the Missing Link Between Struggle and Strength

Most people don’t think twice about their breathing during workouts. They hold their breath when lifting heavy, gasp for air during cardio, and assume it’s all part of the process.

But here’s the truth: the way you breathe during exercise can completely change your experience. It affects not just how hard it feels, but also how well your body performs and recovers.

I’ve coached clients through workouts that felt impossible. Then, we changed their breathing. What once felt like a 10/10 effort suddenly became manageable, focused, and controlled—just by learning to breathe correctly.

Why Breathing Matters More Than You Think

Your breath does more than deliver oxygen. It influences:

• Core stability

• Heart rate and blood pressure

• Energy output

• Stress and nervous system balance

• Movement efficiency and recovery

  
  

In other words, breathing isn’t just background noise—it’s a performance tool.

The Mistakes Most People Make

1. Breath-Holding

Whether lifting a heavy barbell or powering through a plank, people instinctively hold their breath under strain. This can spike blood pressure, increase tension, and limit endurance. Unless you’re using a controlled Valsalva maneuver (and you know why), breath-holding works against you.

2. Shallow Chest Breathing

High-stress breathing patterns reside in the chest and neck. During workouts, this overactivates your sympathetic nervous system. It can lead to early fatigue or lightheadedness—especially during high reps or high volume.

3. No Exhale Focus

If you’re never fully exhaling, you’re not resetting your diaphragm. This reduces your core engagement and can leave you feeling winded, even during simple lifts.

How to Breathe for Performance

1. Use Diaphragmatic Breathing (a.k.a. 360° Breathing)

Learn to breathe into your ribs and lower belly, not just your chest. Before a lift or movement, take a deep inhale through your nose. Expand around your entire trunk—sides, front, and back.

2. Brace with Your Exhale

Use your breath to create intra-abdominal pressure. Exhale slowly through pursed lips while maintaining tension through your midsection. This helps protect your spine and generate power during strength movements like squats and deadlifts.

3. Sync Your Breathing with Movement

Breathing during exercise isn’t one-size-fits-all. The way you breathe during a heavy deadlift is very different from how you breathe during a run or a core activation drill. Learning to sync your breath with the movement can make your workouts feel smoother, reduce unnecessary fatigue, and improve both power and endurance.

Here’s How to Apply It Across Different Types of Training

Strength Training

Breathing should support your structure. When lifting weights—especially compound movements like squats, deadlifts, or presses—your breath can create the internal pressure needed to stabilize your spine.

• Inhale on the eccentric (lowering) phase – This is when the muscle lengthens, and you're absorbing force (like lowering into a squat). You’re preparing your brace here.

• Exhale on the concentric (lifting) phase – As you push or pull, controlled exhalation through pursed lips helps maintain core tension and control.

• For very heavy lifts, you may use a modified Valsalva maneuver (inhaling and holding briefly to create intra-abdominal pressure). This should be done with intention and good form, not out of habit or panic.

  
  

Tip: Use your exhale to drive the movement. Think of it like releasing power from your brace—your breath fuels the lift.

Core Training

Breathing is the foundation of true core control. Most people disconnect breath from their core work, limiting activation and reinforcing poor mechanics.

• Inhale to prepare – This sets your brace and brings awareness to the trunk.

• Exhale during the hardest part of the move – Whether it’s lifting your legs in a dead bug or crunching in a hollow hold, your exhale should be active and intentional. It helps engage your deep abdominal muscles (like the transverse abdominis and pelvic floor) and reduces pressure on your spine.

• Control your exhale – Don’t blow all your air out at once. A long, slow exhale keeps the core engaged throughout the movement and trains endurance and control.

  
  

Tip: You should feel your ribs moving laterally (out to the sides) during the inhale, and your deep core gently drawing in on the exhale—no aggressive belly sucking or rib flaring.

Cardio & Running

Breath guides rhythm, regulates energy, and keeps your nervous system balanced. Shallow, erratic breathing during cardio often leads to faster fatigue, side stitches, and a racing heart.

• Try nasal breathing, especially during warm-ups or steady-state sessions. Breathing through your nose encourages diaphragmatic breathing, reduces unnecessary tension, and helps regulate your heart rate.

• During higher-intensity efforts, switch to in through the nose, out through the mouth to maintain oxygen flow without triggering a panic response.

• In running, sync breath with cadence:

- Example: 3:2 pattern – inhale for 3 steps, exhale for 2.

- Adjust as needed based on effort level. Shorter patterns (like 2:2) are common during sprints or hill climbs.

• Use breath to calm your system post-effort. After a sprint or intense interval, return to nasal breathing and elongate your exhales to signal recovery to your brain and body.

  
  

Tip: If you’re gasping or feel like you’re “chasing your breath,” slow down. That’s a sign your breath isn’t supporting your output.

Reset Between Sets

Take 2–3 deep breaths between sets to bring your nervous system down, improve recovery, and reset your posture. A calm breath equals a more focused set.

A Quick Experiment

Try this: Do a plank for 30 seconds, holding your breath or breathing shallow through your chest. Now do another 30-second plank, this time breathing deeply into your ribs, exhaling with control, and maintaining gentle tension in your core. Feel the difference?

That’s what we mean when we say "breathe better, train smarter."

Final Takeaway - Breathe Better, Train Smarter

Breathing isn’t just about staying alive—it’s about how well you move, how long you last, and how fast you recover. Most people are working harder than they need to, simply because they’re not breathing in a way that supports their body.

It doesn’t take more effort—it just takes more awareness.

Want to learn how to use breathwork to improve your strength, reduce pain, and recover faster? Let’s build a training plan that works with your body, not against it—starting with your next breath.