Vitamin O: Breathing for Optimum Sports Performance

Originally Posted on 3/11/2007

It has been said that you can live for 4 weeks without food and even 4 days without water.  Yet after only 4 minutes without oxygen your chances of survival are extremely slight.  It is safe to say that each of these elements is essential to human survival however most people don’t see themselves running low oxygen any time soon.  Interestingly enough most people breathe as if that is just the case.  Why do I say this?

First let me explain the two basic types of breathing…diaphragmatic/abdominal and chest/clavicular.  In diaphragmatic/abdominal breathing the diaphragm (an umbrella-shaped muscle located at the base of the lungs) contracts during inspiration (breathing in).  When it contracts it flattens out and pushes down on the abdominal cavity creating a protrusion of the abdomen.  As it does this the lower ribcage expands causing an increase in the thoracic space where the lungs are housed.  This causes oxygen-rich air to move primarily into the lower lobes of the lungs.  During exhalation natural elastic recoil of the ribcage and diaphragm pushes the oxygen-poor air out of the lungs with help from the abdominal muscles which can be engaged to expel as much oxygen-poor air from the lungs as possible.  In chest/clavicular breathing (the method most often practiced by people in our society) the intercostal (between the rib) muscles and the muslces in the front of the neck that attach to the top of the collarbones vertically lift the ribcage/chest cavity in order to create space for the lungs to expand.  This causes oxygen-rich air to move primarily into the upper and middle lobes of the lungs.  Exhalation of oxygen-poor air is pushed out during elastic recoil of the intercostal and neck musculature to complete the cycle.  So which type of breathing is better during sports and why?

The upper lobes of the lungs house a concentration of sympathetic nervous system receptors that are activated when we breathe air into these regions consistently as in chest/clavicular breathing.  This triggers a typical sympathetic fight or flight stress response in the body.  This is exactly what should happen when we are faced with an emergency situation like being pursued by a hungry mountain lion because the body is then ready to deal with such a serious threat to it’s survival.  However in our day to day lives this response is unnecessary and actually detrimental to our health and well-being in many ways.  The lower lobes of the lungs house a concentration of parasympathetic nervous system receptors that are activated when we breathe air into these regions consistently.  When the parasympathetic nervous system is activated the body and mind are calm and composed an ideal state for optimum sports performance.

In addition to this there is a significant difference between the middle/upper lobes of the lungs and the lower lobes with respect to each region’s ability to transfer oxygen to the bloodstream.  The middle and upper lobes of the lungs are not nearly as well vascularized as the lower lobes of the lungs.  This means that when we regularly breathe air into the middle and upper lobes (which if you look around a health club most people do) the amount of oxygen getting to the bloodstream and ultimately to our cells is much less than when we breathe air into the highly vascularized lower lobes of the lungs.

If you want to perform in your sport at the highest level that you possibly can employing proper diaphragmatic breathing techniques to drive air primarily into the lower lobes of the lungs will benefit you greatly…not only in your sport but in your everyday life as well.  In my 6-month program I train my clients to breathe in such a way that allows them to maximize their lung capacity for optimum blood oxygenation.  Their breathing becomes much more efficient as does their workout and competition performance.

So here’s to making the most of vitamin O and to making the most of your sports performance and enjoyment.

Live well.
Ryan