Need more air? Deep breathing can help you run longer with less effort

Just before you crest a hill or reach the end of a speed interval, your lungs go into overdrive. Your breath becomes shallow and rapid. You think if only you could pull in more air, you could surge up that hill or maintain your pace. But the more your chest heaves, the more you struggle. You may even end up exhausted, bent over, gasping for air.

"Runners think about training their heart and legs, but they rarely think about training their lungs," says Mindy Solkin, owner and head coach of The Running Center in New York City. "A strong respiratory system can improve your running. It's a simple equation: Better breathing equals more oxygen for your muscles, and that equals more endurance."

Just as we strength-train our hamstrings and calves to improve our ability to power over hills, we can tone the muscles used for breathing. "Exercise improves the conditioning of the diaphragm, the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen, and the intercostal muscles, which lie between the ribs and enable you to inhale and exhale," says Everett Murphy, M.D., a runner and pulmonologist at Olathe Medical Center in Olathe, Kansas. "When you take a breath, 80 percent of the work is done by the diaphragm. If you strengthen your diaphragm, you may improve your endurance and be less likely to become fatigued."

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TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Lower Table Rock Run and a Back/Delt/Bi Workout
In between business appointments, chores and errands, I made time today for a run on Lower Table Rock and a workout of weighted chinups, single arm alternating suspension pullups, suspension rear delt flyes, DB curls, and hanging scapular depression/retraction.

~Feelin' Alive!~