The importance of breathing well in bodybuilding
If there is one thing that is often forgotten when practicing sports, it is breathing. Wrongly, of course, because the art of breathing well is essential to the effectiveness of any type of sport or physical activity, including weight training.
Good breathing helps you to work the muscles more efficiently. If you omit this important parameter in your sports practice, you risk losing efficiency and therefore taking much longer to see results. Good breathing should not be underestimated in bodybuilding, as it helps you work better the muscles. The latter is as important as the muscular work of your physical preparation (stretching or warm-up).
Below are some tips that you can use during your next session to learn how to breathe properly, and that will allow you to optimize your muscle work to the maximum.
How to breathe correctly during exercise?
First of all, it is essential to know that a movement, during a sport practice, is made up of two phases: the contraction and the relaxation of the muscle.
The first phase: the contraction phase, also known as the concentric phase, is the one where the muscle is solicited. On the concentric phaseWhen you work with weights, for example, your biceps muscles are first relaxed at rest. When you work with dumbbells, for example, the muscles of your biceps are initially relaxed at rest. But during the exercise, when you lift the barbell, they contract: this is the contraction phase.
During the second phase: the relaxation phase, also called the eccentric phase, your muscle stretches and relaxes. This muscle contraction allows you to control the movement and slow it down. To take the example of the exercise with dumbbells, this phase would correspond to the moment when your arm goes back down to its initial position, alongside your body.
These two movements are found in all bodybuilding exercises, including exercises to develop the back muscles, upper body muscles (pectorals), abdominal muscles, legs, etc.
To breathe well, it is enough to expire by the mouth when you are in the phase of contraction of the muscle and to inspire by the nose (to reoxygenate you) during the phase of slackening of the muscle. Using the example of lifting weights, you will breathe in when you are at rest, breathe in when you lift the dumbbell, breathe out when you lower it, breathe in when you raise it and so on. In short, try to ensure that there is an inhalation when the muscle relaxes, which will always be followed by an exhalation when it contracts.
(Also remember to contract the muscle areas you're working on between reps while you exhale all the air from your rib cage: doing this between sets will allow your muscles to work even more efficiently. And don't forget to keep your back and torso (chest) posture straight during your exercises, for more efficient breathing.
Now you can incorporate these tips into your weight-training programYou know how important it is to reoxygenate your muscle tissue. Thanks to it you can hold the exercise longer and your muscles will be much better.
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Why is it important to be well hydrated in bodybuilding?
What is the difference between catabolism and anabolism?
All about DC voltage in strength training
Is the K tape really effective in bodybuilding?
