Through the free quick guide to breathing ebook and the supporting articles that expand on each topic in the book, you’ve learned about the importance of breathing well for running well, and for having a positive impact in your life. You also now have a foundational understanding of some of the processes involved in breathing and you have some exercises that you can practise to help improve your breathing.
But that’s all just a starting point and if you are interested in really improving your breathing then you are going to need a proven framework to help you get there.
Luckily for you, I’ve put such a framework together – and it offers you so much more than any other breathing course I’ve found. In fact, it’s a Respiratory Revolution!
Throughout this series of articles, you’ve learned about the importance of the biomechanic of breathing. Now, you’ll often hear a lot being said about strengthening your diaphragm and using it better in your breathing, but you’ve learned there are a lot more muscles involved in breathing other than your diaphragm.
Almost no one else will teach you that though, or how to actually activate those breathing muscles and your diaphragm so you can even start to strengthen them. A very high percentage of the runners I see really struggle to get even the smallest amount of activation, so how are they supposed to strengthen them and move the rib cage well to allow your diaphragm to work in the way it’s intended?
Being able to create and maintain a strong and stable breathing cylinder with a well mobilised rib cage is a fundamental and critical element of functional breathing for running, whether you are able to transition to nose breathing or not.
I cannot emphasise enough just how important this is, and most breathing courses and systems I’ve found only give this a cursory mention at best: they are missing out a crucial aspect to helping you breathe better when you run.
Calm and relaxed, but left behind…
In addition, as good as they are (and there are some amazing courses and systems available) most breathing courses you’ll come across are designed for the opposite of what you need as a runner. They teach you breathing techniques for relaxation, calm, and keeping your carbon dioxide levels low or within a level. This is fantastic for helping to reduce anxiety and bring in a calm mindfulness, but it just doesn’t help you functionally as a runner. Yes, there are elements of calm and relaxation that you need to bring to your running, and you certainly do need relaxed and well-paced breathing.
But the reality is that as the duration and intensity of your running increases, you build up carbon dioxide in your cells and blood. If you do not learn to tolerate these higher levels, you’ll always need to slow down and you always risk inducing a feeling of panic and paradoxical breathing. This is what makes my framework different:
Functional breathing designed specifically for running
So with that, here is what you’ll learn on the RunTeach Respiratory Revolution breathing course for runners:
The Respiratory Revolution is an 8-week course, with each module becoming available
each week so you have plenty of time to practise without feeling rushed. In fact, as the course is self-paced, if it takes you 16 weeks or 20 weeks to complete, that’s absolutely fine. Once you have access to the course you have it – there is no time limit. This means you can refer back to the lessons and supporting material whenever you like.
The topics covered in the course are built on the elements that you learned about in the quick guide and articles:
- The Biomechanics Of Breathing
- The Biochemistry Of Breathing
- The Neurology Of Breathing
The topic include:
- Course introduction
- Assessments and benchmark
- Why breathing skills are needed for running well
- What is dysfunctional breathing?
- Diaphragm mobility
- Diaphragm strengthening
- The muscles of inhalation
- The muscles of exhalation
- Why nose-breathe? Discovering the benefits
- Nasal decongestion
- Learn to nose breathe and avoid the panic of air hunger
- Running specific breathing background and techniques
- Breathing Challenges throughout the course to help you learn to breathe better, more quickly
Every module has practical exercises designed to help you improve your breathing right from week 1.
There are also supporting lessons taking you through topics to help you get the most out of the course. For example, do you panic if you hold your breath? Well, I include techniques to help you get over this so that you can take full advantage of the breathing challenges and exercises.
So if you are ready to take the next step on your breathing journey, you can find the course here.
If you would prefer to work with me on a 1-2-1 basis to improve your breathing or other aspects of your running, you can contact me here.
