Cadence Breathing: A Discussion
by Teige West
That breathing is the most crucial mechanism for hurdling goes without saying, yet the amount of breathing research for hurdling is scarce compared to other sports; most of the books, articles and papers exploring the link between oxygen intake and running focus on distant running. Endurance runners and sprinters use something called “cadence breathing,” also called “rhythmic breathing,” which is where you time your inhalations and exhalations with your foot strikes. For distance running, the athlete needs to find a flow to preserve oxygen levels in the body, but your focus isn’t flow; your focus is both power and speed. Some hurdlers say that breathing patterns shouldn’t even be a concern, especially for short distances. You just want enough oxygen to get to the finish line first, right? Other hurdlers do use some form of cadence. Especially, if you race the 400 m, your distance is far enough that you can benefit from focused breathing. But as is always true, every athlete is different, so even if you race shorter distances than the 400, you should give cadence a short-term try in training; you may find yourself gasping less at the finish line, and more oxygen to your muscles means a better performance in competition.
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Belly Breathing: The Ideal Breath
There are two types of breathing: shallow breathing and deep breathing. Shallow breathing is when you use the intercostal muscles to expand and contract the chest cavity for the lungs to take in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. The intercostal muscles are muscles between and around the ribs. The second type of breathing is deep breathing, also called either belly or diaphragm breathing. This second type uses the diaphragm, a large muscle underneath the lungs, to expand and contract the lungs. Deep breathing allows more oxygen into the lungs, and thus, into the muscles and blood. Belly breathing is the ideal breath for running. (A quick note: I’ve seen short distance sprinters say that they don’t bother with belly breathing, that moving the diaphragm takes too much energy, and that they have plenty of oxygen when they let the body breathe shallowly. Other sprinters do use belly breathing. If you’re interested in further cadence work, you’re going to hear people say one works better than the other. Again, this is a personal preference, so try deep breathing and see if it works for you.)
Some people are naturally shallow breathers. When they are resting, they breathe from the chest, and they have to practice deep breathing. Shallow breathing has been associated with anxiety, so if you decide that cadence isn’t for you, the first exercise below is also a great practice for pre-race nerves, or for help falling asleep.
How do you determine whether you are normally a shallow or deep breather? Lie down on your back, legs stretched out. Make sure you’re comfortable and you’re in a calm setting. Put your hand on your stomach and breathe normally. If your hand moves up and down, not just slightly, but a lot, you’re a deep breather. If your hand barely moves, but you see your chest move up and down, you’re a shallow breather. If you’re a shallow breather, focus on making your hand move more. When you inhale, imagine the air going into your stomach and making your stomach rise. When you exhale, focus on your stomach collapsing inward as your breathe out. Count to 3 as you inhale and then count again to 3 as you exhale. A 4-6 (count to 4 on inhalation, count to 6 on exhalation) breath count is recommended for anxiety and relaxation. Don’t hold your breath, but rhythmically inhale and exhale. If you need a different count, find what works for you. This exercise may take some practice before you move on to moving and deep breathing.
Cadence Breathing
Cadence breathing is where you breathe in time with your foot striking the ground. The numbers correlate to how many steps you take before you inhale or exhale. For example, if I do a 2-2 count, I begin to breathe in when my right foot touches the ground, my left foot touches the ground, my right foot touches again and I begin to exhale, then my left foot strikes, then my right foot and with my right foot I begin to inhale. So I inhale for two steps/strikes and I exhale for two steps/strikes. Depending on what feels best for me, and depending on the speed, my count can be any combination: 2-2, 2-1, 1-1, 3-1.
Here’s how to begin cadence breathing once you’ve gotten the hang of the belly breathe. Get dressed for a run and go outside. Do a short warm-up with stretches because you will sprint at the end of this exercise. The idea for this next exercise is that you want to breathe deeply without gasping or feeling like you aren’t getting enough air. Always adjust your count if necessary, or stop if you need to.
Start off on an easy, flat, and slow walk, continuing the 3-3 breath (or whatever count works best for you). Walk for ten minutes, focusing on deep breathing, moving your stomach in and out. Now, walk faster for five minutes. Do you need to change your breath count? If so, change to whatever count allows you to comfortably breathe. Now begin to jog. You may need to change to a 3-2 count or a 2-2 count. Now begin to run. Try a 2-2 or a 2-1 count. Now sprint with a 2-1 count or a 1-1 count.
After you finish this exercise, be sure to cool down properly. Then evaluate whether this technique works for you. Of course, this is probably your first time trying cadence. Repeat the exercise a few times, and then take a few days of drills and try to implement belly breathing. Remember that this a new part of your training, so trying to focus on yet another part of your body may be frustrating, but commit to a few days of testing. Like good hurdling form, you have to practice breathing.
Another quick note: should you breath out of your mouth or nose? Again, different athletes prefer different methods, so do whichever works for you. Because the nose is a smaller passage, you may find that mouth breathing gets more air into your lungs. Some hurdlers breathe in through their nose and rapidly blow the air out of their mouths.
What if Cadence doesn’t work?
There is one breathing technique that hurdlers use, which can lead you into cadence or can be used alone, and you may already do this. But if you don’t, take a few days of training and give it a try. So, when you’re in the blocks, you should be taking deep belly breaths, getting oxygen into your lungs and muscles before you hurdle. (And as I said above, practicing deep breathing will also help you focus and minimize anxiety right before you hurdle). When you’re crouched in starting position and you hear “Set!” Take a deep inhalation and hold (normally, holding your breath isn’t advisable, but the time frame here is very short), and when you hear the gun, explode out of the blocks with a big exhale. You can then rhythm your breathing, or breathe normally, whichever works best for you.
If you give rhythm breathing a try and it doesn’t work for you, and you’re gasping for air like crazy at the finish line, there is another solution: train harder. You may have heard the term VO2 Max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen that can be moved to the muscles. VO2 Max is your aerobic endurance, and it can be measured, but you probably don’t need to have a test. If you’ve been training for many years and you’re at professional athlete-level fitness, you have probably met your VO2 limit, or you can only slightly improve your limit. But be honest: if you know you can push yourself into better shape—become stronger and faster, eat better, etc.—you can increase that level. Talk to your trainer or coach to gradually increase your drills and strength training. The more time you spend hurdling, the better you will become, and the more efficient at oxygen uptake your body will become.
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