They know where to find carbohydrates and healthy fats. They control what and how much they drink. They control the type and carefully monitor the quality of the supplements they take. They monitor the number of steps they take each day. They monitor the quantity and quality of squats during training. Yet, very few people are still aware of their breathing. We leave literally the most important process in our lives completely out of our control, assuming it's so basic that it's hard to mess up. Or is it?
You took about 20,000 breaths yesterday. Are you sure they were "healthy" breaths?
The progress of civilization has led us to a point where our daily habits differ significantly from how people behaved just 100 years ago. We've left evolution far behind – we can safely assume it didn't intend this kind of life for us. We've created many dysfunctions ourselves: increasingly poor posture, increasingly strange gait patterns, and increasingly inefficient forms of gas exchange.
Before you think this sounds like a sci-fi movie trailer, let me just remind you that artificial intelligence can now spit out a 100-page essay on Sienkiewicz's The Deluge in a matter of moments. This sci-fi has been around for a long time, and we're living right in the middle of it.
But let's get back to breathing, or more specifically, to its very beginning. You can draw air into your lungs through your mouth or your nose. Although it may seem indistinguishable at first glance, this is where mistakes can be made. No healthy animal breathes through its mouth unless it's panting. NONE. Except humans...
Due to allergies, urban smog, and other factors, our society has developed an epidemic of upper respiratory tract obstruction. This is precisely why many people have resorted to mouth breathing. However, it's important to remember that the nose filters and warms the air, which then passes on to the rest of the respiratory system. Furthermore, the paranasal sinuses contain glands that enrich the air with nitric oxide, the same compound whose deficiency can cause, for example, impotence. Another important factor is that the narrow nasal passage provides adequate air resistance. This allows the diaphragm—our body's primary respiratory muscle—to work properly. And if the diaphragm isn't working properly, more serious problems can arise.
Although the diaphragm isn't usually mentioned in the same breath as the biceps or quadriceps, it is also a muscle that generates movement. This movement—the expansion of the rib cage—is a movement that leads to gas exchange, and you can perform it in several ways. Depending on your intention, body position, and the state of your diaphragm, you can inhale by engaging either the primary or secondary respiratory muscles.
Lower rib breathing, the type we should most often practice, primarily engages the main respiratory muscles: the diaphragm, intercostal muscles, and transverse abdominis. Unfortunately, everyday habits, such as sitting at a desk for hours, compress the diaphragm, leaving it no room for effective work. In this situation, we begin to breathe slightly differently. Instead of expanding radially (like an opening umbrella), the ribs begin to rise and fall. Over time, the upward movement becomes much more pronounced than the downward movement, causing the ribs to permanently rise, and during inhalation, only the upper chest, including the collarbones, works. Breathing becomes shallower, and only the upper parts of the lungs ventilate… And thus, upper rib breathing is created – one of the "dysfunctions" of breathing. It engages, among other things, the pectoral muscles, the neck muscles, and the so-called hoods, the muscles most people constantly complain about being tense. Coincidence?
These muscles can indeed perform the work of breathing effectively for a period of time, but not 24 hours a day. If you force them to do so, they will, to put it simply, tense up, causing pain in the neck, shoulder area, or head. The diaphragm, in turn, is designed for continuous work leading to gas exchange. Its contraction leads to the expansion of the lower ribs, simultaneously stabilizing the entire chest from within. Every strength athlete knows this from performing so-called bracing, which involves stabilizing the torso using, among other things, respiratory muscles. A significant portion of our body's lymph nodes are located beneath the diaphragm. The lymphatic system doesn't have its own driving force, like the heart for the circulatory system. The diaphragm acts as a pump, helping to pump lymph and remove waste products from our body's cells. Let's go even further: the diaphragm supports intestinal peristalsis. The phrenic nerve, along a portion of its course, runs alongside the vagus nerve, which acts as a kind of brake for the body. By stimulating these nerves, you calm your heart, quiet your mind, and relax—exactly what many people struggle with. Proper breathing improves much more than just gas exchange—it impacts many aspects of our body's functioning. I work with many athletes who achieve incredible results in strength sports, and working on conscious breathing is usually where we begin our collaboration.
How to learn to breathe properly?
I realize how absurd the above statement may sound. Put aside your doubts for a moment and try it. After a month, you might find that you sleep better, are calmer, digest better, and have fewer headaches. If it doesn't work, you'll simply go back to breathing the "old way."
- First, a bit of discomfort: a light diaphragm massage. Place your fingers under the edge of your lower ribs and gently massage your diaphragm from the inside. You may feel a slight resistance, but if you experience pain, it's best to consult a physiotherapist.
- Then, a little love. Sit down and have someone hug you from the side. Only with affection, otherwise it won't work! In turn, breathe, inhaling through your nose and working your ribs sideways, toward the hug. Of course, repeat the action on the other side later.
- Step three is a bit of mental gymnastics. Lie on your stomach, have someone press their fingers under your lower ribs, and while inhaling (through your nose!), try to push those fingers out. Not working? Visualize yourself literally directing your breath into those fingers, connecting those muscles with your brain; you might not have used them this way in a while. And relax. Give yourself time. Contrary to appearances, it's not that easy.
- Finally, the laziest exercise. Place the resistance bands on your lower ribs. Stand straight! Don't compress your diaphragm! Now, put on your favorite TV show and breathe until you feel the band tightening on all sides.
Voila. You're breathing through your lower ribs. Breathe calmly. Inhale through your diaphragm, and let the breath flow naturally. Let the air simply flow out of you, and let your ribs fall down (toward your hips). Don't use your muscles to do this. For a while, you'll have to breathe "manually," and you'll probably be annoyed that it's not very effective. However, after just a few days, you'll notice a difference in how your body functions. After a month, it'll become a habit, and you'll wonder how you could have ever harmed such a basic bodily function.
While reading this, you took about 70-80 breaths. Did they make you feel better?
Rafał Ziewiecki – A doctor of chemistry by education, he is a professional trainer, head coach, and owner of the strongest powerlifting team in Poland – Podsztanga.pl. His athletes have repeatedly achieved podium finishes at national and international competitions. His primary focus is strength sports and periodized training, but he is also passionate about the quality of movement and its impact on the human body.
