Have you ever experienced a time in your life ( an athletic experience) where you were working so hard that you couldn’t breathe? It’s a feeling that you cannot get enough air in. Your chest is closing in on you and you feel like you are going to pass out. I can picture SEVERAL times in my life where I pushed myself so hard that I actually got light headed, my chest hurt and fainting were virtually in the next moment. Climbing Mt. Whitney, sprinting up hill on a tandem and riding in Canada are the three times I can remember thinking, “I am not going to make it!” Hyperventilating is a common word for it. A few times I’ve mentally talked myself into a manic frenzy which lead me to hyperventilate. Mostly, in my athletic endeavors, I’ve just gone too hard and can’t breathe properly. Recently, in a bike race, I went so HARD that it took me thirty minutes for my chest to stop hurting! I tend to just go for BROKE in races. So, here’s a post of techniques that I’ve used to CALM down while exercising.

On a side note, for all you beginning runners out there, I checked in all my running books and there is NOT a word on breathing techniques! Wierd. Although, lots of you ask me questions on how you should be breathing when running. When running or riding, I use open mouth breathing. Get air in however way you can. In yoga and Pilates, inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth (Pilates) and completely nose breathing in yoga. When running, just get air in and out!

So, let’s say your out running on a hill which has been progressively getting harder and keeping the pace is causing you to get out of breathe. There are three ways to handle this:

First, focus on breathing air OUT. It should sound like “whosh whosh whosh” the inhale will come naturally. Just focus on BIG puffs of air going OUT. Don’t think about your legs, your friends’ pace, the rocks, nothing, just breathe OUT. This can be very rhythmic if you really focus. The exhale can happen in sync with your steps.

Second, try taking three quick breaths IN and OUT, and then ONE BIG EXHALE OUT. I commonly will use this technique when climbing big hills on my bike. The kind of hill that you will fall over if you stop pedaling! Focus on your breathing only and you will get up the hill. Continue using this skill until you are over the hill.

Third, slow down, get your breathing under control then resume the pace.

Fourth, consult a doctor about exercise induced asthma.

Most importantly, is to not get overwhelmed in the situation that you’re in. Use your brain and your breath to regulate your heart rate. Visualization is another technique you can employ to help yourself out of a bad situation. The finish line, the margarita that is waiting for you, the extra calories you are burning with this workout, anything that will engage your mind away from “impending doom” will help as well.

Any other techniques? Tips you’d like to share?

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I feel naked without my heart rate monitor. I don’t know how people train without one! I see so many people sweating it out on an elliptical thinking they’re doing awesome, when in reality, they probably aren’t even in their aerobic zone. And honestly being in the aerobic zone doesn’t mean that much anyway. I often wonder what they are doing on those machines because their bodies size never really changes. Ok, I admit, in the past year I probably used those machines 5 times BUT only because I wanted to read a book- not really for exercise. The only way you are going to burn more calories is if you actually challenge your body in different ways REGULARLY (intervals, tempo runs, easy runs, hill runs, long runs, change= calories burned). Your heart rate monitor and your internal gage (how I feel at the moment) are what tells you how your are doing. I am going to be your nag and tell you, that you need one. Here are a few reasons why:

1. A good heart rate monitor will be able to calculate how many calories you burned during a workout. For my runs, it ranges from a mere 200-1100! And, depending on how much muscle mass you have, you have the opportunity to burn more throughout the day.

2. A HR monitor will help you determine your fitness level. (subjective people) For example, one year ago in my hour long spin class my HR would get in the 170’s within 15 minutes and it would stay that high throughout the workout- maybe even maxing out to over 192 in the final sprint. Now, it takes me 20 minutes to even get to 150 and I rarely get it over 170. That’s just how my fitness has improved over time.

3. A discussion about zones. We each have a zone in which to workout (1-10). 10 being you are going to puke and you can’t go any harder and 1 you are walking the dog. A general rule of thumb; 5 aerobic and 7-9 interval training. A heart rate monitor can help you determine those zones. For me on a run, a 5 aerobic is like 160 and intervals are 170. Race days for 5km’s I function in the 180’s on a GOOD DAY.

4. To see if you are under trained or over trained. There are some days when I’m out there that I know I’ve gone too hard on too many consecutive days and my HR will tell me to “bag it”. Just recently on a “easy ride” to the bike shop I was in the 180’s within 4 minutes of leaving the house. BAD SIGN, should have gone home.

5. Gage your level at the time of exertion. Another example is if it’s supposed to be an interval day and after one interval, your HR is spiking too high, then you need to change your plan.

6. To say to yourself “OH CRAP******!better slow down”. In my last bike race, I was ON FIRE! But, I didn’t have time to look down at my watch, because I was ON FIRE (left my brain on the starting line- nervous energy). Too bad on was ON FIRE in the first lap and not the last lap, could have won some money.

So, what kind of HR monitor should you buy? My three must haves for a HR monitor is calories burned, stop watch function, and your heart rate. I prefer the ones with a chest strap because I think they are more accurate (although can be problematic with some jog bras). A bare bones Polar monitor will run you $59 for this one. Or you can buy this one for $89 that comes with the stop watch, calories and monitor. I’m a geek, so, I just bought this one for $300 (got it on sale for $164). But, I can’t live without it now! Shows my pace per mile and how many miles I ran plus my heart rate and calories burned plus I can download it to the computer to track my fitness.

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Here you go. Nightly exercise/entertainment. They do what Daddy does- usually on the mat or in his way, but, they are having a blast and Dad is too. If you’re wondering what I’m doing, well, I’m just trying to keep them off the mat!

How do you exercise with your kids?

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