Make the most out of every breath. Photo: Instagram @mark_visser Credit: @ktunbridge.
You’re probably thinking something like, “what the hell are you talking about? I’ve been doing just fine with staying alive for this long, so what’s wrong with my breathing?” Sure, maybe you have been doing fine getting oxygen into your lungs, but are you doing in the most efficient way? More importantly, are you using the correct muscles designed for breathing? Or are you using other muscles that are designed to help you breath as the primary breathers?
Cue the basketball metaphor: It’s like benching your star players and asking the role players to step up and make a big play in a clutch situation . Your role players are great when they are role players. They are awesome at fighting for rebounds and playing great defense. But when you’re down by two with three seconds left, do you really want a role player taking the ball?
The same logic can be applied to your breathing muscles. The star player is the diaphragm. It’s the big time breather. No other muscle comes close. Of course you can use your chest, neck, upper back and little muscles in between your ribs to breathe, but they got nothing on the diaphragm. And when you use those secondary muscles as prime breathers, they get a little upset. They get very active, tight and sometimes a little spastic.
Why does this matter?
One of the most common positions we sit in today’s world is the rounded forward, sitting position, adopted by spending so much time in chairs and staring at screens.
According to a basic said principles – specific adaptations to implied demands – we get really good at this position. And if you take a look at where your diaphragm sits (just below your ribs), think about how difficult it would be to use that muscle in this rounded forward position. You’ll be forced to use other muscles.
The role players are now the stars. But there’s one problem. They weren’t designed for stardom. What happens is those muscles get overactive, tight and create problems, especially in the neck and shoulder area.
So what’s the solution?
Practice using your diaphragm with the following three breathing drills.
1. Belly Breathing
Using the feedback of your hands, this technique brings awareness to how you are breathing. This is very similar to our test where you place your right hand on your chest and your left hand on your stomach. The focus in active belly breathing is on your left hand, or on your stomach.
Instructions: Sit or lay down in a comfortable position. Take deep inhales, expanding your belly. Use your diaphragm muscle, which will push the stomach outwards, moving your left hand as your belly expands. Exhale deeply and let the belly return to normal. The right hand on your chest should remain still. Try for 10-15 cycles (one inhalation & exhalation is one cycle) of deep belly breaths.
2. Crocodile Breathing
This is one of my favorite breathing exercises, and it builds off what you learned in the belly breathing exercise. This exercise adds a little resistance (through gravity) to your breathing, helping your breathing muscles fire more effectively.
Instructions: Lying facedown on the ground, rest your forehead on top of your hands. Relax and take deep breaths into your mid-torso area. The idea with crocodile breathing is to try to expand the full 360 degrees of your lower torso (meaning your belly, back, and sides) with breath. You should feel your belly get full and wide on the ground as you breathe deeply. This ensures that you’re using your diaphragm and not your chest. Shoot for 3-5 minutes of crocodile breathing. Choose a relaxing song that lasts somewhere between that time, or set a timer so you can focus on your breathing instead of the clock.
3. Cycled, Balanced Breathing
Maybe the simplest but still highly effective technique is the cycled, counted breathing technique. It’s popular with a lot of mindfulness practices. You simply count the duration of each inhale and exhale, progressing the duration of each in a ladder format.
Instructions: Start with a simple 4-ladder breath exercise. It works like this. Start by taking an inhale for 1 second, hold for 1 second, and then exhale for 1 second. Then inhale for 2 seconds, hold for 2 seconds, and exhale for 2 seconds. Continue up to 4 seconds, and then go back down to 1. Repeat this cycle for 2-3 minutes.
How does this relate to my surfing?
Engaging your diaphragm to breathe and allowing other muscles relief will directly translate into better surfing.
First, it will enable better paddling mechanics.
Proper paddling technique requires a decent amount of flexibility through your middle back (thoracic spine). If you don’t have that flexibility because you sit a lot and are rounded forward, your thoracic spine will not extend properly and you’ll put your shoulders in a bad position. Not only will you not be able to paddle as well or as fast, but you’ll put the tendons, ligaments, and muscles of the shoulder at risk for injury.
Second, it will decrease stress.
Using your diaphragm to breath has been shown to reduce stress by triggering your parasympathetic nervous system. This is the part of the nervous system that is responsible for “rest and digest”. Most of the time we are walking around in our “sympathetic” nervous system which is all about “fight or flight.” Spending more time in parasympathetic will allow the body and mind to reduce stress and recover better.
And finally, it will give you more confidence.
With better breathing mechanics, you will be able to get more oxygen to muscles. This will lead to the ability to hold your breath longer which will give you much more confidence in the water.
Breathing is a vital part of my own surf training program, which I’ve designed for others to get the most out of their surfing as well, incorporating fitness and nutrition.
Editor’s note: You can access some of the author’s workouts for free and learn more about his comprehensive surf training program here.
