One factor that is often far overlooked when it comes to training is breathing mechanics. The most important muscle when it comes to proper breathing is the diaphragm.  The diaphragm is a very important muscle that is often not used properly in many individuals.  So we are better able to understand its importance, lets take a look at its anatomy. 

Its fibers attach to the inner lower six ribs, the inner xiphoid process and the first three lumbar vertebrae and then come together at the central tendon.  When this muscle contracts and pulls down on the central tendon, it creates inspiration.  The central tendon has connections to the connective tissue that surrounds the lungs; thus, when the muscle contracts, a vacuum develops in the upper thoracic cavity and pulls air into the lungs.  When you exhale, the diaphragm relaxes and the lungs deflate. To simplify this, the diaphragm is a major player when it comes to breathing.  This is all lovely but just because the muscle is there does not mean that it is functioning optimally. 

Picture from Trail Guide to The Body, p 219

During my massage therapy studies up to this point, one very common complaint people seem to have is pain in their posterior shoulder girdle, neck and various areas of the mid to upper spine.  One common issue I have seen with these people is poor breathing patterns.  If diaphragmatic breathing is occurring, the following test will confirm it.  Place one hand on your stomach and one on your chest.  If your stomach pushes out first and strongly, the diaphragm is doing its job.  If the chest rises first, it is not.  When it is not working optimally, other muscles that have their own primary important jobs try to assist with breathing and can either strain themselves or cause problems in other muscles around them from compensation.  For example, muscles in the upper back and neck such as the scalenes and upper trapezius can strain when more stress is placed upon them without full diaphragm function.  Erectors and deeper spinal muscles can also strain when poor diaphragm function causes poor rib movement. 

When it comes to performance, proper diaphragmatic breathing also becomes important.  In order to perform at the highest level possible, an abdominal brace must be maintained during exertions and movements in order to prevent energy leaks.  If the diaphragm is not working optimally, the abs will brace and unbrace along with the breathing rhythm. The side bridge can be used as a good example here.  If somebody is in side bridge position and you feel their obliques or rectus abdominis,  these muscles should maintain a decent brace (they should be "hard" and pushed out) throughout the breathing cycle.  The diaphragm should take care of the breathing efficiently enough so that these muscles can maintain the brace in order to facilitate better performance of the bridge.  This is the same thing that needs to happen with many other sporting activities.

Diaphragmatic breathing can be practiced multiple times a day.  Place one hand on your stomach and one on your chest and practice breathing into the hand on your stomach for multiple breaths throughout the day.  This can help with pain management and performance more than you'd believe. You can also train each side to function optimally by placing a hand on your left and right lower ribs and practice pushing each side into each hand alternating.  This is a great exercise as there are many people who have one side that works better.  Patrick Ward and Bill Hartman both have some great info on this stuff and could tell you about the subject better than me so if this interests you be sure to check out their stuff. Both of their sites can be found in my links page.

If you missed either of the first two parts of this series, be sure to read them first. (Either in past newsletters or on my blog)

With your typical long distance run, the primary energy system that is utilized is the oxidative or aerobic system.  Aerobic endurance is the primary physical quality that is developed and relied on for this form of activity.  What many fail to realize is the fact that the other energy systems that we possess are also utilized during running as all energy systems work in conjunction with one another. Each main energy system also has subdivisions if you really want to get specific, but I’ll keep things simple here.  

Moving on, towards the end of a race when you need that final “kick” to finish extra fast, you’d better hope that your anaerobic glycolytic system is up to par.  If it is not, you will be out of gas and can lose out on precious seconds.  To simplify things, if the only form of energy systems training that you utilize is long distance running, you need to start training your other systems. If you bring your anaerobic system up to par, it will assist your aerobic.  While your phosphocreatine system needs to be developed, it is not as important for our purposes here.  Thus, I am going to focus on ways to develop your anaerobic system.  Phosphocreatine will generally be taken care of with this anyway.

Intervals

Since we are talking running, we will use spints as an example here.  Running sprint intervals is a great way to take care of things.  An example would be running a 10-30 second interval followed by a 60-90 second recovery period.  This would be performed for multiple rounds.  Other options (there are many) include airdyne bike intervals, sled dragging/pushing intervals, jump rope and many more.  This will boost your overall running performance like you wouldn’t believe. (Not to mention will work miracles for fat loss)

Circuits

Pick 3-5 movements and perform them in a row.  An example would be the following:  Quick steps, sled drags, kettlebell swings, jump rope.  Perform each exercise for a prescribed number of reps one after another and then rest between rounds.  Circuits keep things fun and can be used for anaerobic focus or can be done for time for more of an aerobic focus.

Ladders 

Take an exercise such as the squat.  Perform reps in a 1-10-1 fashion.  This means you would do one squat, rest a second, do two squats, rest, three squats, rest, all the way up to 10 in the same fashion.  When you reach ten squats, you then go back down the ladder from ten to one.  This will humble your conditioning like you wouldn’t believe. 

These are just a few examples of ways to bring up energy systems not being focused on with your typical long distance run.  If you are not training them, you need to start if you are serious about being a good runner.