Breathing In Sport — Article Previews LEADER ISSUE 1

Breathing itse lf. I will skip in-depth theories related to breathing and instead focus on three main points of interest to us — breathing frequency, intensity of breathing, and breathing volume. What is breathing frequency ?
Breathing frequency relates to the number of inhales and exhales made per minute. Mean respiratory rate mainly depends on age, and ranges from
16 to 30. It’s difficult to measure someone’s normal breathing, as when that person knows they are being observed, their breathing frequency will be affected.
Feelings of being under pressure, needing to be responsible and the person’s conscience all have an impact on their breathing. This is not so important.
What is important is that the sportsperson is aware of this and knows it will have an impact on the volume and intensity of their breathing. Intensity of breathing
How intense breathing is, is crucial not only in sport, but also in other areas of life. It depends on the body’s need for oxygen and depends on the amount
of carbon dioxide in the blood. Sometimes rates may be higher — hyperventilation — when breathing exceeds the body’s real needs, or lower — hypoventilation - when breathing occurs at an abnormally slow rate, which leads to an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood. It works on the principle of “the more the better” (as Genghis Khan claimed). Also, the idea of “what you do not use falls off” (as Michael Jackson pointed out) applies to this subject as well. Breathing capacity and the lungs As the need for oxygen goes up, so does the number of inhales (exhales) per minute. On top of that, there is also an increase in the air volume of each inhale and exhale. The inspiration draws 500ml of air into the airways and lungs. This air is mixed with the air that remains in the lungs. (Lungs are like toothpaste tubes: they are never completely empty. This phenomenon is called “the residual volume”.)

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