“If breathing isn’t normalized no other movement pattern will be.” Karl Lewit

Attack the low hanging fruit.

Diaphragmatic breathing is probably the simplest thing we can perform in the weight room yet is constantly overlooked when it comes to changing and improving movement and performance.

Respiration leads to better posture. Better posture leads to an athlete that is more resilient to injury and to better performance. More resilient + better performance = better athlete. If you aren’t coaching breathing you are missing the boat.

Some of the documented benefits of diaphragmatic breathing;

• A window into the autonomic nervous system to help promote a more para-sympathetic state
• Decreases heart rate
• Decreases blood pressure
• Decreases anxiety
• Changes in insulin sensitivity
• An important spinal stabilizer

We simply cue an athlete to breathe in through the nose (3-4 seconds) and out through their mouth (6-8 seconds). Though it may seem like a small detail, breathing in through the nose and subsequently out through the mouth is critical as it stimulates the vagus nerve.