- Increase your stamina quickly and easily
- Make any exercise feel easier
- Improve your general health
Train hard, breathe easy
I teach several kung fu classes per week. At the beginning of each is a warm-up and series of conditioning exercises which I lead. The students then follow me and listen to my instructions. Therefore it’s essential that I am not only able to perform these exercises – which can be hard and fast – but that I also have enough breath left over to be able to give verbal instructions without gasping for air. And bear in mind that most of my students are half my age or younger.
I discovered long ago that the way I breathe can greatly increase my stamina and at the same time reduce how hard an exercise actually feels.
The trick is simple. Breathe through your nose only and never hold your breath.
Nose breathing may seem hard when the intensity of the exercise is hard but slow down and persevere and very soon you’ll be able to go at the same intensity as before but with seemingly half the effort.
Breathe through the exercise focusing on keeping your breath smooth and even rather than on how hard the exercise may seem.
Breathe through your nose all day every day
Nasal stamina exercise
To increase your own stamina and reduce your perceived exertion (how hard the exercise feels), follow the simple steps below:
- Reduce your exercise intensity to a level where you can comfortably breathe through your nose. This may seem far slower than you are used to but, trust me, soon you will be up to the same intensity level and pushing well past it with far greater ease.
- If you feel yourself going faster or harder and need to open your mouth to breathe, then you are going too hard and must slow down to ensure nose breathing is maintained. Maintain your exercise intensity at a level where you can keep your mouth closed.
Breathe through your nose only during exercise to increase stamina
You may be astonished at how quickly you can increase the intensity of any exercise without needing to open your mouth to bring in extra air.
Not only can you train harder but the exercise will also feel so much easier to do.
Find out more about traditional Chinese exercises to develop a relaxed and powerful body and a focused mind through the tai chi and kung fu classes I run or sign up to our site to learn the wealth of material we have here.