So, you’ve scheduled your workout for today, but you don’t feel like you actually have the energy to do it? If you’re looking for a way to get pumped when you’re feeling tired or have trouble calming down after an evening workout, try these three easy exercises for before, during, and after your workout.
Breathing is one of those bodily functions that we rarely pay enough attention to. We tend to take shallow breaths throughout the day unless we’re physically exerting ourselves (e.g. climbing stairs) or focusing on our breathing for a specific reason, like meditation, sports, or singing.
In fact, our breathing is connected to many different aspects of both our mental and physical health. When we are scared or excited, our breath automatically quickens, or we can energize ourselves by consciously taking short, diaphragmatic breaths. When we need to relax, we breathe more deeply to stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system and thereby calm ourselves down.
There are many ways to use our breathing to get the most out of our workouts, as well as ongoing debates about the risks and benefits of one specific breathing technique used in weight training. We’ve broken it down for you below, so you can give…