Staying’In the Zone’with Nose Breathing

Barry Mapp — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:39:35 +0000

Last time I suggested that it is useful to know your heart rate as you up your exercise stress and switch (compulsorily) from Nose to Mouth Breathing. I also suggested a very simple way you can measure this. I would be very pleased to know what you found.In general in young and fit adults this ‘switchover’ occurs at about 120 beats per minute. My feeling is that as you get older this decreases slightly. My switchover point is around a heart rate of 11o.The significance of this is that if you want to train ‘in the zone’ your heart rate needs to remain below 120. Most modern training methods don’t allow this, so most people when training hard will have a faster heart rate and this means necessarily training ‘out of the zone’. Above a heart rate of 120 your mind and body start to shift from ‘relaxed, focussed’ mental state into ‘fight, flight’ mode. Your nervous system switches from parasymathetic to sympathetic, body muscles tend to tighten and stress hormone levels rise.So training in the zone requires a different approach. If you can design most of your exercise around nose-breathing and thus a heart rate below 120 you will notice a considerable improvement in training enjoyment.Next time I will look at how to design a training regime that keeps you in the zone whilst improving your overall fitness performance

Tweet This Post

Heart Rate when training’in the zone’

Barry Mapp — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:29:07 +0000

In the last post I looked at our brain waves when training in the zone. This time I am looking at heart rate. You are probably aware what happens to your heart rate when you suddenly get very anxious about something. Your heart rate increases! Often you can be aware of your heart ‘pounding’. What has happened is that you have switched your metabolism into the “Flight-Fight” mode. Your brainwaves will switch into BetaWave and be orchestrating the body to prepare itself for fight or flight. In anticipation the heart rate increases so as to circulate more oxygen and energy to the body particularly the muscles. Muscles can tighten and hold themselves rigid and with the increase in heart rate the breathing rate increases also – the two go hand in hand.Try this in the Gym or at home. A heart rate monitor can be useful, but just measuring your pulse rate will do. Measure your resting heart (pulse) rate. Then start exercising gently breathing in and out through the nose until you feel you have to mouth breathe. Gradually up the exercise if necessary until you have to mouth breathe. Stop exercising once you start mouth breathing and measure you heart (pulse) rate again. Make a note of your heart rate when you switch to mouth breathing (next post I will tell you what this was and the significance!). Be aware that when you switch to mouth breathing you will activate the sympathetic nervous system and the flight-fight response. So training becomes less enjoyable. Once you are into mouth breathing it is difficult for you to stay ‘in the zone’Next Time: I will look at what happens when you switch from nose-breathing to mouth breathing

Tweet This Post

Barry's SuperBlog » Health and Fitness

Staying’In the Zone’with Nose Breathing

Heart Rate when training’in the zone’