Just like we strength train our hamstrings and glutes we can train our diaphragm and intercostal muscles for deeper breathing. The diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdomen, is the most important muscle used for inhalation. The intercostal muscles help move the rib cage and assist in breathing.

Most of the runners take shallow breaths and practice chest breathing. Chest breathing can be a hard habit to kick since most of us spend many hours hunched over our computers, shortening the chest muscles, inhibiting deep breathing. A good way to switch to deep belly breathing is to do breathing exercises when you are not running.

Here are a few exercises that every runner should be doing.

Belly Breathing

Belly breathing activates your diaphragm. You can practice this exercise in a seated position or lying down on your back. Lying down on the floor is a better option because gravity isn’t working against your body.

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor.
• Place one hand on your belly and one on your chest.
• Inhale as deeply as you can. Imagine filling up your belly like a balloon.
• Deflate the balloon, emptying all the air from your stomach.
• Take 8 – 10 breaths for a pre-run warm-up or any time of the day.

Combination Breathing

Second breathing exercise is combination breathing with pursed lips. Combination breathing makes breathing slower and intentional. Inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.

• Come into a seated position or lay down on the floor.
• Inhale through your nose for two seconds.
• Purse your lips like you’re blowing a candle and exhale for 4-6 seconds.
• Repeat this exercise 8-10 times.

Rhythmic Breathing 

This breathing exercise is my favorite because you can do it while running. Try to practice a 3:2 breathing rhythm. Inhale for 3 strides and exhale for 2. Every time you exhale you will land on different foot. This breathing pattern reduces the chances of injury and muscle imbalance.  It’s a great technique for increasing lung capacity.

• Inhale through your nose.
• Take 3 steps on inhale and 2 steps on exhale.
• Repeat for 10 breath cycles and repeat as you can.
• Try to increase the number of breath cycles in each round.

References

• doi: 1177/1941738112445871

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What is Barre?

Barre is a ballet-inspired workout that incorporates moves from ballet, Pilates, and yoga. Barre classes use mostly body weight for resistance and the focus is on small, deliberate movements that target certain groups of muscles, specifically muscles that are weak and aren’t used frequently like upper back and glutes.  It’s a great class for targeted workouts for abs, thighs, or glutes. 

Who Should Do Barre? 

Barre is an incredible workout for anyone. These ballet-inspired classes are good for beginners and advanced athletes alike who want to try a new workout. Emphasis in the barre class is on tall posture, balance, and core engagement. Barre is both low-impact and can be high intensity. Plus, it’s an extremely modifiable workout. These classes move at a slower pace than your typical aerobics class. That doesn’t mean you won’t be sore the next day.

Barre Gear and Equipment?

You might be tempted to wear tutu or ballet shoes. Well, you don’t need them. All you need is a pair of comfortable yoga pants. I like to teach my barre classes bare foot. You may prefer to be barefoot or purchase socks with grippies on the bottom. 

You can practice a barre class without any equipment. If you want to enhance your barre experience you can add a small core ball, loop resistance band, and hand weights to do floor work. You can also use the back of a stable chair for balance. Honestly, you need minimal equipment for these classes, and you can practice from the comfort of your home.

Why Barre Workouts?

In the barre classes emphasis is placed on proper alignment, balance, and core engagement means the classes move at a slower pace. You might not leave a ballet-inspired class drenched in sweat, but you’ll feel the burn after a class thanks to moves that target specific muscle groups.  Here are some of the reasons why you should add barre to your weekly workout routine.

Total Body Workout- Barre workouts focus on the whole body. They build strength through isometric holds, which require your muscles to stay under tension for an extended period.  It’s also a great workout that requires engaging your core for the whole length of the workout. Most barre classes are divided into four sections, warm-up, leg blast, upper body lower body combo, and core blast. As you flow through the class you work the arms, thighs, glutes, abdominals, and posterior chain. The best part about a barre workout is that it focuses on the muscles that you don’t normally use like glutes, obliques and tibialis. 

Low Impact Workout- Barre is a low impact workout with low stress on joints. It’s also great for developing balance and stability because the barre itself provides stability. Balance or stability. Plus, the focus on isometric holds allows you to strengthen the muscle group without placing extra stress on the joint. It has minimal risk of injury and is a safe workout for anyone including pregnant women and the older population.  

Improves Posture-Barre promotes a long and tall posture. Barre instructors are trained to cue proper alignment from the crown of your head to your tippy toes. After a few weeks of practicing barre classes you will be sitting or standing tall which can help reduce the chances of back pain and injury.

Muscular Endurance- In barre classes the number of repetitions is very high. The high repetitions increase your stamina to stay under tension and workout for longer periods of time. Stamina is muscle endurance in common terms. You’ll find yourself maintaining a higher level of activity regularly. Endurance has many secondary benefits like lowering your risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer.

Mind Body Connection- Barre classes help you channel the mind-body connection as they combine mindful movements to create new neural connections. The slow and controlled repetitions in a barre class help to calm the mind. Devoted attention to technique helps in keeping your workout movements intentional and harnesses a deeper connection with the brain.

Sample Workout

Perform 3 sets of 12 – 15 repetitions 

• Chair Squats with Ball squeeze/hip adduction
• Power Leg Pulses 
• Plie’ Squats with shoulder press
• Heel Lifts 

If you like it, TRY one of our classes on the Tone and Strengthen schedule. First class is always FREE. Contact us for a coupon code.

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Three workouts in one! This class is a total body workout that combines cardio, strength training and core exercises. A total body workout designed to define & tone every muscle in every way. Great class for improving muscular strength & endurance.

Great for guys too! Please bring a yoga mat and towel.

All Virtual classes are recorded and recording is provided to registered participants for 48-hrs after class.

*Yoga mat, loop resistance band, and two medium/heavy dumbbells are suggested for this class *

*No Class Feb 18th*

The post 20/20/20 Cardio, Strength & Core – Jan 21st – Feb 25th 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

Great for guys too! Please bring a yoga mat and towel.

All Virtual classes are recorded and recording is provided to registered participants for 48-hrs after class.

*Yoga mat, loop resistance band, and two medium/heavy dumbbells are suggested for this class *

*No Class Feb 18th*

The post 20/20/20 Cardio, Strength & Core 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

Next month is Breast Cancer Awareness month. 

Tone and Strengthen is raising money to help women with breast cancer and is hosting a donation-based yoga flow with a breast cancer-awareness theme to benefit Living Beyond Breast Cancer.

The event will teach women how to do self breast examinations and will take place at 

Northampton Township Municipal park, PA 

on Sept 24th, 2021 @ 9:30 a.m. 

Open to the community. All levels are welcome. So bring your yoga mat, wear your best pink or teal outfit and join us for a donation based yoga class. We’ll raise awareness about breast cancer while practicing relaxing yoga flow!

Class taught by Aesha Tahir, founder of Tone and Strengthen

*Suggested donation of $5 paid thru cash or Paypal-  paypal.me/toneandstrengthen . All proceeds will go to Living Beyond Breast Cancer.

The post FREE Breast Cancer Awareness Yoga in the Park 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

Stretching is any movement that lengthens your muscles. Tight muscles reduce muscle strength and joint range of motion. Tight muscles can also cause strain on the neighboring joints during normal daily function, and they increase the risk of injury. Losing muscle elasticity can lead to asymmetry in our bodies and postural issues. If improper posture or performing functional activities are a problem, stretching the tight muscles regularly can help.

The good news is that you can gain muscle flexibility and elasticity by scheduling brief stretching breaks during the day or after your workout. The ACSM recommends stretching each major muscle group at least twice a week for 60 seconds per exercise. It’s important to make stretching part of our daily routine.

Stretching regularly has many health benefits. Here are the top five benefits from my list.

Improve posture- Tight muscles can cause poor posture. Sitting in front of the computer or other electronic devices all day with hunched shoulders leads to rounded shoulders and shoulder pain. Sitting all day also leads to tight hip flexors and weak glute muscles, which cause many lower body postural issues like anterior pelvic tilt. Stretching muscles regularly can prevent these postural anomalies. Most yoga classes focus on trying major muscle groups. Taking a couple of yoga classes each week is an excellent way to incorporate stretching.

Range of Motion- Flexibility is the range of motion of a joint or group of joints. With age, our joints lose flexibility. Stretching regularly can help us reduce this loss in flexibility. Stretching can help increase your range of motion—both temporarily and in the long term.

Relieve Back Pain- Back pain is one of the most common medical problems, affecting 8 out of 10 people at some point during their lives.  Most back problems are posture-related. Poor upper body posture leads to lower back compensation. Same with the tightness in hips and quads, it leads to back pain. Stretching most commonly used muscles like chest, shoulders, hip flexors, and calves can prevent back pain.

Prevent Injury- Stretching a muscle within its range of motion can help increase the range in which a muscle can move. Dynamic stretches before a workout helps prevent injuries by bringing blood flow to the muscles, warming them up, and decreasing any tightness. Pre-workout dynamic stretches are a way of moving slow and intentionally before going fast in the workout. Thus, dynamic stretching helps prime your muscles for the workout.

Improves Daily Movement- Stretching can relieve muscle soreness from a workout and pain and discomfort associated with it. Increasing the muscle elasticity doesn’t just provide pain relief; it can also make everyday tasks easier and more efficient. Every movement involves flexibility like squatting into a chair, reaching for a milk carton in the fridge, leaning over to get in your car, and hinging to pick up your toddler. By boosting your flexibility with stretching, these tasks will be much easier with a smooth range of motion.

Stretching is one component of fitness we all find easy to skip. But with all these benefits adding it to your routine will be a good investment of your time.

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Ian is qualified as a Certified Yoga Teacher; Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher and he is well on the way to obtaining his 500 Hour Yoga Teacher Training certificate.  Ian is a Koru Mindful Meditation Teacher-in-Training. He has coached youth soccer and ran half-marathon running clinics.

All tone and strengthen class are recorded and recordings are made available for two days following the classes.

*Yoga Mat and two blocks are suggested for this class *

The post Power Yoga Class – July 27th – August 17th 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

Religious devotees, athletes, monks, and warriors all understand the wonders and power of breath. Zen monks and yoga warriors use it to achieve clarity of mind. Athletes use it to get a competitive advantage. Navy seals use it to achieve higher focus and stay calm.

Simply being more attentive about how you breathe can have benefits for well-being. There are many ways to practice mindful breathing. Finding the proper breathing technique and incorporating it into your daily life can help you reap the benefits of deep conscious breathing.

In this blog post, you will find some of the best and most helpful breathing techniques.

Belly Breathing- Belly breathing or deep diaphragmatic breathing is an easy way to release stress and relax. Diaphragmatic breathing is used to relieve breathing conditions like asthma, pneumonia, and other lung diseases.

• Sit or lie in a comfortable position.
• Put one hand on your belly and the other hand on your chest.
• Take a deep breath in through your nose and feel your belly expand.
• Gently push the air out through pursed lips.
• Repeat this exercise 5-10 times.
• Notice how you feel at the end of the exercise.

4-7-8 Breathing- This breathing technique is suitable for relaxation. It shifts your body into a state of deep relaxation.

• To start, put one hand on your belly and the other on your
• Take a deep, slow breath from your belly for a four-count.
• Pause, and silently count from 1 to 7.
• Breathe out for an eight count. Trying to expel all the air out.
• Repeat this exercise 5-10 times.

Alternate Nostril Breathing- It is also known as the Anulom Vilom pranayama(breathing exercise) in Sanskrit. This breathing exercise is known to clean nostrils and sinuses. Research has shown that it can help stimulate the left and right sides of the brain simultaneously.

• Come into a comfortable seated position.
• Place the thumb and ring finger on alternate nostrils.
• Place the index and big finger on your forehead.
• Close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale slowly, fill your lungs with air.
• Remove your thumb and, using your ring finger, close your left nostril and exhale.
• Repeat for 8-12 breath cycles or as long as desired.

Box Breathing- Box breathing can regulate the autonomic nervous system. This system regulates involuntary body functions such as temperature and blood pressure. It provides an almost immediate sense of calm and focus. Army officers use it intense situations.

• Come into a comfortable seated position.
• Sitting tall with a long spine, slowly inhale for a four count. Feel the air fill your lungs completely while expanding your abdomen.
• Hold the breath to a count of 4.
• Slowly exhale through your mouth for a count of 4. Getting all the oxygen out of your lungs and assign a count of 4.
• Hold the breath for a count of 4.

Modified Lion’s Breath- Lion’s breath is an energizing yoga breathing practice. It relieves tension in your chest and face. It’s also known in yoga as simhasana in Sanskrit.

While performing this breathing technique, imagine that you’re a lion. Let all your breath out with a big, open mouth.

• Come into a comfortable seated position.
• Breathe in through your nose. Fill your belly all the way up like a balloon.
• Open your mouth as wide as you can. Breathe out with a “HA” sound.
• Repeat for 8-15 breath cycles or as much as desired.

Take the time to experiment with different types of breathing techniques. Schedule breathing breaks in your daily calendar can help you stick with the breathing practice.

All these breathing practices can be progressively built up over time. That means you can start with a few breaths cycles each day and then add on the number of breath cycles weekly for longer mindful breathing practice.

The post Exploring the Wonder of Breath – Part 5 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

This is the fourth blog of the Exploring the Wonder of Breath blog series. In previuos blogs we discussed the science behind breathing and the benefits of breathing. Today we will discuss how breathing can a vital performance enhancement tool.

Close your eyes and notice your breath for a few seconds. How is your breathing? Deep, shallow, or somewhere in between. Now slow down your breathing for the subsequent few breath cycles and be aware of how you feel.

The way we breathe has a massive impact on sports performance. Whether you are a recreational athlete or an elite athlete, your breath can play a huge role in your performance if you want to perform at your top game.

It’s also essential for coaches and athletic trainers to know that breathing exercises are valuable for athlete’s performance. Breathing deficiencies are more common than most coaches realize. Coaches give workouts to improve cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility of their athletes. But many coaches have forgotten the role breath can play for their athletes’ performance.

Research has suggested that a proper running rhythm with breath – the coordination between breathing and strides – helps improve exercise efficiency and postpone fatigue. A study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology in 1995 found that at anaerobic intensities, the degree of coordination between running and breathing rhythms is high in endurance-trained athletes. The degree of stride coordination increased with the increasing regularity of breathing. This study was conducted on ten triathletes, six sprinters, and ten subjects not trained in running (controls) to assess the effects of training history. Another study performed at the University of Portsmouth in 2011, which observed 12 runners over six weeks, found that athletes who included breathing exercises as part of their training improved their times by 5-12 %.

For the elite cyclist, Greg LeMond, breathing was the way to get faster. Greg LeMond was the first American to win Tour de France in 1989. Greg LeMond built his breathing capacity by employing belly breathing and using his diaphragm to efficiently draw maximum oxygen.

There are two significant energy-providing systems in the body: aerobic and anaerobic. Endurance athletes primarily rely on aerobic energy. Aerobic energy is derived from mitochondrial cells, which aid in oxygen exchange. Anaerobic power comes from glucose provided by the food metabolism. Both means of energy are essential, but our bodies mostly use aerobic energy. The amount of air we intake in comparison to food supports this fact. On average, human adults consume 4 pounds of food, 5 pounds of water, and 30 pounds of air.

When an elite cyclist like LeMond is riding in Tour de France or even when you are running a 5K, the breathing pump moves faster and more often. During exercise, the body’s demand for oxygen increases, and so does the breathing volume. As the intensity of exercise increases, the respiratory muscles have to contract more forcefully at a rapid rate to keep up with the body’s increased metabolic demands. The key to performance enhancement breathing is to slow down the breathing rate and take fuller breaths from the nose. When the exhale is emphasized with our diaphragms, it not only clears out a lot of Carbon dioxide but leaves space in the diaphragm for the next oxygen intake. The trick is to employ the full capacity of your diaphragm for more efficient oxygen intake. In the same way that a stronger heart can push out more blood with each pump, a more muscular diaphragm translates to a slower breathing rate and get more oxygen to your muscles.

When we are taking shallow breaths, we not only tax our thoracic pumping system, but we engage only 10 percent of the diaphragm’s capacity. Shallow breathing can have many causes, like posture, stress, anxiety, and physical restriction. Shallow breathing results in creating a physiological stress response which leads to more problems like poor posture and sports performance.

A good place to start is to try focusing on breathing through your nose. Breath for about 5 seconds and exhale for the same amount of time. Doing this exercise while running or riding will develop a better breathing pattern. Supplementing with mouth breathing, as needed, when you first start practicing deeper breathing is essential. Soon you will be able to have a continuous nose breathing streak. Deep breathing during exercise can increase lung power and can improve an athlete’s efficiency by up to 10%. For a runner, running an hour race, that translates to shaving off 4 to 6 minutes off their race timing. Now that’s an improvement I will take for all my races.

Breathing during sports events not only helps you a more efficient athlete, it improves focus as well. Plus, practicing deep breathing before an event will reduce anxiety and insomnia, giving you an edge on race day. Try to practice deep breathing every day while working out or just throughout the day.

The post Exploring the Wonder of Breath-Part 4 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

This is the third blog in our Exploring the Wonder of Breath series. In the first two blogs, we discussed deep breathing mechanics, and benefits of deep breathing. In this blog, we will take a deep dive into breathing as a tool for stress management. Who can’t use destressing techniques in today’s day and age?

Are you overworked, sleep-deprived, anxious, and stressed? You are not alone. I am right there with you. The only issue is, I have been investing a big chunk of my paycheck on fancy spa treatments for relaxing. Spa treatments have their place, but if you are looking for a more long-term solution, keeps reading this blog.

Fortunately, there are many ways to let go of stress and gain calmness without a hefty price tag. The best relaxation method is entirely free. All you need is your breath and some free time to practice deep breathing.

The deep breathing practice isn’t new to humans. According to ancient Indian scripture, deep breathing brings “prana” or energy to us. In ancient Chinese culture, it’s called “Qi” – energy that flows through our bodies. The concept of breath has been prominent in many other ancient civilizations, including Egyptian-ka, Hebrew-Nefesh, Greek-psuchē, and Latin anima. These cultures believed that by breathing with control and depth, we could find clarity of mind and focus energy for living a better-balanced life.

This ancient science behind deep breathing still holds. Research shows that deep breathing exercises keep the mind and body strong by lowering blood pressure, promoting relaxation, and relieving stress. If you think about breathing when you are stressed out, you take quick and shallow breaths. By living with intention, we can activate our parasympathetic nervous system and help our bodies relax. Breathing is affected by our autonomic nervous system. When we take shallow breaths, the breath stops at the top of the lungs and activates the sympathetic nervous system since the top part of the lungs is connected to nerves that communicate with the sympathetic nervous system. The lower lobes of our lungs have nerves that connect to the sympathetic nervous system. So, deep, controlled, and extended breaths will activate those nerves.

Here are a few deep breathing techniques for destressing and finding calm and tranquility.

Equal Breathing- This breathing technique can help with taking your mind off the daily to-do list. It’s beneficial to practice it before going to bed to quiet your busy brain. How to do it:

• Inhale for four counts and then exhale for four counts while sitting comfortably or lying down.
• Your eyes can remain open or closed.
• Inhale and e through your nose throughout the practice.

Abdominal Breathing – this breathing technique is super helpful before a stressful event. Yes, I am talking about before your big presentation or an exam. How to do it:

• Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.
• Take a deep breath in through your nose, allowing the breath to travel all the way down to the diaphragm and let your belly inflate.
• Exhale slowly, contracting the abdomen.

Try taking 6- 10 deep breaths for a minute every hour to reap the benefits.

Yoga- Yoga is built on the science of breathing. Yogic teachings of thousands of years focus on building Parana through breathwork. Later the yoga practice evolved to include asanas or physical postures coordinated with breathwork. The deep breathing practiced during yoga encourages us to live in the present. So, to destress and find calm laying down your yoga mat and going through a brief practice can help.

Learning these breathing techniques isn’t difficult, but practice is key to building momentum. Set aside a few minutes each day to practice deep breathing and say goodbye to stress.

The post Exploring the Wonder of Breath- Part 3 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.