Breathing and exercise: how to breathe when you walk, run or lift, and how to settle afterwards

Breathing and exercise go together in two directions, and people searching the phrase usually mean one of them. The first is how to breathe while you exercise: through the nose when the effort is easy, in a steady rhythm when you run, out on the hard part when you lift. The second is whether breathing exercises are themselves a kind of exercise, and what they do for the body. This post answers both, plainly, and ends with the two minutes of slow breathing that turn a workout into a calmer afternoon. CalmSpace.ai is a calm app, not a fitness app, so the exercise advice here is the general kind, and your coach or physiotherapist knows your body better than a web page does.

How should I breathe when I walk or run?

Easy effort: through the nose. On a walk or an easy jog, breathe in and out through the nose if you can. It slows the breath a little, warms the air and keeps the breath lower in the belly. If you cannot hold a conversation, you are past easy, and the mouth is fine.

Steady running: a rhythm. Many runners settle into a count of steps per breath, such as three steps in and two out, or two and two when it gets hard. The point is not the particular numbers; it is that a rhythm stops the breath getting ragged and gives the mind one job. If a count feels forced, drop it and let the breath follow the legs.

Belly, not chest. Whatever the pace, let the belly move. A breath that lifts the shoulders is a stressed breath and a tiring one.

A stitch. Slow down, breathe out long and slow through soft lips, and press gently on the sore spot. It usually passes within a minute.

How should I breathe when I lift?

Breathe out on the effort, the part where you push, pull or stand up, and in on the way back. For a squat that is in on the way down, out on the way up. The out-breath on the effort keeps the pressure in the chest from spiking and keeps you from holding your breath without noticing.

Experienced lifters sometimes brace, taking a breath and holding it to stiffen the trunk under a heavy bar. That hold raises blood pressure sharply for a few seconds, which is why it is a technique for people who have been taught it and not a default. If you have high blood pressure, a heart condition or a hernia, or you get dizzy when you lift, do not hold your breath at all: breathe out through the effort every time, and ask a doctor or a qualified coach before loading heavier.

Do breathing exercises count as exercise?

Not in the sense of getting your heart rate up or burning much energy, no. Slow breathing is the opposite: it brings the heart rate down a little on every breath out. What breathing exercises train is the diaphragm, the main breathing muscle, and the habit of breathing low and slow, which carries into the rest of the day. People with lung conditions are taught specific breathing exercises by physiotherapists for exactly that reason, and pursed-lip breathing on a hill is one most people recognise. For everyone else, the plain answer is that a breathing practice is a calming skill and a posture habit rather than a workout, and it pairs with exercise rather than replacing it. Breathing: how it works explains the muscle and the mechanism.

Does exercise help you breathe better?

Yes, in two ways. Regular aerobic exercise makes the heart and the breathing muscles more efficient, so the same effort needs fewer breaths. And exercise is one of the better-supported ways to feel less anxious over time, which, since anxiety speeds the breath up, means calmer breathing at rest. Neither needs to be dramatic; a brisk walk most days is exercise. If you are breathless at rest, or breathing is suddenly harder than it was, that is a doctor's question and not something a breathing pattern or a walk should be asked to fix.

The two-minute cool-down: breathing after exercise

This is the part most people skip, and it is where breathing and exercise meet. After the effort, the "get ready" side of the nervous system is still up. Two minutes of a long exhale tell it the effort is over.

1. Stop walking around. Sit, or stand with a hand on a wall.
2. Breathe out first, so you start empty.
3. In through the nose for about 4 seconds, a comfortable breath.
4. Out through the nose or soft lips for about 6, slowly, as if you were fogging a window.
5. Continue for two minutes. The heart will come down faster than if you simply stood there.

That is calm breathing, and the reason the longer breath out works is in why a longer exhale calms you down. If you want to keep going for longer, resonant breathing at about 5.5 in and 5.5 out is the easiest pattern to hold for ten minutes. A short yoga sequence after a run is the same idea with the body involved; the gentle yoga page has a five-minute one, and the breath is what makes it yoga rather than stretching.

Breathing with Bliss, after the gym or the run

In CalmSpace.ai, the cool-down rhythms, Calm and Resonant, are two of the five in Breathe together, which is free: pick a rhythm and 1, 3, 5 or 10 minutes, and Bliss, the voice companion in CalmSpace.ai, counts out loud so you can keep your eyes closed. Share the link and up to six people, a running club or a family, breathe to the same start time from wherever they are, with no account needed for the people you invite. On an Apple Watch, the CalmSpace.ai app paces your breathing by your heart rate, which after a run means it starts slower and settles as you do. Bliss can also notice your heartbeat while you talk, on an iPhone with an Apple Watch, and slow down with you; she never says numbers or anything medical.

This is general information, not medical or training advice. If you have a heart, lung or blood-pressure condition, are pregnant, or get chest pain, faintness or unusual breathlessness when you exercise, talk to a doctor before changing how you train. CalmSpace.ai is not a medical service.

Questions people ask

Should I breathe through my nose or mouth when exercising?

Through the nose when the effort is easy enough to talk. Through the mouth, or both, when it gets hard. Either way, let the belly move rather than the shoulders.

How do you breathe when lifting weights?

Out on the effort, in on the way back. Do not hold your breath unless a coach has taught you to brace and you have no blood-pressure or heart condition.

Are breathing exercises a workout?

No. They train the breathing muscle and the habit of slow, low breathing, and they bring the heart rate down rather than up. They pair with exercise rather than replace it.

How long should I breathe slowly after exercise?

About two minutes of a longer breath out, 4 in and 6 out, is enough to tell the body the effort is over. Longer is fine if you have it.

CalmSpace.ai is a wellness app, not a medical service, and Bliss is not a therapist. If you are in crisis, contact the crisis line for your country; in the United States, call or text 988.