Breathing Your Best

**Originally published as a news article in the July 2009 issue of the Jewish Voice page 33**

"The average human being takes roughly 23-24,000 breaths a day."

I recently read this "Snapple Fact" on the cap of a Snapple Iced Tea bottle and thought, "Hmm...that's interesting." I then proceeded with my day, not giving this fact a second thought until my last client of the day. He was feeling quite winded and breathing heavily and quickly. At that moment the Snapple fact popped into my head and I thought, "He probably just broke that 24,000 mark and it's only 5:00 PM." I also thought, "How is that fact ever going to be useful to me and the general public?” I then realized that there is a huge disconnect between the information given to us and how it is presented. More often than not information is presented to us as a statement of fact in a highly compartmentalized fashion and therefore extremely difficult for individuals to interpret and even more difficult to for them to communicate to their clients. With this article, I hope to begin a shift in focus and begin providing you with information interpreted in such a way that not only makes sense, but that you can actually use in your daily lives.

Whenever we start to discuss exercise and physical fitness we invariably bring up a number of issues; nutrition, hydration, duration, intensity… These are all important to discuss because they all make a difference in how effective our workout will be. With that in mind I would like to bring up an area of exercise that tends to be overlooked by fitness enthusiasts and fitness professionals alike: Breathing. You may be thinking, “Breathing?” Yes, breathing. “But I breathe all day long every day, what could I possibly have to learn about breathing?” My response to that question is PLENTY! But let us start with the basics.

In nature, oxygen is the most essential of the gasses for all creatures. Without it life, especially human life as we know it wouldn’t exist. To ensure proper cellular function our lungs must absorb as much oxygen as possible. The alveoli in your lungs absorb that oxygen. It is then transferred in to your bloodstream and pumped by your heart (via the arteries) throughout your body. None of this happens optimally if you do not breathe deeply and often. Your skeletal muscles cannot perform at their peak without this oxygen and your workouts will be severely limited in their effectiveness.

A tree only grows its best when its leaves absorb as much sunlight as possible. An internal combustion engine only functions at its peak when it has the proper air/fuel ratio. And a computer only works when it has the proper amount of electricity. Sunlight for the tree, air/fuel ratio for the engine, and electricity for the computer: In each of these examples the power source might be different, but none of these items would function optimally without it. For us, that power source is oxygen. So with this in mind, during your next workout, whether you lift weights, jog, ride a bike, etc… remember, BE GREEDY WITH YOUR OXYGEN!! Your body will thank you.