Breath training can drastically improve your balance on the surfboard, control your emotions, and keep your adrenaline in check. If you have trouble breathing while surfing, here are some amazing breathing exercises for surfers that you must try
Your breathing is a pillar for your physical and emotional well-being. While it may sound a little mundane, breathing exercises and training help you improve your endurance, determination, and discipline during a wipeout. After all, acts that are taken for granted are the ones that we neglect the most. Breathing training is an excellent way to improve your lung health, sustain your blood pressure, and strengthen your chest muscles, all of which are necessary for demanding sports like surfing.
An average adult breathes 22,000 times a day. However, we rarely use all of our lung capacity. Sitting for too long on work desks messes up our posture, resulting in shallow breathing. This occurs when we draw air into our chest using the intercostal muscle rather than our lung’s full capacity and diaphragm.
Simply put, breathing exercises can help all surfers –beginner, intermediate or pro –in controlling their energy and emotion. If you have no idea how to practice your breathing as a surfer, then fret not! Because in this blog, we will tell you different breathing exercises for surfers to improve their mental and physical stability while catching the waves
Table of Contents
1. Pursed Lip Breathing
Pursed lip breathing is the most basic breathing exercise to improve your breathing pattern. Theoretically speaking, pursed lip breathing is about making your mind more conscious of your breathing pattern. Yes, it sounds a little confusing, but let’s make it a little easy for you
All your life, breathing has been something that you have been doing quite instinctively. You will be more aware of controlling your breath through pursed-lip breathing. Practicing this breathing exercise is pretty simple; you can do it any time: climbing the stair, cooking, reading, or listening to your boring colleagues.
All you need to do is relax your upper body completely. Make sure that there is no tension, especially in your neck and shoulder. Then slowly take a breath and count to 2. At the count of two, purse your lips and slowly exhale through the pursed lips. This simple breathing exercise can do a lot to get rid of shallow breathing and improve your upper body posture.
2. Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is one of the most effective exercises to strengthen your chest and stomach muscles. Also known as belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing, it is the most recommended exercise for patients recovering from lung diseases like pneumonia.
Despite being a no-brainer, deep breathing exercises can improve your lung capacity by increasing oxygen intake and circulation. While you focus on deep breathing, your mind, albeit temporarily, is clear of all the thoughts. This is why it also induces relaxation and is an excellent exercise to calm your nerves and body before hitting the water. Just be in an upright position; you can lie down, sit up, or stand up straight, and take a deep breath in. focus on filling your lungs and expanding your belly as you take a deep breath. Hold that breath and count for five seconds to exhale.
3. Counting Practice
Most surfers suffer from bouts of panic before they even touch the water. Panic and anxiety are common for beginners since surfing is an exceptionally demanding sport. Gigantic waves are lurking to swallow you and rough rocks to ding your board; stress, anxiety, and panic can creep anytime during a heavy wipeout.
In high-stress situations, your body takes irregular breaths at quick intervals. This impacts the healthy oxygen dosage that your lungs need to keep your mind calm. The counting exercise can help a lot in situations like these since it can help a surfer control their breathing during failure and difficult situations.
If you start to count your breaths, your mind is directed toward its vitality. Which, in turn, slows down your breathing, allowing more oxygen to fill your lungs and eventually calming down your nerves.
4. Box Breathing
Box breathing is another exercise that can help surfers improve focus and energy. You can do this exercise by simply inhaling till the count of 5, then holding your breath for another 5 seconds, exhaling for five more seconds, and waiting for another five before you repeat the process.
5. Double Breathing
The so-called double breathing technique is another excellent way for surfers to boost their blood oxygen and get pumped before surfing. Start by taking a sharp and small breath in through your nose and immediately exhale. You can do this exercise without taking any breaks in between the breaths. Rest after some time before you start the next round.
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Source: ventsmagazine.com/2023/03/23/breathing-exercises-for-surfers/