3.2 Breathing Techniques

BREATHING CONTROL AND RELAXATION

(ACTIVATION LEVEL)

🌬Relaxation and breathing techniques are a must for any athlete. Its influence on your well-being and athletic performance is enormous. In sports, emotions are running high and the pulse quickens many times, making breathing techniques an indispensable tool.

🌬Breathing is synonymous with fluidity and unblocking. If we breathe, our brain can think. Without breathing there is no fluency in thought. And thinking well (about what you play at all times, with useful thoughts) is a key factor in your performance.

🌬Breathing is closely related to the level of activation. We can use the breath to increase or decrease our activation level. The most normal thing, as we have seen before, is that we have to lower it, since the competition causes an increase in uncertainty (will I play? Will I do it well? Will we win?, …), which in turn usually causes increased stress (nerves).

🌬The Breathing techniques that we use when doing physical exercise is usually thoracic breathing, from the chest. We need oxygen quickly to adapt to physical demands and be ready for the game. But there is another breathing term that is just as important, such as abdominal breathing. This is what helps us lower those tension levels to the point where our activation level is the best possible to compete (NOA).

🌬Relaxation helps us to rest, to recover better, to reduce stress both physically and mentally. Relaxation is like a trip through the clouds, allowing us to see everything from a broader perspective.

🌬These techniques can be used in situations or moments far from the competition (they can be longer) or in situations / moments within the competition (very short periods of time, seconds).

➡️ Breathing Thoracic: Breathe in – nose/mouth-chest- breathe out

➡️ Breathing Abdominal: Breathe in- nose, stomach, chest, breathe out

Breathing techniques for moments outside of training / competition

These techniques are well known and have been used for years in High Performance sports environments. They are techniques that require progressive training and a lot of continuity. If you want it to work at the key moments of the season, you must start working on it from the beginning. It requires patience.

1. 1.🧘🏻‍♀️Relaxation Breathing

The most basic, the most used. Sit in a comfortable place, with your legs flat on the floor and your back straight. You can also do it lying on your back. At the beginning it is usually done with guided audios, that is, an external voice guides you towards relaxation. Over time and as you progress, you may switch to using only relaxing music or even no sound at all.

1. 2.🧘🏻‍♀️Jacobson’s Progressive Relaxation

Here in the same position relaxation is sought by playing with the tension-relaxation of the muscles. One way to relax the mind is to relax the muscles, and vice versa. They are connected.

In this relaxation the following pattern is followed:

1. 1. 1. Squeeze the muscles as hard as possible for 7 seconds and
      2. Then relax them completely for another 7 seconds.
      3. Repeat each muscle 2-3 times.

The order of muscles can be: Right hand, right arm, left hand, left arm, right foot, right calf, right thigh, left foot, left calf, left thigh, buttocks, back, shoulders, neck, face.

Breathing techniques for training / competition moments:

These, unlike the previous ones, are much shorter. The objective is that you can apply them in training or competition situations, where you do not have much time. The goal here is to make small adjustments. They are usually used moments before the start, in moments of pause during the game (ball out, foul…), during the break, etc.

This technique is the ideal tool to adjust our level of activation with training or competition about to start or during it. Remember that excessive activation or nerves can unsettle your level of confidence, your attention and concentration, decision-making during the game…

Here we propose different techniques for you to rehearse and try them at home and in training sessions and see which one suits you best for times of high stress or high tension. Practice them at home or during workouts:

⏱ 7/7:Count 7 while taking in air and count 7 while releasing it

⏱ 4/8/4: You breathe in 4 / You hold 8 / You breathe 4

⏱ 4/4/8: You breathe 4 / You hold 4 / Spirals 8

⏱ 3/3/3/3 : You breathe 3 / You hold 3 / You breathe 3 / You hold 3

Source: own elaboration