Do You Really Need to consider Breathwork?

In recent years, breathwork has become one of the fastest-growing trends in the health and fitness industry. Social media is full of expensive workshops, weekend retreats and online courses promising everything from unlimited energy to life-changing transformations through breathing alone.

While structured coaching can certainly benefit people with specific goals—such as freediving, competitive sport, chronic anxiety, or certain clinical conditions—the average gym-goer probably doesn't need an expensive programme or set classes to experience the performance benefits of better breathing.

The techniques that improve lifting performance are refreshingly simple.

Learning to breathe into your diaphragm, brace your core before heavy lifts, recover efficiently between sets and regulate your nervous system before training can all be practised in just a few minutes a day. They require no special equipment, no memberships and no complicated routines.

Like learning proper squat technique or improving your deadlift, breathing is a motor skill. The more often you practise it, the more natural it becomes.

One of the greatest advantages of practising breathwork on your own is consistency. Five minutes of daily practice at home or before your workout will almost always produce better long-term results than attending an occasional workshop and never applying what you've learned.

It's also important to keep expectations realistic. Good breathing won't magically double your strength, melt body fat or replace a well-designed training programme. What it can do is improve your ability to generate force, recover between sets, manage pre-workout nerves and maintain focus under pressure. Those benefits may seem subtle at first, but over months of consistent training they can make a meaningful difference to your performance.

Think of breathwork as another tool in your training toolbox—not a miracle cure. Just as progressive overload builds strength one session at a time, improving your breathing develops gradually through regular practice.

The beauty of breathing is that it's always available. You can practise while walking the dog, sitting at your desk, driving to the gym or during your warm-up between mobility drills. Those small daily repetitions accumulate just like training sessions do.

Ultimately, the best breathing programme is the one you actually use. Master the fundamentals, practise them regularly and integrate them into your training. For most people, that's all that's needed to experience the benefits of better breathing—without feeling that you need to chase the latest fitness trend or sign up for yet another course.

BREATHE TO LIFT

How Proper Breathing Can Instantly Improve Strength, Energy and Performance

Most gym-goers spend years perfecting their squat, bench press and deadlift technique.

They obsess over sets, reps, protein intake and supplements.

Yet one of the most powerful performance tools is something they do around 20,000 times every day without giving it a second thought.

Breathing.

Whether you're chasing a bigger deadlift, more muscle, improved endurance or simply better focus, learning to breathe correctly can dramatically improve your training. It can increase stability under heavy loads, delay fatigue, accelerate recovery between sets and even provide a natural boost in energy—all without a single scoop of pre-workout.

The good news?

You don't need expensive equipment or hours of meditation. Just a few simple breathing techniques, practised consistently, can transform the way you train.

WHY BREATHING MATTERS

Breathing does far more than deliver oxygen to your lungs.

It influences:

• Core stability

• Blood pressure

• Heart rate

• Nervous system activity

• Concentration

• Force production

• Recovery between sets

Every breath sends information to your brain about whether your body should be in a high-performance "fight or flight" state or a recovery-focused "rest and digest" state.

The best athletes know how to switch between the two depending on what the situation demands.

THE TWO SIDES OF YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM

Your breathing directly affects your autonomic nervous system.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Think:

• Explosive

• Powerful

• Aggressive

• High intensity

This is the state you want before attempting a heavy squat or deadlift.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Think:

• Calm

• Recovery

• Lower heart rate

• Better recovery

This is the state you want between sets and after training.

Elite athletes don't stay permanently switched on.

They learn when to turn intensity on—and when to switch it off.

BREATHING FOR INSTANT ENERGY

If you're dragging before training, try this simple activation drill.

Performance Breathing (30–60 seconds)

Stand tall.

Take a deep breath through your nose for two seconds.

Exhale forcefully through your mouth.

Repeat rapidly for 10–15 breaths.

Finish with one slow deep breath.

Most people immediately feel:

• More alert

• Better focused

• Mentally switched on

This works by increasing oxygen delivery and stimulating your nervous system without relying on caffeine.

Use before:

• Heavy lifting

• Sprint training

• Olympic lifts

• Competitive sport

THE BOX BREATH

When nerves, anxiety or stress are affecting performance, use Box Breathing.

Popularised by military special forces, this technique quickly improves concentration.

How to Perform It

Breathe in for four seconds.

Hold for four seconds.

Exhale for four seconds.

Hold for four seconds.

Repeat five times.

Use before:

• Competitions

• Heavy attempts

• Busy gyms

• When distracted after work

DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING

Most adults breathe shallowly into their chest.

Strong lifters breathe into their diaphragm.

Place one hand on your chest.

Place one hand on your stomach.

When breathing correctly:

✔ Your stomach expands first.

✔ Your chest moves very little.

This style improves oxygen efficiency and creates greater core stability.

Practise for five minutes every day.

HOW TO BREATHE DURING COMPOUND LIFTS

This is where breathing becomes a genuine performance enhancer.

The goal isn't simply to get oxygen.

It's to create pressure.

This pressure stabilises the spine and allows greater force production.

The Brace

Before every heavy lift:

Take a deep breath into your abdomen.

Imagine expanding your stomach, lower back and sides equally.

Brace your abdominal muscles as though someone is about to punch you.

Maintain this pressure throughout the repetition.

This is known as intra-abdominal pressure, and it's one of the body's most effective natural weight belts.

SQUAT

Before descending

Take a deep diaphragmatic breath.

Brace hard.

Hold the breath during the descent.

Drive out of the bottom.

Exhale once you've passed the sticking point or reached the top.

Then reset for the next repetition.

DEADLIFT

Approach the bar.

Take your breath before pulling.

Brace your core.

Lift while maintaining abdominal pressure.

Exhale once you've locked out or safely lowered the bar.

Reset.

Repeat.

Never rush your breathing between repetitions.

Each rep deserves a fresh brace.

BENCH PRESS

As the bar lowers:

Maintain your breath and brace.

Press powerfully off the chest.

Exhale after passing the hardest point of the lift.

Then breathe and reset before the next repetition.

OVERHEAD PRESS

Deep breath.

Brace.

Press overhead.

Exhale near lockout.

Reset before repeating.

ROWS

Rows are often rushed.

Instead:

Brace before pulling.

Exhale once the weight returns under control.

Maintain spinal stability throughout.

WHAT ABOUT HIGH-REP TRAINING?

When lifting lighter weights for 10–20 repetitions, you don't need to hold your breath.

Instead use rhythmic breathing.

Generally:

Exhale during the lifting phase.

Inhale during the lowering phase.

Example:

Biceps Curl

Lift → Exhale

Lower → Inhale

Leg Press

Press → Exhale

Lower → Inhale

The rhythm helps maintain oxygen delivery while reducing unnecessary fatigue.

SHOULD YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH?

This is one of the biggest misconceptions in fitness.

The answer is:

Sometimes.

Briefly holding your breath during heavy compound lifts (known as the Valsalva manoeuvre) helps create spinal stability and improve force production.

It is widely used by powerlifters, Olympic lifters and strength athletes.

However, it should only be held for the duration of the repetition before breathing normally again.

People with uncontrolled high blood pressure, certain heart conditions or other medical concerns should seek medical advice before intentionally using the Valsalva manoeuvre during heavy lifting.

RECOVER FASTER BETWEEN SETS

Most people collapse onto a bench scrolling through social media.

Instead, recover deliberately.

Walk slowly.

Breathe deeply through your nose.

Exhale for longer than you inhale.

Try:

Inhale for four seconds.

Exhale for six seconds.

Within one to two minutes you'll notice your heart rate falling more quickly.

The faster you recover, the better your next set will be.

BREATHING TO REDUCE PRE-WORKOUT ANXIETY

Many people arrive at the gym carrying stress from work or family life.

Before touching a weight:

Close your eyes.

Take six slow diaphragmatic breaths.

Feel your shoulders relax.

Focus only on your first exercise.

This simple ritual signals to your brain that it's time to train.

FIVE-MINUTE PRE-GYM BREATHWORK ROUTINE

Minute 1

Diaphragmatic breathing

Minute 2

Box breathing

Minute 3

Mobility drills with slow nasal breathing

Minute 4

Ten fast activation breaths

Minute 5

Three deep bracing breaths before your first warm-up set

You'll feel calmer, more focused and physically prepared before you've lifted a single weight.

COMMON BREATHING MISTAKES

• Chest breathing instead of diaphragmatic breathing.

• Exhaling too early during heavy lifts.

• Forgetting to brace before compound movements.

• Hyperventilating between sets.

• Rushing from one exercise to the next without recovering.

• Never practising breathing outside the gym.

Like squats or deadlifts, breathing is a skill that improves with practice.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Your lungs may not build bigger muscles, but the way you use them can help you lift heavier, recover faster and train with greater confidence.

Good breathing isn't about relaxation alone. It's about learning to control your body under pressure.

Before every heavy lift, create a strong brace.

Between sets, use slow breathing to recover.

Before training, use breathing to switch on your nervous system.

Master those three skills and you'll discover that one of the most effective performance-enhancing tools has been with you all along.

Coach's Commentary: Why Breathwork Belongs in Every Training Programme

If you've searched for breathing techniques for the gym, how to breathe when lifting weights, breathing during squats and deadlifts, or breathwork for energy and performance, you're already thinking like an athlete. Proper breathing is one of the most overlooked aspects of resistance training, yet it can have a profound effect on strength, stability, endurance and recovery.

Learning how to brace correctly during compound lifts helps protect the spine and allows you to generate more force, while controlled breathing between sets speeds recovery by lowering heart rate and helping the nervous system reset. Likewise, simple diaphragmatic breathing and activation drills before training can improve focus and provide a natural energy boost without relying solely on caffeine or stimulants.

Whether you're a beginner learning the squat or an experienced lifter chasing a new personal best, improving your breathing technique is one of the easiest ways to enhance your performance. Like every other aspect of training, breathing is a skill—and the more you practise it, the more automatic and effective it becomes.

The next time you step into the gym, don't just think about the weight on the bar. Think about the breath that helps you move it. Master both, and you'll build a stronger, safer and more resilient body for years to come.