XPT Post Workout Recovery – Best Breathing Exercises

Use post workout breathing exercises to cool down and get into the ‘rest and digest’ recovery state before you leave the gym or after a stressful situation. The best way to breathe after working out is to focus on regulating your breath, instead of gulping down as much air as possible.

Most people don’t get into a recovery state right after a workout. Instead, their bodies stay in a sympathetic response (high stress). This breathing method is used to take you out of a stressful state. It’s a down regulator—meaning it will create a parasympathetic response. Use this routine after every workout to help your body recover.

Practice and Tempo 

After an intense workout or stressful situation, make it a point to focus on your breathing. The proper way to breathe after exercising is to sit upright or lay supine. This gives you the best access to your spine (straight spine) and allows you to fill your lungs more completely. If you’re still in the gym breathing after workout, put your feet up on a wall or box (knees at 90-degree angle). Cover your eyes if you can and focus exclusively on nose breathing (close your mouth!).

• Keep a 1:2 cadence—four second inhale, eight second exhale

• Count this cadence in your head

• Breath this way for three-to-five minutes

Tip

Drive the breath with your belly, while keeping shoulders and chest relaxed. Fill your lungs from the bottom to the top, then empty the breath out during the eight-second exhale. Put your hands on your stomach and chest. Use the lower hand to ensure your lower belly expands; use you upper hand to make sure your chest isn’t doing the work.