When you work out, it can help you keep an appropriate pace if you develop a cadence, or rhythm, to your steps and your breathing. Practicing a few basic cadence breathing exercises can bring improvement to your overall workout routine and help you stay on track with you fitness goals. Cadence breathing works best for running activities or using workout equipment such as an elliptical trainer, stair stepper or treadmill.
Choose a Theme Song
Sometimes the easiest way to develop a cadence when running or working out is to have a song playing while you exercise. You can play songs on an mp3 player or have a stereo playing in your home or gym. You can also just think of a song in your head, and sing it to yourself while you work out. Move your feet to the beat of the song, and adjust your breathing to meet that beat. You can change up your workout by incorporating a play list of songs with different tempos and beats so your breathing and workout cadence will vary with the music.
Step in Time
You can also adjust your breathing to your steps. When you run, choose one foot to be the foot that guides your breathing. For example, if you choose your right foot, then you will breathe in and breathe out as your right foot hits the track or pavement. You can vary how many steps you take between breaths; for example, you might take two steps per inhale and two per exhale for long-distance running. To finish up a race, you might switch to two breaths per inhale and one per exhale. If you find yourself getting lightheaded at this pace, you can switch to three steps per inhale and three per exhale.
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