3 Breathing Techniques to Help You Enhance Your CrossFit Performance

There’s no worse feeling than being in the middle of a WOD and watching other athletes pass you up because you’re struggling to breathe. 

When you’re not breathing properly, your body lacks the oxygen needed to properly function and your blood becomes acidic, causing your athletic performance to decline. 

In order to avoid this, you’ll need to prepare your body for workout with the proper breathing techniques.

Thankfully, these three breathing techniques will help you enhance your CrossFit performance and focus in no time. 

The Systema Technique

The Systema technique is a breathing method that focuses on accommodating your style of breathing to the exercises you’re doing. This will help you devote just the right amount of energy to your breathing. This technique involves:

• Remaining relaxed while breathing
• Not holding your breath (except during special breath holding practice)
• Inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth
• The idea that breathing guides physical activity
• Performing actions on inhalations and exhalations
• Starting and ending every breath using the pendulum principle
• Breathing using the exact frequency that your physical activity demands

The Box Breathing Technique

Box breathing, also known as tactical breathing, is a simple yet effective breathing technique that can be used to calm yourself down. This method uses 4-second cycles of breathing in, holding your breath, breathing out, holding it, and repeating for as many times as you need to feel calm. 

Dr. John, 76 years old and a professional CrossFit trainer himself, understands on a personal level just how valuable enhancing your athletic performance can be. Aside from using the proper breathing techniques, he also uses pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF)–one of the best kept competitive advantages in the CrossFit world.

PEMF uses a gentle “PULSE” machine to flush the toxins out of your cells, recharge them by increasing their oxygenation and blood flow, and reduce your inflammation. All of these benefits are key to enhancing your athletic abilities and healing your injuries faster. Schedule an appointment with Dr. John at Independence Wellness & Pulse Center and give PEMF a try today!