Proof that this breath stuff works (it even surprised me.)
If you've read my work in 2023, you've seen the dozens of studies I've shared related to breathing, stress and mindsets.
But seeing how it works in real life is always more powerful.
In fact, even I was shocked by what happened to me last week:
Let me start by saying that I am NO runner. In fact, I've always loathed it.
Growing up my focus was always weights, sports and dancing, and because I've always looked decent enough, cardio always seemed irrelevant to me.
(oh what a fool I was...but we all feel bulletproof in our 20s right?)
Here's me (and my dad!) in 2013:
Super fit, right?
The REAL truth is that this supposedly "fit" guy could barely run a SINGLE mile without needing to stop and catch his breath.
Fast forward 10 years to last summer.
A fresh chunk of free time popped open as my first child turned 2 and became an excellent napper and my second kid wasn't yet born.
So I began running.
I was terrible at it. It sucked. But I did it.
In fact, here's what my times looked like after around 3 months of running 3-4 times per week:
I was consistently running about 4 miles in 45 minutes for a 11.25 minute per mile pace.
Slow as molasses, but I did it.
And it felt HARD. By the end of each run, I felt COMPLETELY spent.
And then life happened again.
We bought a house, moved to the woods, had a second baby, my commute became longer, I had more on my plate with my business and my focus become my kids and building a new community in our hometown.
So I stopped running again for an entire year.
In all of 2023 I probably ran on the treadmill 4-6 times total.
Then over Thanksgiving break I was at my sister in the suburbs and had the time, space and let's be honest, extra childcare to run again.
My entire goal was to keep my breathing slow, easy and to have fun moving my body outside.
Here's what happened organically:
I ran for 45 minutes and went 5.1 miles for an average pace of an 8.8 minutes per mile.
That's 25% further than I was running a year ago in the same amount of time.
And then I went out again the next day and did the 5.1 miles in 42 minutes (8.2 min/mile).
And then did it again a couple days later.
And importantly--I wasn't dying by the end at all.
I had more in the tank and actually felt GREAT afterwards.
Clearly this is true, because I felt good enough to do it again and again.
Without training running or cardio in ANY consistent way for an entire year, my cardiovascular fitness improved dramatically.
Coaches would kill for this type of progress and yet I did it without realizing it.
How is this POSSIBLE?
Simply by improving my breathing and stress tolerance.
I'll keep this simple:
By putting myself through the same stress, anxiety, burnout and performance programs that I build for clients, I improved my breathing mechanics, air hunger tolerance, breathing efficiency, mental strength and aerobic capacity.
As a result, I was able to:
Do more work with less oxygen
Take fewer breaths for the same amount of work
Put less stress on my system during the workout
Stay burning oxygen as a primary fuel source for longer
Recover much faster
Plus, my perception of how hard the work was decreased and my confidence in my ability to execute increased.
This is huge, even if you aren't a runner.
Maybe even ESPECIALLY if you aren't a runner.
Improving how you handle mental stress improves how you handle physical stress (and vice versa.)
And this story shows that if you are in a period of your life where you are unable to prioritize consistent hour-long workouts for whatever reason, there is still a TON you can do to improve your physical health.
The way you breathe impacts every moment of your life because it is literally fueling every moment of your life. It influences your heart rate, blood pressure, mental focus, energy, mood, sleep and more.
So no matter what your goals are for 2024, your likelihood of success will improve dramatically if you have your breath supporting you.
If you're ready to learn more, sign up for a free discovery call today and let's see if this work is a good fit for YOU.