Why you should be exercising your Diaphragm?

When was the last time you heard someone say they needed to work on their diaphragm? Or that their diaphragm was sore from working out? Probably never, and this is a shame. Your diaphragm is one of your primary respiratory muscles, and if you don’t take care of your diaphragm it could weaken over time from aging, pollutants in the air, and even bad habits like smoking. We often take breathing for granted but while you can live without limbs, you can not live without breath. Which further emphasizes the shock of how much time we spend exercising other more visible muscles while neglecting one that is key to life itself.

So what happens when it weakens? While it is not an overnight change you may notice that your lung capacity is not what it used to be. A weak diaphragm affects your endurance which could hinder your athletic performance. Even worse, a weak diaphragm is a leading cause of shortness breath, and of breathing improperly. Many of us are chest breathers meaning we breathe from our chest as opposed to taking deeper breaths from our diaphragm as our body was designed to breathe. This makes breathing more difficult.

So what can we do to strengthen it? Breathing exercises, and physical exercise which targets the diaphragm.

The most efficient breathing exercises are those that involve using a breathing resistance exercises like Expand-A-Lung.  The Expand-A-Lung uses both inspiratory and expiratory resistance to strengthen the respiratory muscles, giving you quick results by adding a challenge. The other benefit of using the Expand-A-Lung is that it is compact and great for multi-tasking. You can even use it while driving. If you’re already in peak physical shape you can try adding Expand-A-Lung to your cardiovascular workouts. Just be very careful and stop immediately if you become over fatigued or dizzy. Yogic breathing exercises which require nothing but your body are also an effective strategy. Alternate nostril breathing is a gentle way to train your body to breathe deeper while strengthening your diaphragm. While this method may take longer you will still see results build gradually over time.

You can also work on your diaphragm at the gym! That’s right while the guy next to you is working his bis and tris you can be working on a strong, beautiful diaphragm. Weighted chest flyes are a great way to tone up that diaphragm. Many core workouts also benefit the diaphragm as surprise…the diaphragm is part of your core. I find that oblique exercises in particular also fire up the diaphragm. A yogic bridge with the arms up overhead nice and slow is another great diaphragm exercise.

Breathing better is essential to good health. Take some time and show your body some extra love.