Why trying to breathe into the ribs can help you when doing exercise
Essentially, you just want to avoid the ‘bearing down’ of pressure which is done when you tense everything too much, hold your breath or push the tummy out hard.
Please don’t stress about not being able to breathe into the diaphragm. Relax, put your hands on your ribs & see if you can gently breathe in through the nose and a gentle exhale either as a whistle type exhale or gently through the nose.
I love this video by Sarah Duvall, she explains it well and she uses good visuals
WHY body weight then building up to holding weights IS a good idea
Finally, here are the very basics of why it is a good idea to start moving more, walking more or starting to learn exercises:
- Basically, our bones and muscles both start to lose strength from our mid 30’s onwards, but post menopause, due to the loss of oestrogen, testosterone and progesterone our bones and muscles loose strength a lot faster.
- Our bone density and muscle strength are essential for our health as we age – we want to prevent falls, especially breaking/fracturing the hips & want to keep our hearts healthy (remember it is a muscle).
- Impact on the bones from moving/exercising help build bone density.
- Strength exercises break muscle fibres down & then your clever body spends the next 24 hrs building them back up stronger. (very simply put!)
- Our pelvic floor muscles weaken as we age, especially post menopause and if you have had children. They just need to move, like the rest of your body, to stay mobile and strong!
If possible try not to just do what some trainers do on social media. Just because they are popular and ‘influencers’ it doesn’t mean they know it all and are the best.
Some of the best women’s health physios and osteos I know are not great on social media, but you know what I would go to them any day over some of the ones I see all the time on social media!
If you are looking for the right people to help you know to always get in touch. OR come and see me if you want to learn how to breathe properly to support your pelvic floor as you age. Or have a look at the hypopressives course I run.
