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Ted Bragg <tedbragg@home.com> wrote:
: When exercising, is it better to breathe in through teh nose, then exhale
: out the mouth? (yeah, I know, I heard that from Karate Kid, too)

Well, there's a lot of different reasons for breathing one way or another.
Which is best depends upon a lot of factors.

The usual reason for breathing in through the nose as opposed to through
the mouth is that the nasal passages filter, warm, and humidify the air
before it gets to the bronchial tree.  People who have asthma can attest
to the fact that mouth-breathing outdoors in cold weather is one possible
irritant to the bronchial tree, and can bring on bronchial spasm.  Even
for otherwise healthy people, such mouth-breathing outdoors can be
uncomfortable.

Breathing in or out through the mouth is generally done to increase the rate
of airflow (the nose has much smaller diameter openings).  That's why
people tend to mouth-breathe when exercising at high intensities - you
just can't get enough air through your nose to maintain adequate ventilation.

So of course, the question of "what about exercising in the cold?" comes
to the fore.  One possible workaround is to wear a scarf around the 
nose and mouth.  This creates a pocket of warm, humidified air near the
nose and mouth, effectively extending the humidifying and warming effects
of the nasal passages to both nose and mouth.

: Also, is it better to inhale and exhale completly/deeply while doing cardio,
: like brisk walk or jogging?  I haven't had the chance to exercise with other
: people, so I don't really know <grin>  Another thing:  while jogging,
: briskwalk or other cardio, is it better to take shorter breaths, or long
: ones?

Different people will pace their breathing differently.  The important thing
is probably less about how you are breathing than whether you feel comfortable
exercising.  Very quick, shallow breathing may not allow for effective
gas exchange, but neither may extremely slow, deep breathing.  However,
in the middle there is a wide range of possibilities.  Finding one that
maximizes your comfort exercising at your chosen intensity may take some
personal experimentation, and may also vary somewhat from person to person.

: Last one:  Say I'm doing sit-ups/crunches.  When should I exhale?  When I
: come up, or as I'm going back down?

Usually it's recommended that people exhale on the exertion (the way up),
since that's when people tend to hold their breath.  Reminding them to
exhale will minimize this problem.  For abdominal crunches, this will
also work well with the movement, as the contraction of the abdominal 
musculature forces the contents of the abdomen against the diaphragm, 
pushing it up, increasing intrathoracic pressure, and encouraging
exhalation.

If, however, you have a different strategy that works for you, there's
nothing inherently wrong with it so long as you're avoiding holding your
breath (especially when exerting yourself).  Forcibly closing the glottis
while trying to exhale (the grunting we often hear of lifters in the weight
room) is called the valsalva maneuver, and it can cause large changes in
intrathoracic pressure (and consequent fluctuations in systemic blood
pressure).  Breathing helps maintain a more constant pressure in the
thorax, and reduces the effects of exertion on systemic blood pressure.

					larry....