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How NOT to Breathe Before a Big Performance
In this clip, we see Jake Paul preparing to step into the ring, but his breathing tells another story.
This kind of rapid, mouth dominant breathing (aka hyperventilation) may seem powerful on the outside, but physiologically, it does quite the opposite:
🚫 Reduces oxygen delivery to muscles and brain
🚫 Overstimulates the nervous system, increasing anxiety, not calm
🚫 Impairs focus and reaction time
🚫 Disrupts CO₂ balance, which is essential for oxygen uptake and energy efficiency
🧠 If the goal is peak mental clarity, nervous system control, and oxygen efficiency, this isn’t the way.
✅ Nasal, low, and slow breathing helps regulate the nervous system, maintain energy efficiency, and build composure under pressure. It’s what we train for, because it
works.
As someone working in both sport performance and female athlete support, I’m passionate about helping people breathe better to perform better.
The breath is a powerful toolwhen used
correctly.
Let’s move beyond hype and train for sustainable, science-based performance gains, one nasal breath at a time.
20/11/2025
Sharing a recent clip from a podcast I was invited on to, sharing my journey through sport to burnout.
My experience in sport lead me to doing the work I do today, supporting, guiding and educating athletes, coaches and active people on what you can do to help avoid over-training and burnout, the tools and strategies I wished I knew when I was a competitive athlete.
Full Podcast available https://youtube.com/?si=5exxd65PnJHAFKBr
https://youtube.com/shorts/er5rOwQsVog?si=u-JiSD0xuWZYCHeG
Wait, you retired at 19 because of burnout? Wait, you retired at 19 because of burnout? 🤯 Clare’s story is a wake-up call for anyone constantly pushing themselves.She had to learn how to emotionally r...
27/10/2025
Why do Breathing Training on Land for Swimmers? 👇
Most swimmers think performance is built in the pool.
But the real gains often start on land with how you breathe.
Breathing training on land helps swimmers teach their bodies to:
💨 Become more tolerant to carbon dioxide (CO₂)
💪 Use oxygen more efficiently
⚡ Conserve energy and delay fatigue
Why does this matter?
Because breathing itself uses oxygen, anywhere from 5–15% of your total oxygen intake during moderate to intense exercise.
If your breathing is inefficient, your muscles get less oxygen and your performance suffers.
By improving CO₂ tolerance through land-based breathing drills, swimmers learn to:
✅ Take fewer, more efficient breaths (for example, every 5 strokes instead of every 3)
✅ Move with better rhythm and flow in the water
✅ Reduce hydrodynamic drag, every unnecessary breath slightly disrupts body position and flow
✅ Train the respiratory muscles to work harder
with less ventilation meaning you can swim longer, with less effort
Think of it like strength training for your breathing system:
🫁 Fewer breaths → less drag → smoother swimming
🫁 Stronger respiratory muscles → more efficient energy use
🫁 Better breathing control → improved recovery and focus
When you learn to breathe better on land, your body learns to move better in water.
The goal of breathing retraining isn’t to hold your breath longer, it’s to teach your body to do more with less
Less effort. Less drag. More control. More performance.
25/10/2025
Here we go of to training camp #2 at Rio Maior Sports Centre with Alliance ASC.
A total of 11 training sessions planned for the week ahead with my focus being on dryland and improving oxygen efficiency. 💨
🌬 “If your breathing is not normalised, your movement never can be.” – Karel Lewit
If you really want to up your performance, you might be overlooking something you do over 20,000 times a day, yet take completely for granted: your breathing.
Breathing isn’t just about getting oxygen in. It’s about how well you manage carbon dioxide (CO₂), which plays a crucial role in delivering oxygen to your muscles and cells.
✅ CO₂ is the key that unlocks oxygen from your blood.
If you over-breathe or breathe too fast, even at rest, you blow off too much CO₂.
Without enough CO₂, your red blood cells hold onto oxygen instead of releasing it where it’s needed most: your muscles and brain.
👉 The consequences?
* Muscles fatigue faster
* Movement quality suffers
* Recovery slows
* Focus and coordination drop
Proper breathing doesn’t just oxygenate your body, it primes your nervous system for better movement and resilience.
✅ It helps balance your Autonomic Nervous System (ANS):
* Shifting you out of constant “fight-or-flight” (sympathetic dominance)
* Promoting calm, control, and recovery (parasympathetic activation)
* Enhancing stability, motor control, and injury prevention
And here’s the kicker:
📊 A 2022 study on 1,933 athletes found that 90.9% exhibited dysfunctional breathing patterns.
Even high-level athletes aren’t immune!
Your breath isn’t just air, it’s a performance tool waiting to be optimised.
👉 Athletes and training enthusiasts : Ready to breathe better, move better, and perform at your true potential?
Drop me a message or comment “BREATH” below to learn more.
25/06/2025
07/06/2025
Dryland breathwork training isn't just an extra, it's a game-changer for serious swimmers.
Most swimmers focus on technique and conditioning, but here’s what often gets overlooked:
➡️ At rest: your breathing system uses 2–3% of your total oxygen
➡️ During moderate exercise: 5–10%
➡️ In intense efforts like swimming? 10–15% — or more
And if your breathing is inefficient, that’s oxygen your muscles can’t use.
Now imagine what happens if your respiratory system is working smarter, not harder.
That’s what dryland breathwork does.
✅ Increases carbon dioxide tolerance
✅ Reduces breathlessness and anxiety
✅ Trains your body to breathe less often, but more efficiently
✅ Conserves energy and improves rhythm in the water
✅ Builds capacity for longer distances and better recovery
✅Reduces drag through learning to breathe less
This is part of the dryland coaching I do with competitive swimmers, to help them swim longer, faster, and with less effort by training the nervous and respiratory systems, not just the muscles.
Fewer breaths = smoother swim
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