Fitness Enthusiast Reveals ‘Army Breathing’ Technique That Makes Jogging a Lot Easier and Less Exhausting

Like a kitchen pantry, the human body has some storage units where it stores a fuel called “glycogen,” a complex carbohydrate made up of several interlinked glucose molecules. These units are the liver, skeletal muscles, and brain. As someone starts doing a high-intensity exercise such as running, the body starts breaking down the glycogen stored in these units to derive energy for muscle contraction. The sudden pull of glycogen triggers an oxygen depletion, leading the runner to feel shortness of breath. Many people hesitate to go on a run just because they don’t want to end up huffing and puffing. But there’s a way out! Maraika Rose (@maraika.rose), a fitness enthusiast, shared a “breath control technique” that runners can employ to maintain breathing and run longer.

Rose had been running for eight months before she came across what she called an “army breathing technique.” On TikTok, where she reposted this viral video, titled, “How to breathe when you run,” she credited the trick to another TikTok user Glenda (@fglo9). In a video Glenda shared previously, she called the technique “cadence breathing.” Demonstrating to her viewers, she said the mantra is, “When the left foot hits the ground, all I want to hear is a 'Huh' sound!”

Learning from Glenda, Rose too set off on another running trip, this time with a camera and some incredible understanding of how to breathe. “Everything starts on your left foot,” the Polynesian runner explained. “You know how in the army they do ‘left, left, left, right, left,’ well, it’s a way of controlling their breathing. Every step, you’re doing something with your breathing. Essentially, what you’re doing is one deep breath in and then two half breaths out.” She concluded by saying, “Controlling your breathing is the easiest way to keep your heart rate down.”

While breathing may seem to be an automatic process, as Rose demonstrated, it can be controlled. One way to control the breath is the brain, as Coach Joe LoCascio of Road Runner Sports revealed in a YouTube video. LoCascio shared three gradual steps to regulate breathing levels during a run. Firstly, there is regular breathing – breathing in through the nose and out through the nose. The second step is breathing in through the nose and breathing out through the mouth. The last stage is breathing in and out of the mouth. This creates a rhythm that a runner can follow to sustain their running for longer.

Millions of people who watched Rose’s video found the technique helpful. Many chimed into the comments section to share their experiences. @jazzy_o_26 said the hack was a “game-changer” for them. “Genuinely the best advice I've seen on Instagram for breathing,” they commented. @yolofitteam, who also synchronized with this method, said, “You'll be so surprised how much longer you can run when you control your breathing and your heart rate!” Maybe it's time to not shy away from going for a morning jog every day because this breathing technique saves you the embarrassment of huffing and puffing.

You can follow Maraika Rose (@maraika.rose) and Glenda (@fglo9) on Instagram to follow their running journeys!