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Summary
On episode 148 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan breaks down why breathing deserves more attention than the autopilot treatment most people give it, and what better breathing does for energy, stress, and even fat loss.
He walks through what the body is actually doing on every inhale and exhale, including the fact that most of the fat you lose leaves your body as carbon dioxide through your breath, not through urine or sweat.
The episode closes with two simple practices anyone can start today: a basic mindful breathing reset and box breathing, a technique borrowed from the biohacking world that strengthens the diaphragm and calms the nervous system.
Links
- https://www.headspace.com
- https://www.calm.com
Key Takeaways
- Oxygen is fuel, so air quality matters. Smog, exhaust from traffic, and smoking all cut into your body's capacity to pull in the oxygen it needs to generate energy.
- Exhaling is about more than carbon dioxide. The breath also carries out other waste, which is why devices can measure ketones or blood alcohol content straight from a person's breath.
- Fat loss leaves the body mostly through your breath. Research points to carbon dioxide and water, not urine or feces, as the primary byproducts of burned fat, so heavy breathing during a workout is partly you breathing out fat.
- Heavy breathing during exercise signals a carbon dioxide backlog. Your body is racing to expel more CO2 than your current breathing rate and volume can handle.
- Most people use only a quarter to a third of their lung capacity. Sitting hunched over a desk or phone closes off the chest and shortens the space the lungs have to expand, while a weaker rib cage reduces how big a breath you can take.
- Mindful breathing is a direct lever on chronic stress. Left unchecked, stress drives up cortisol, which encourages the body to retain fat and lose muscle; Allan pairs a hard gym session with a daily ten-minute mindful breathing practice to manage it.
- A simple reset: breathe in through the nose, hold briefly, then breathe out through the mouth. That short pause on each end gives the body time to actually do what breathing is meant to do.
- Box breathing builds breath control and diaphragm strength. Inhale through the nose for a count, hold for the same count, exhale through the nose for the same count, hold again, then repeat for several rounds, starting with as little as three seconds per phase.