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Breathing Exercises for CrossFit
CrossFit workouts mix heavy lifts and all-out conditioning in the same few minutes. The skill is switching between a braced breath for the barbell and a fast recovery breath the moment you put it down, again and again, while your heart rate is high.
Safety first
Skip the forceful breathing drills if you have high blood pressure or a heart condition, or are pregnant, and never do them while you're driving or in water.
How to use them
Use Power Breath for the lifting parts of a workout, and Tactical Recovery Breath in the seconds between movements or rounds. Energizing Breath and Bhastrika are for the minutes before a big workout. When it is over, Cool-Down Descend gets you out of fight-or-flight instead of leaving the gym wired.
New to this? Start with Tactical Recovery Breath: Rapid recovery between bursts for combat and team sports.
In training
Breath mechanics while you move.
- Power Breath (Brace & Lift) — Braced breath for max-strength lifts and explosive efforts.
Game day: before and between efforts
Before and between efforts.
- Energizing Breath — Short, powerful breaths to boost alertness.
- Bhastrika (Bellows) Activation — Rapid forceful breaths to fire up the nervous system.
Recovery
Bring the system back down.
- Tactical Recovery Breath — Rapid recovery between bursts for combat and team sports.
- Cool-Down Descend — Progressively slower breathing to close out a session.
Get the app
dubchi is free in the browser at dubchi.com (it installs as an app and works offline) and on Android, on Google Play. No account is needed to practise.
Other sports
Breathing Exercises for Weightlifting · Breathing Exercises for Running · Breathing Exercises for Trail Running · Breathing Exercises for Cycling · Breathing Exercises for Swimming · Breathing Exercises for Triathlon · Breathing Exercises for Rowing · Breathing Exercises for Freediving · all sports
General information about breathing practices, not medical or coaching advice.