dubchi › Breathing exercises for athletes
Breathing Exercises for Cycling
On the bike your upper body is folded and your diaphragm has less room, so shallow chest breathing creeps in, especially in the drops and on long efforts. Training a fuller breath off the bike makes it the default on it.
How to use them
Start with Diaphragmatic Breathing on rest days, and try Light Breathing (Buteyko) to get comfortable breathing less. Ride endurance zones nose-only where you can; switch to the 2:1 pattern for threshold work and climbs. Sitali helps cool down after a hot ride, and the Start-Line Reset settles you on the start ramp or the line of a crit.
New to this? Start with Diaphragmatic (Belly) Breathing: Deep belly breathing for oxygen efficiency and endurance.
Every day: build the base
Train daily, away from the action.
- Diaphragmatic (Belly) Breathing — Deep belly breathing for oxygen efficiency and endurance.
- Light Breathing (Buteyko) — Breathe less, gently. Builds CO2 tolerance and calm.
In training
Breath mechanics while you move.
- Nasal-Only Endurance Breath — Train aerobic capacity by breathing only through the nose.
- Hard-Effort 2:1 Breath — Faster ratio for tempo, intervals, and threshold work.
Game day: before and between efforts
Before and between efforts.
- Start-Line Reset — Long exhales to tame pre-race nerves in the final minutes.
Recovery
Bring the system back down.
- Calming Breath — Extended exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system.
- Pursed-Lip Recovery — Long exhale through pursed lips for fast aerobic recovery.
- Sitali (Cooling Breath) — Inhale through a curled tongue to cool body and temper.
- 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 Running · Breathing Exercises for Trail Running · Breathing Exercises for Triathlon · Breathing Exercises for Rowing · Breathing Exercises for Hiking · Breathing Exercises for Endurance / Ultra · Breathing Exercises for Swimming · Breathing Exercises for Freediving · all sports
General information about breathing practices, not medical or coaching advice.