diaphragm breathing or chest breathing

[amarinder]

While taking the breath alongside lifting the gun, should I breath into my chest or diaphragm?

[Gwhite]

I'm not sure I've ever seen specific instructions on this. The typical guideline is just to breath normally. If you are worried about the specifics of your breathing, you are likely to be overthinking things, which can distract from more important issues, like trigger control.

The pattern of breathing can vary. A lot of shooters start with the pistol above the target slightly, with a very full breath, and then exhale a bit as they settle into their hold. Some stop briefly as they are coming down & take a final shallower breath before they settle.

The main thing is that it should feel natural & comfortable.

[seamaster]

http://www.spirxpert.com/collegeUK/n.htm

Upper lungs are more aerated than lower lungs. Moving that part of lungs won't improve ventilation that much.

In baseball term, it is call "a long run for a very short slide." You can chest breath, use your chest accessory muscles to ventilate upper lungs. But it is big effort, little result.

Might as well move the lower abdominal diaphragm for a bigger bang for the effort.

[Shooter]

I read a book of Chinese health info once that said that stomach breathing was more relaxing than lung or chest breathing. I have used that method since and it helps to keep calm while shooting. You might try it. Don in Oregon

[gn303]

Doesn't breathing by diaphragm lower your heartbeat?
I guess that's the answer.

Regards,
Guy

[Rover]

Come on, Guy.

Not breathing at all lowers your heartbeat.

[deadeyedick]

Not breathing at all lowers your heartbeat.

To a point where your hold will be rock steady....called the "rigor Mortic" hold, or death grip.

[gn303]

Not breathing at all lowers your heartbeat.

To a point where your hold will be rock steady....called the "rigor Mortic" hold, or death grip.

Can't add much to that Rover! Except Do not try this anywhere, any time!

:-;

Guy

[Chia]

While taking the breath alongside lifting the gun, should I breath into my chest or diaphragm?

Since I'm pretty limited in my experience at this point, I'll point you to a much more credible source than myself and share my own experience. Take it for what it's worth.

First, to be clear, breathing while lifting the gun is irrelevant to the actual shot, but is more useful to oxygenate the body before allowing a gentle neutral state to occur while the trigger is being depressed in order to reduce gun movement. The USAMU Marksmanship guide has some useful things to say about this topic. http://www.bullseyepistol.com/chapter1.htm Take a look at Part D.

I come from a marching band background, so we had plenty of breathing exercises and were taught diaphragm breathing. That type of breathing will lift the shoulders and take in a very large amount of air. When you play a Tuba, it makes great sense to take in that extra air, because you will be expelling it over a long period of time. When you are shooting a pistol, not so much. When I first started, I took in deep breaths from the diaphragm to make sure I had enough air to allow me to "hold" over the target longer. Didn't work too well (I felt like I was holding my breath underwater instead of in a comfortable stasis. My wife swears I had puffed cheeks.), and I switched to breathing normally pretty quickly.

I can tell you that the amount of air you are taking in in order to prepare the body for a shot is no where near what a Tuba player needs to take in while marching, and that you should probably focus on other aspects of the shot. Just breathe normally and consistently.

[JoeJackson]

I teach Voice.

The following will sound crazy . . .

. . . imagine that . . .

You are breathing thru your toes.

Yea, I know. Keep reading.

Try a short slow breath and notice that your stomach muscles start to tighten slightly.

That's your diaphragm starting to work to take in the air.

Filling your diaphragm helps tighten the abdominal muscles to help control your core.

Filling your chest helps raise your shoulders and, consequently, your arms and point of aim.

Credit: Eugene O'Reilly, M.A., C.C.C.- SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist

[yana]

Dunno wether they mean belly by diaphragm, but I know 3 types of breathing:
chest
belly
diaphragm
Where with diaph, you ONLY move yr chest OUTWARDS.(yr sides)
This is learned to people who stutter to control breathing.
However, it is said to be beneficial in shooting too as it adds most oxygen

[Chia]

"More Oxygen" matters to athletes who are placing incredible demands on their body through repetitive motions such as running, jumping, flipping etc. It matters in voice as well (with a nod to JoeJackson), since singing can be very physically demanding (you try singing Wagner opera at the top of your lungs for four hours). While olympic pistol is physically challenging, the challenge is to hold the body consistently still. Muscles do not need that much extra oxygen to be still for the time period it takes to make a shot. The tradeoff that these breathing techniques give is more oxygen in exchange for added movement of the chest/torso. In my mind, that doesn't seem like a fair trade when it comes to Olympic pistol shooting, where the point is to shoot the same perfect shot at least 60 times. You don't need to inhale half the room's air every shot to do this.

But heck, what do I know? Go ahead and breathe how you want. If you think it helps and it helps, great!

[Gwhite]

Any breathing technique that requires extra effort or concentration is a distraction from more important things. If you are running out of air, you are holding too long, or need more cardiovascualr training, not a better breathing technique. Breath naturally, so you can concentrate on your sight alignment & trigger squeeze. In almost 50 years of shooting, I've never heard anyone claim they missed the 10 ring because they didn't breath with the correct pieces of their anatomy.

[deadeyedick]

Common sense from Gwhite.

Also keep in mind that while aligning sights and releasing the shot you are supposed to have stopped breathing !

Optimal time from start of arm raise to trigger release for a precision shot is regarded as being around 6-12 seconds. Testing has shown this to be the time frame where wobble is lessened in most shooters.

Not much breathing required if done properly.

If you are worried about the specifics of your breathing, you are likely to be overthinking things, which can distract from more important issues, like trigger control.

This is most likely the case with many shooters.

[BobGee]

Diaphragm breathing is supposed to lower your centre of gravity.

In terms of actual breaths, I believe that you don't have to hold your breath for the shot but inhale as you raise the pistol (we're talking precision here) and then commence and just continue a slow exhale. This has a steadying influence on your whole stance and there is no doubt about when you should abandon the shot...

Bob

[left360]

The Psyche of the Shot discusses abdominal (diaphragm) breathing in depth. The listed benefits include a lowered center of gravity, relaxation of upper body muscles and a general calming effect.

[BigEars]

The Psyche of the Shot discusses abdominal (diaphragm) breathing in depth. The listed benefits include a lowered center of gravity, relaxation of upper body muscles and a general calming effect.

I'd like to see the lower centre of gravity calculation. The only advantage I can see from conciousky breathing in on the pistol raise is to buy you time when you have to stop prior to waiting for the shot to break. It also seems easier to relax with your lungs neither full or empty.