Running/jogging is just walking with a little bounce.
Beginners should jog so slow they could walk at that speed. It’s important to go slow and focus on breathing, form, and build up the strength of your joints gradually as you rack up the miles.¹
In nose, out mouth
Helps slow your breathing as a beginner. It helps keep air in longer so you can use it and not hyperventilate; it can also help you focus.
It helps prevent hyperventilation by lengthening a breath cycle due to decreased airflow. It’s difficult for newbies to properly gage how much is too much/how fast is too fast, so this method imposes physical restrictions. If you sit on your couch and breathe as fast as you can, you’ll start to get dizzy because you’re cycling air through your lungs faster than they can process it, resulting in decreased oxygen supply. The same thing happens when you breathe too fast while running.²
Mouth
You’ll need more oxygen when you get better at running.
As you increase your running ability, you will need to teach your diaphragm to properly regulate airflow at high demand so as to both supply oxygen where it’s needed and to also not hyperventilate. More experienced runners use both their mouth and nose because their oxygen needs are higher than the nose can provide, and they’ve already figured out what the diaphragm needs to do in order to meet their needs.²
Books
- What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
- Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
- Eat and Run by Scott Jurek