Chemistry and Consciousness: How Breathing Is The Key To Improved Performance and Mindset
In this episode of the BikeJames Podcast I look at how your internal chemistry affects your consciousness and how you can use breathing to affect both. You can stream or download this episode from the link below or you can find it on Itunes, Podbean, Spotify and all other major podcasting platforms. As much as we hate to admit it, our internal chemistry will affect your consciousness - which affects your performance on the bike and in life - and without having an understanding of this and a plan for how to control it then you are leaving it to chance. Getting a better understanding of this and the tools to do something had made a big impact on my performance and mindset and while I know that it isn’t something that everyone will connect with, I know that some of you need this type of info more than you need another core training exercise or workout routine. I hope this podcast is the spark that you need to start paying more attention to this forgotten aspect of living a healthy and happy life. You can find more info at my website or let me know if you have any questions or comments, I’m always happy to help. Until next time… Ride Strong, James Wilson MTB Strength Training Systems p.s. I feel that this is such an important part of a holistic approach to your performance that I’m including breathwork in the new 40+ MTB Rider Training Program that I’ll be releasing in a few weeks. Breathing is a foundation for your performance and mindset and something the older rider really needs to focus on to get the most out of what they have. I’ll also be doing some remote classes and workshops in the coming year to share more about this with my fellow MTB riders. PODCAST NOTES Controlling your consciousness is one of the biggest questions faced by mankind. Your consciousness is how you are experiencing the world and it plays a direct role in your performance and happiness. While most people would recognize how changing your blood chemistry through a strong drug like LSD or mushrooms will affect your consciousness, most people fail to realize how small things on a daily basis do the same thing. Another example is treatments for depression - the whole point of antidepressants is to change your internal chemistry into one that helps change your consciousness and perception of the world. Looking at natural chemistry, a good example would be a spike of adrenaline from getting startled or scared. Your consciousness and perception of the world changed as a result and no matter how much you didn’t want it to happen, it will have an effect. On a performance level, rising levels of CO2 are what trigger that panicky “I Can’t breathe” feeling - no matter how fit you are this change in blood chemistry will impact your consciousness and force you to slow down. As much as we hate to admit it, our internal chemistry will affect your consciousness - which affects your performance on the bike and in life - and without having an understanding of this and a plan for how to control it then you are leaving it to chance. So if your internal chemistry is so important then how can we influence it without drugs? The answer is through breathing. How you breath and the rate you breath at will directly influence your chemistry in some pretty profound ways. First, the muscles you use to breath will have an effect. Your body is designed to use the diaphragm to drive your breathing but, since breathing is so important, it will develop dysfunctional breathing patterns if this is not reinforced. The most common and problematic breathing dysfunction is the use of the chest to drive your breathing. When you do this it is not only less efficient from a performance standpoint but it also creates a stress response in the body. Since chest breathing is only supposed to be used during periods of high exertion - like running for your life - it signals to your body that you are under stress. This increases the