How Proper Breathing Builds Better Strength and Lasting Power

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Briana Mercola

Health & Fitness, Alternative Health

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The way you breathe directly determines how efficiently your body stabilizes your core, aligns your spine, and generates strength during movement
Coordinating your breath with each lift or motion activates deep core muscles, improving posture, balance, and injury prevention while keeping your nervous system calm and focused
Faulty breathing habits such as chest breathing or breath-holding restrict oxygen flow, tighten neck and back muscles, and reduce your power output and endurance
Breathing too deeply or too often disrupts the natural balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide (CO₂), narrowing blood vessels and lowering brain oxygen levels — the opposite of what most people intend when they "breathe deeply"
Relearning to breathe lightly, rhythmically, and through your nose retrains your diaphragm, balances your CO₂ levels, and builds both physical strength and mental stability for lasting energy and control

Transcript

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0:00.0	Ever notice your power drops mid-rep, even when your form is spot on?
0:04.0	Welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. Stay informed with quick, easy-to-listen
0:09.0	summaries of our latest articles, perfect for when you're on the go. No reading required.
0:14.0	Subscribe for free at Mercola.com for the latest health insights.
0:17.0	Hello, and welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom.
0:22.0	I'm Ethan Foster.
0:23.8	Today you'll learn how the way you breathe sets your strength, posture, and stability
0:28.5	long before any barbell does, and how fixing faulty breathing patterns restores energy, focus,
0:34.9	and control.
0:35.9	I'm Alara Sky.
0:36.9	We're taking a clear, step-by-step look at how coordinating your breath with movement
0:42.3	stabilizes your core, protects your spine, and keeps your nervous system calm, so you generate
0:48.3	more force with less strain.
0:50.3	Most people treat breath like background noise, but you take around 20,000 breaths a day, and each one shapes how you move.
0:57.0	When you breathe well, your diaphragm, pelvic floor, deep abdominals, and back muscles work together as a stabilizing cylinder.
1:06.0	Inhaling properly lets your diaphragm descend and create internal pressure.
1:10.0	Exhaling during effort lifts and realigns your ribs over your pelvis, so your spine stays supported.
1:16.6	If your pattern is off, chest breathing, breath holding, or erratic rhythm,
1:21.6	you restrict oxygen delivery, tighten your neck and back, and sabotage balance. Over time, your rib cage and pelvis drift out of
1:30.2	alignment. Movement becomes inefficient and your injury risk rises. You feel it as tension, fatigue,
1:38.4	or a nagging sense that every lift is harder than it should be. Linking breath to the task in front of you
1:45.0	unlocks stability.
	...

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