Breathing exercises for kettlebell lifting, MMA training, and life

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Subject: Breathing exercises for kettlebell lifting, MMA training, and life

Breathing Exercises for Kettlebell Lifting, MMA Training, and Life

By Pavel Macek
StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor

I am very practical by nature, and when I learn something useful, I look for simple ways to incorporate it into my training and lifestyle—always aiming for the proverbial 20% that will have 80% impact.

As an ex-asthmatic, I have my fair share of stories with breathing.

The first game changer was starting to exercise regularly (general athletics and later martial arts).

The second game changer was learning specific breathing exercises for health and strength from Chinese martial arts.

The third game changer was learning power breathing and applying it to various strength exercises.

And the fourth game changer was learning the drills from Second Wind, available as the Second Wind express online course, which helped me improve my health, endurance, and performance in various sports and activities. Second Wind also helped me successfully accomplish the Sinister challenge.

Below are my personal top picks from the curriculum, applied to kettlebell lifting, MMA training, and life. For easier reference, I have added the specific modules of the online course where you can find the drills.

Simple & Sinister

Swings: Fast & Loose drills; nose breathing during rest, or standard recovery if needed (Module 5), then back to nose breathing. Emergency recovery during peaking/testing (Module 5).
Get-ups: 1+3 breathing for vital capacity between reps (Module 5). Fast & Loose drills; nose breathing during rest, or standard recovery if needed, then back to nose breathing. Emergency recovery during peaking/testing should not be needed.
Stretching & cool-down: Easy breath holds (Module 6).

MMA

Warm-up: Nose breathing.
Bagwork, drills, sparring—3-min rounds: During the 1-min rest period, Fast & Loose; standard recovery, then nose breathing.
Grappling only: Nose-only breathing.
Stretching & cool-down: Easy breath holds.

Life

Hard breath holds 2–6×/week (Module 7)—usually in the morning.
Daily easy breath holds—usually during walking when getting my 10,000 steps in.
Hiking: Nose-only breathing.

Note: Pavel is absolutely right that “breath-holding is not for amateurs—it has to be done right… [it] must be done according to the standards established by specialists, not haphazardly (‘I can hold my breath longer than you!’).”

Second Wind express gives you the full system—clear modules, simple drills, immediate carryover to training and daily life.

If you want to be healthier and perform better, this is it.

To learn even more and take the full dive into breathing,
get the Second Wind express online course.

Now available for a limited-time special offer.