Bodyflex breathing - how to learn to breathe to lose weight and gain energy

What is bodyflex for beginners

The exercise system that a simple housewife created can reduce the circumference of the waist, arms and legs in a short time. This effect is achieved through special breathing that affects the diaphragm and saturates the body with oxygen. The complex is popular due to the fact that to achieve a good result you need to do 15 minutes a day. All exercises are static and do not require high physical activity. This is very important for people who cannot perform active cardio exercises due to their heavy weight.

Where to start bodyflex

Before you start training, you should find out about the contraindications under which you cannot exercise using this system. In addition, it is recommended that you follow these steps to achieve success:

1. Set a clear goal and write down the desired results after the first month. These numbers must be real, otherwise the person losing weight may be disappointed or have doubts about the productivity of the system.
2. Take measurements using a measuring tape and write them down for comparison. This makes it much easier to track results.
3. Study information about charging on the Internet, watch several video tutorials.
4. Set aside 15-20 minutes a day when no one will distract you.

Benefit for health

Of course, adherents of this system never tire of talking about the undoubted benefits of bodyflex. The opinions of experts are ambiguous: some are for, others are against, therefore, in order to understand and understand the essence of the complex, it is worth familiarizing yourself with its positive effect on the body:

• simple and understandable exercises that do not require special preparation and flexibility;
• there is no need for additional equipment - accordingly, you can practice at home and outdoors;
• suitable for working and very busy people, because the workout takes a maximum of 20 minutes;
• trains not only muscles, but also the cardiovascular system;
• speeds up metabolism;
• improves blood circulation, intensively saturates the blood with oxygen.

How to organize classes for a beginner

In order to properly organize bodyflex classes, you do not need to purchase special equipment. However, according to reviews from those losing weight, it is better to buy a gymnastics mat, which helps to avoid slipping when exercises are performed on the floor. A beginner will only need desire and a little time to master the lessons. People who have achieved results recommend following the following rules:

1. Choose comfortable clothes for training. It should not constrain the body or restrict movement; you should not choose clothes that are too warm - even though the exercises are static, a person sweats a lot while doing them.
2. If daily workouts are performed via video, then arrange a suitable place in front of the TV or computer.
3. Choose a complex that will help reduce body volume in problem areas. During your first lessons, you need to focus on basic exercises.
4. Get a timer that will signal the start and end of lessons.

How to do bodyflex correctly to lose weight

One of the advantages of the system is that it is not necessary to follow special diets or limit the amount of food eaten. However, to quickly lose weight with bodyflex, you need to:

1. perform the complex regularly every day;
2. observe the correct drinking regime - drink from 1.5 to 2.5 liters of water;
3. eat small portions 2.5 hours before classes or 1.5 hours after them;
4. add more fiber to your diet.

For a person who has started training for the first time, it is very difficult to continue training after the first week. Many people report that muscle pain and slight dizziness go away. After just a week of training, you can take measurements. As the experience of many women and men shows, even during this period it is possible to achieve tangible results:

• appetite decreases;
• stool is normalized;
• volumes in the waist and hips decrease;
• mood improves;
• muscle tone increases.

Basic principles of bodyflex

The principles of bodyflex were first outlined by American housewife Greer Childers in her book “Get a Great Figure in 15 Minutes a Day.” The woman talked about her experience of losing weight. After the birth of her third child, she had to try many different systems, ranging from simple aerobics to strength training. To lose weight, Greer used breathing exercises that were a combination of muscle stretching and yoga. One of the main rules is adherence to basic principles. These include:

1. Correct breathing. Bodyflex lessons should be performed only after breathing exercises have been well mastered.
2. Systematicity. It is not necessary to perform the complex every day; you can pay attention to bodyflex 3-4 times a week.
3. Doing workouts on an empty stomach. If you do not follow this rule, complications associated with the digestive system may occur. During aerobic exercise, the abdominal wall is involved, so it is very important that at least 2.5 hours pass after the last meal.
4. Correct measurements. It is not necessary to weigh yourself, since the main goal is to burn fat and reduce body size, and not to lose weight.

Principles of breathing exercises

The essence of the technique is deep diaphragmatic breathing.
A strong exhalation followed by a sharp inhalation. Getting used to this will take about a month. Gymnastics itself consists of static exercises involving 3 types of poses:

• isotonic – tension of several muscle groups;
• isometric – for one muscle group;
• stretching – to increase muscle elasticity.

When performing bodyflex to lose weight in the abdomen or other parts of the body, you should forget about sudden jerking movements. The technique consists of 12 elements that work all muscle groups. It is advisable to do them in the specified order, and not randomly.

Basic poses

Before you begin to perform the complex, you need to master the basic positions in which breathing exercises are performed. It is recommended to start mastering the system with these poses:

1. “Basketball player” - spread your legs to the sides, squat slightly, tilt your torso forward, place your palms just above your knees.
2. “Sitting on the floor” - sit on a hard surface, spread your legs wide in different directions, place your hands behind your back, pressing your palms to the floor so that your shoulder blades are brought together, raise your head up.
3. “Emphasis on four points” - get on all fours, straighten your back, place your arms and legs at right angles to the floor, lower your head slightly.

Mastering breathing

According to nutritionists, the problem of people gaining excess weight is a lack of energy. If you engage in aerobic exercise, more oxygen begins to enter the body, which is a natural fat burner. However, people who are overweight cannot perform active training, so bodyflex with a special breathing system will quickly help solve the problem. To start classes, you need to take the “Basketball Player” pose, then start breathing exercises:

1. Slowly exhale air through your mouth, try to exhale as long as possible.
2. Inhale deeply through your nose.
3. Exhale sharply through your mouth (it should sound like a “groin”).
4. Hold your breath for 8-10 seconds. At the same time, tense your abdominal muscles, trying to push your stomach under the diaphragm.
5. Relax and calmly exhale through your nose.

It is recommended to concentrate as much as possible on performing this exercise, because the weight loss effect will depend on this. At first, you are allowed to keep your hand on the diaphragm in order to breathe correctly through the chest. If it is difficult to hold your breath for 8 seconds, you can first do shorter intervals, gradually increasing them. Those who have been practicing the system for more than a month are able to count to 15-20 seconds.

Who is bodyflex suitable for weight loss?

We are the “now” generation, flows of information, accelerated pace of life... If we don’t see quick results, then this is not suitable for us. We are different and sometimes we don’t want to carry out a common complex. Some people need to work on belly fat, others want to strengthen their arms and buttocks. Everything about this technique is simple: each part of the body has its own pose. Five-stage breathing is performed and the desired pose is immediately performed, in which you need to remain for 8-10 counts.

Bodyflex for weight loss is perfect if you don’t have any special health problems, but have a lot of extra centimeters and laziness. A pleasant nuance - the complex does not require dieting and does not imply self-torture by hunger. And at the same time it gives relatively quick results.

Bodyflex for weight loss is an excellent solution for those who, for various reasons, cannot go to the gym, pool, or set up a sports corner at home.

This complex is especially popular among young mothers. See for yourself:

• You can practice while the baby is sleeping, you don’t need to go far from him;
• no financial costs;
• Bodyflex is the best way to remove loose fat deposits accumulated during pregnancy and tighten very flabby muscles.

Basic exercises for beginners

When a person just starts training, it is very important not to overdo it so that the rise is not followed by a decline, so beginners are recommended to perform not very difficult exercises that will help strengthen the main muscle groups. When exercising during the first week, you can limit yourself to just three exercises, which allow you to gradually get used to the load.

a lion

This exercise is very effective for tightening the facial and neck muscles. It is performed in the following order:

1. Take the “Basketball Player” position, squatting slightly and placing your hands on your knees.
2. After this, bodyflex breathing exercises are performed.
3. While exhaling, gather your lips into a tube, stick out your tongue as far as possible, open your eyes wide and lift them up, wait 8 seconds.
4. Do 5 approaches.

Boat

By performing this workout regularly, you can pump up the muscles of your thighs and buttocks. To do this you need:

1. sit with your legs wide apart;
2. place your hands behind your back, stretch your socks to the sides;
3. do a breathing exercise, lean forward with your arms outstretched;
4. try to reach as far as possible;
5. slowly count to 8, return to the starting position;
6. repeat 2 more times.

Cat

It is very easy to strengthen your arms and back with an exercise called "Cat". Execution steps:

1. Lean on your palms and knees, your head should be in line with your neck and back.
2. After performing the breathing complex, strongly round your back, lower your head down, count to 10, exhale and relax.
3. Do up to 5-7 approaches.

Breathing technique

The breathing technique must be fully mastered before you begin the exercises .

In order to learn how to breathe correctly using the bodyflex system, it is recommended to take the initial pose :

in a standing position, spread your legs at a distance of 30-35 cm, rest your palms 3 cm above your knees. The result will be a pose as if you are about to sit down. The head remains in a straight position, the chin is horizontal to the floor, and the gaze is directed forward. It is from this position that it is easiest to learn proper breathing.

Stage 1 of diaphragmatic breathing. Exhale through the mouth

The first thing you need to learn is the ability to properly exhale air from your lungs. In this case, it is important that all waste air leaves . Therefore, you need to not just exhale it, but literally squeeze it out - something like how we squeeze the air out of a ball with our foot. To make this exhalation, round your lips and pull them forward a little, as if you are going to whistle. And then begin to calmly and slowly release air through your mouth. When you realize that you cannot squeeze out any more drops, stop and close your lips.

Stage 2 of diaphragmatic breathing. Quick inhalation through the nose

Now all the attention is on the nose. Imagine that you have no mouth at all or that it has been sewn up with thread. Take a sharp breath through your nose: inhale as fully and sharply as possible , like a vacuum cleaner sucking in air. Your lungs should be filled to capacity with oxygen.

With such an inhalation a noise effect is required , and the louder the sound produced, the better. And if you inhale completely silently, this means that you are inhaling incorrectly. A quick and strong breath through the nose, by definition, cannot be quiet or silent. Try to suck in air as hard as you can: imagine that you were in an airless space, and now you are given a breath of air.

Once your lungs are full and you can no longer breathe in air, stop. Now we turn our attention to the lips: they are tightly closed and do not release air. The head is slightly raised. But the nose just doesn’t work, imagine. That he doesn't exist anymore. We hold all the air within ourselves.

Stage 3 of diaphragmatic breathing. Sharp exhalation through the mouth from the diaphragm

The next task is to push out all the drawn-in air through the mouth. But you need to not just exhale, but do it by tensing your stomach , as if knocking the air out of your lungs with your abdominal muscles. To do this, open your mouth wide, get ready, and then sharply squeeze the muscles of the diaphragm and abdomen - then the lungs will also contract and push out all the air. Such an exhalation should be accompanied by a whistling sound, which resembles the sound of air coming out of a punctured tire: something like “puff” or “pa-ah”.

At this stage, all attention should be on the diaphragm - it is the diaphragm that pushes the air out . Even if your abdominal muscles are weak, your diaphragm should still be normally developed. Try to push the air as quickly as possible.

Stage 4 of diaphragmatic breathing. Holding your breath

This stage is considered the most difficult part of the breathing exercise. Close your lips as tightly as possible, do not try to suck in air through your nose. In general, forget that you have a mouth and a nose. You have no air to breathe.

Tilt your head slightly towards your chest. Now focus on the stomach. Start counting slowly (in your head) and gradually tighten your stomach. The stomach goes inward and turns into a flat board . The stomach, intestines and other organs begin to go under the ribs. The stomach seems to rise upward, beginning to pull the intestines along with it. Everything that is in your stomach also rises and begins to go under the ribs.

Now your stomach is not flat - it is concave, similar to the depression that usually forms in a punctured ball. There is a feeling that your peritoneum is touching your spine.

The stomach should be pulled in slowly, while counting to eight. You should count as follows: one-one-one, two-two-two... Most likely you won’t be able to hold your breath for all eight beats right away - usually they start with three or four, and already in the process of training the ability to reach eight is achieved. Keep in mind: as soon as you manage to hold your breath for all eight measures, you can consider that you have practically mastered the preparatory stage. It is at this stage of holding the breath with simultaneous retraction of the abdomen that all exercises are performed.

Stage 5 of diaphragmatic breathing. Inhale through the nose

Once you have counted to eight and feel your belly in the spine area, you can inhale. Just relax all your muscles and let the air rush into your lungs . After holding your breath, the lungs fill with air, accompanied by a sound reminiscent of a sob - “whoosh.”

What else you need to know about diaphragmatic breathing

It should be understood that when it comes to diaphragmatic breathing, all five stages are important . You can't train the first or third and forget about the second or fourth. Or fully master the correct inhalation, but not master the exhalation. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly control yourself throughout the entire lesson.

It is recommended to practice this breathing in the morning, on an empty stomach , when the stomach is not yet filled with liquid and food. Doing breathing exercises with a full stomach can lead to nausea and vomiting. Therefore, you should start training immediately after waking up and putting yourself in order.

It is advisable to practice in front of a large mirror at first. This way you can immediately see at what stage you are not working at full strength and where you are deviating from the most correct body position.

Do not forget to ventilate the room : you should not do breathing exercises in a room with stale air after a night's sleep.

You should proceed directly to physical exercises only after you have fully mastered all five stages of diaphragmatic breathing. Mastering the technique of diaphragmatic breathing usually requires 3-4 weeks of constant daily training. And when you master this breathing, you can begin to perform the exercises of the main complex. Start with a 5-minute workout and gradually increase its duration.

Set of exercises

After mastering proper breathing and practicing basic exercises for all muscle groups, you can begin to perform more complex workouts. According to Marina Korpan, one of the most famous bodyflex and oxysize trainers in Russia, morning workouts are considered more effective due to the fact that they occur after the body has rested. In addition, the maximum break between meals is achieved. You are allowed to drink a glass of clean water before classes to speed up your metabolism.

15-minute morning routine

In addition to the exercises that must be performed (Lion, Cat, Boat), the morning complex includes:

Story

The universal Bodyflex program was invented by an American housewife, mother of three children, Greer Childers. Thanks to her technique, she managed to lose 5 sizes in just 3 months! Her secret was proper breathing and stretching problem areas. Some Bodyflex exercises are based on well-known yoga techniques. But Greer added her own interesting breathing technique to them: exhale, quickly inhale, completely exhale oxygen, hold your breath and inhale. Surprisingly, by performing breath-holding exercises, you provide a release of adrenaline, which removes fat from under the skin. And by tensing your muscles you burn it.

Where to do bodyflex

The advantages of a system such as bodyflex at home for beginners over other weight loss systems are that you can perform exercises not only in an organized group, but also at home. However, if you exercise under the guidance of an experienced fitness trainer, you can adjust your weight loss program to suit your individual needs. In addition, in a team it is easier to avoid downturns that occur due to lack of organization. Now you can sign up for remote courses and complete classes over the Internet, which also brings very good results.

Contraindications

The system is very beneficial for health and has virtually no age restrictions, but it also has a number of contraindications. The most common prohibitions that prevent you from doing bodyflex include:

• heart failure;
• glaucoma;
• hernia;
• arterial hypertension;
• oncological diseases;
• tachycardia;
• bronchial asthma;
• increased intracranial pressure.

Also, pregnant women should not perform the exercises - increased impact on the abdominal wall can cause a miscarriage. If a person losing weight has or has had any chronic illnesses, previous surgeries, bleeding of unknown etiology, then you need to first check with your doctor and only then start physical activity.

Contraindications and disadvantages

Despite its proven effectiveness, this system has features that can be considered disadvantages:

• exercises do not give a fixed result; after stopping training, the weight may return to its original value;
• To lose weight, it is not enough just to exercise according to the system; you also need to adhere to a healthy, balanced diet.

Important! Thyroid diseases can significantly reduce the effectiveness of training and slow down the process of losing weight.

Like any other system, bodyflex has some contraindications:

• exercises are contraindicated for people with heart and vascular diseases;
• You cannot do bodyflex if you have various problems with the spine, the presence of hernias, disc displacements, or inflammatory processes;
• during pregnancy, this type of exercise is strictly contraindicated, since holding your breath can lead to fetal hypoxia;
• any colds during an exacerbation also prohibit training.