Runner's World (UK)

This Simple Trick Speeds Recovery

Make it easier to get your breath back after a run

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YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD you will recover faster from a hard effort by standing tall, hands behind your head, rather than bending over, hands on knees. It opens your chest so you can breathe easier. And it looks dramatic. But it’s not true. ‘When your hands are on your head and you’re standing straight up, your lungs are in a hyper-inflated state,’ says Rondel King, an exercise physiologi­st. ‘It’s like trying to fill a balloon that has air with more air.’ With your hands on your knees, your body is in a better position for your diaphragm to function. A 2019 study1 found the handson-knees position resulted in a faster decrease in heart rate between intervals than the hands-on-head position.

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