Should I warm up my breathing muscles before running?

Some athletes use a short, light IMT warm-up before hard efforts to reduce the breathlessness that hits early in a session. Keep it light — around 40% of your training load — so it primes rather than fatigues the muscles.

Is IMT good for runners and cyclists?

There's evidence IMT can reduce the sense of breathlessness at intensity and modestly support endurance. Treat the gains as individual, and build a base with the standard protocol before relying on a warm-up.

How light should the warm-up load be?

Around 40% of your normal training load — enough to feel the muscles working, not enough to tire them before your session.

Workouts & Recovery · Cardio

Pre-exercise warm-up IMT

A quick breathing-muscle warm-up to do right before a run, ride or race — about 30 easy resisted breaths at a low load (around 40% of your training load) to prime the diaphragm. Used by athletes to take the edge off early-effort breathlessness. The app counts the breaths; you just set a light load and go. Pair it with your usual physical warm-up.

Moves: 1
Length: ≈ 1 min
Level: All levels

Also known as imt warm-up, imt for runners, breathing warm-up before race.

How the session works

1Set your device to a low load — roughly 40% of your normal training load.
2Press start. Take about 30 brisk but easy resisted breaths to prime the muscles.
3Keep it light — this is a warm-up, not a training set; you shouldn't strain.
4Do it shortly before your run or ride, alongside your usual warm-up.

The moves

Light warm-up breaths45s
Brisk but easy breaths at a low load to prime the muscles.

What it's good for

Primes the breathing muscles before hard effort.
May ease early-effort breathlessness at the start of a session.
Quick and light — a couple of minutes at a low load.

The evidence. Inspiratory muscle training has real evidence for reducing the sense of breathlessness, with trials supporting lower blood pressure and better exercise tolerance — strongest in respiratory rehab and trained athletes. It won't cause weight loss or guarantee performance gains; treat athletic benefits as modest and individual.

Safety

Check with a clinician before starting if you have a respiratory or cardiac condition (such as COPD or asthma), uncontrolled high blood pressure, a history of collapsed lung (pneumothorax), recent chest or abdominal surgery, or are pregnant — in these cases IMT should be clinician-supervised.
Resisted inhalation can make you lightheaded — stop and rest if you feel dizzy, and never push through it.

Frequently asked questions

Should I warm up my breathing muscles before running?: Some athletes use a short, light IMT warm-up before hard efforts to reduce the breathlessness that hits early in a session. Keep it light — around 40% of your training load — so it primes rather than fatigues the muscles.
Is IMT good for runners and cyclists?: There's evidence IMT can reduce the sense of breathlessness at intensity and modestly support endurance. Treat the gains as individual, and build a base with the standard protocol before relying on a warm-up.
How light should the warm-up load be?: Around 40% of your normal training load — enough to feel the muscles working, not enough to tire them before your session.

Gear we recommend

Optional kit that pairs with a home practice — for tracking recovery and effort. We may earn a commission on purchases made through these links.

POWERbreathe

POWERbreathe Plus

Inspiratory muscle trainer · Adjustable load

$60Read review

Airofit

Airofit Pro 2.0

App-guided trainer · Inhale + exhale

$349Read review

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Disclaimer. This guided session is low intensity and intended for healthy adults, but it is not medical advice. Move within a comfortable range, stop if anything hurts, and check with a clinician first if you're pregnant, recovering from injury or surgery, or managing a heart, joint or blood-pressure condition. FitHQ may earn a commission on purchases made through links on this page.