Back to Basics:
Learning how to BREATHE
Breathing is something we do tens of thousands of times a day — yet few of us ever question how we do it. For athletes, that blind spot can quietly limit potential. In training for our 3,000-mile row across the Atlantic, Sophie and I are discovering that even the seemingly automatic systems of the body can be refined — and sometimes, completely retrained.
Working with researchers at the University of Kent, we’ve been undergoing detailed physiological testing. Among the findings — my breathing might not be as efficient as I thought. For years, during endurance events like the Race Across America or running across the Arctic, I’ve developed stubborn chesty coughs. I always blamed cold air or fatigue. But it seems my respiratory system may have been straining more than necessary, using compensatory patterns built up over time.
To discover that I may need to relearn how to breathe feels strangely unnatural — almost like being told to walk differently after decades of doing it your own way. Yet the more I reflect, the more it makes sense. If your body can adapt to years of muscular imbalances or inefficient posture, why not the same with breathing?
The science behind it
Inefficient breathing often begins with tension — particularly in the shoulders, chest, and neck. Overusing these accessory muscles limits the expansion of the lower rib cage and diaphragm, leading to shallower, faster breaths. The result is less oxygen exchange, greater chest strain, and a body that lives in “fight-or-flight” mode for longer than it should.
As part of our testing protocol, the team at Kent are helping us identify movement and breathing imbalances that might subtly compromise endurance, recovery, and even immune resilience. For a challenge like the World’s Toughest Row, those inefficiencies could have real consequences across 45 days of continuous rowing, relentless heat, and chronic sleep deprivation.
Relearning the basics
My breathing re-education starts with the simplest foundation: awareness. Using the Breathing Pattern Training protocol, I’m focusing on posture and lateral rib cage movement. A helper places hands (or I use a scarf or resistance band) around the lower ribs to give feedback as I breathe — working to expand the rib cage sideways and outwards, not just up through the chest. Each breath begins from empty lungs to full lungs in a slow, smooth motion, avoiding the shoulder lift that has crept in over years of fitness training.
Once that pattern feels natural, we pair it with gentle mobility and core stability. Glute bridges and spinal alignment drills are reminders that posture must support, not fight, respiration. Deep exhalation, rather than forced inhalation, becomes the key to release tension and allow air to flow more efficiently.
From Habit to Adaptation
There’s something humbling about this process — realising how even after two decades of athletic training, there are fundamentals still to master. The hope is that by retraining my breathing muscles now, I’ll free up precious energy for the miles ahead. Better oxygen uptake. Lower heart rate drift. Fewer stress responses under pressure. And perhaps no more “Arctic coughs.”
It’s early days, and the process doesn’t always feel intuitive. My body has spent years compensating — and unlearning those habits will take patience. But that’s the beauty of preparation: this challenge isn’t just about rowing faster across an ocean. It’s about stripping performance back to its raw essentials, rebuilding efficiency breath by breath.
For Sophie and I, Team gROW is as much about inner exploration as it is about endurance. And the breath — the most basic rhythm of life — might just hold the key to unlocking another layer of performance, resilience, and calm when the Atlantic gets rough.
Vicki Anstey
Vicki Anstey is a 2 x world record holder, adventurer, coach, TEDx speaker, and entrepreneur. After a decade running a successful fitness business, she turned to extreme endurance — rowing the mid-Pacific, cycling 3,000 miles across America, and completing ultra-distance foot races in the Arctic and Kenya. A UK ambassador for Inspiring Girls, Vicki is passionate about emotional endurance and empowering the next generation to thrive under pressure.